Algeria’s roster has been approved to participate in the Esports Nations Cup, sources tell Sheep Esports on Thursday. In April last month, in an interview with Hotspawn, Yanis “Striker” Kella revealed that he had submitted a lineup to represent the country. Sources now tell Sheep Esports that the roster has indeed been validated for the competition.

Unlike several other countries, Algeria did not appoint a National Team Manager (NTM) for the Esports Nations Cup. While NTMs are typically responsible for selecting the coaching staff and roster, Striker’s team was formed through a different process. Instead, the players who had agreed to compete together submitted an application directly to the Esports Foundation, which was approved earlier this week.

As a result, the following lineup will represent Algeria:

Jungler and midlaner complete the group as substitutes.

From a competitive standpoint, Algeria has managed to assemble an intriguing roster built around several established ERL players. Two members of the lineup, Kamiloo and Boukada, have even recently competed in the LEC. Additionally, four players on the roster either currently compete in or have previously played within the LFL ecosystem. The team will be coached by Striker, who brings several years of LEC experience, although his recent results with have drawn a degree of criticism from parts of the community.

Despite the roster’s overall strength, Algeria is unlikely to secure a direct invitation to the event and is instead expected to compete in the regional qualifier taking place from June 19 to 21. The country currently sits at 200 points in the ENC ranking system, all of which come from Rin alone. As a result, Algeria will almost certainly need to fight its way through the qualifier to reach the tournament’s main event.

However, Algeria’s path through the MENA Qualifiers could work in its favor, as the region is widely expected to feature less competition than the European or Asian qualifiers.