As the European transfer window is in full swing, particularly around
the French-speaking trio that is close to joining Gentle Mates, Team Vitality has also made progress and reached a verbal agreement with Nassim "
nass" Bali, João "
diaz" Henrique, and Oskar "
Oski" Gozdowski, sources tell
Sheep Esports. The trio is therefore expected to wear La Ruche's colors in 2027, for the next RLCS season, in which the French organization is expected to be a partner, according to a recent
Sheep Esports report.
For the first time since 2018, the French club is therefore expected to move away from an all-French lineup to an international one while remaining in the EMEA region. This will come with the arrival of diaz as an import from Brazil, alongside the duo of nass, a Moroccan-Dutch player, and Polish player Oski, who are both joining from Gentle Mates. Following a difficult year that ended with a Top 9-12 finish at the World Championship, VIT is therefore starting from scratch for the new competitive year in
Rocket League.
A top-level player since 2025, when he joined Ninjas In Pyjamas, nass only discovered Majors this year, after first qualifying for the World Championship in 2025. With Gentle Mates, whom he joined ahead of 2026, the Moroccan player established himself as one of the most important names in the competitive scene, winning the Boston Major at the start of the season, as well as several Opens and a solo European title, beating Alexis "zen" Bernier in the grand final. He will therefore replace him within La Ruche.
Already teammates at NIP in 2025, Oski and nass enjoyed the same rise to prominence this season, but with a mixed ending to the year. With the French club they joined this year, the duo and Archie "
Archie" Pickthall, who is therefore not expected to continue with them in 2027, first fell in the Top 5-8 at the Esports World Cup, held in Paris, after finishing the Paris Major in 5th-6th place. At the World Championship in Fort Worth, M8 also failed to find a way to claim another title this year, losing in the second round of the playoffs to SpaceStation Gaming, the club of a certain...
diaz.
It is indeed the latter who is expected to complete the duo from Mates and play for the third region of his career, after starting out in South America with W7M Esports and then joining Complexity, before the club moved its roster to North America in 2025. The Brazilian player will therefore remain in the mix and will discover his first Major. He eventually joined SSG ahead of the 2026 season, steadily improving throughout the year after starting with a Top 13-16 finish at the Boston Major. The Brazilian player and his teammates then went on to finish 7th-8th at the Paris Major before taking 2nd place at the
Esports World Cup and the World Championship. Two consecutive grand finals lost to Team Falcons, both by a 0-2 scoreline, but a very strong finish to the year for the American club, which saw its popularity grow as a result.
