Sources - VALORANT: nataNk and sh1n are set to join Mandatory for 2026

According to sources close to Sheep Esports, Nathan "nataNk" Bocqueho and Ryad "sh1n" Ensaad have reached a verbal agreement with Mandatory for the upcoming 2026 season. Both players arrive after an intense 2024/2025 cycle at the highest level of competition. nataNk comes off a stint with Movistar KOI in VCT EMEA, while sh1n most recently represented Joblife in the VALORANT Challengers France League.

For nataNk, the past year has been defined by rapid transitions across two regions. After a difficult 2024 with Gentle Mates in VCT EMEA, the French organization opted to completely rebuild its roster, allowing him to explore new opportunities. He then joined Leviatán at the end of 2024 to compete in VCT Americas, before the team gave him permission to seek options following a challenging Kickoff at the start of 2025. Later in May, he joined KOI as a starter for the 2025 VCT EMEA season, a move that brought him back to EMEA scene. That chapter closed in late August, when Movistar KOI announced their removal from the partner league.

The past year has also been pivotal for sh1n. As Karmine Corp’s French Controller, he helped the team win their first trophy. The VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff, and qualified for Masters Madrid where he continued to build experience on the international stage. In September 2024, Karmine Corp decided to rebuild its VCT roster without him. Early in 2025, he appeared with DVM in the French Challengers circuit before officially joining Joblife, with whom he won VCL France Split 3, competed in VCL Challengers EMEA, and concluded the season at Ascension, where the team was eliminated in the group stage by DNSTY.

On Mandatory’s side, the organization has just completed one of its most consistent stretches in both France and EMEA. In VALORANT Challengers France 2025, Mandatory took second place in Split 1, followed by third-place finishes in Splits 2 and 3. The team then extended its run into the wider region with top-three finishes in Challengers 2025 EMEA Stage 1 and Stage 3, and a 3rd–4th place result in the VCT 2025 EMEA Ascension Playoffs, falling short in the battle for promotion to VCT EMEA against ULF Esports.

The organization closed its 2025 season in front of its home crowd at the Hangar, thanking fans for their support throughout the league and already looking ahead to 2026 with the announcement of Damien "HyP" Souville’s retirement, as one of the pillars of the team stepped down. If finalized, the additions of nataNk and sh1n would provide Mandatory with two players boasting recent VCT and Masters experience across both the EMEA and Americas circuits.

This aligns with the club’s ambition to translate its strong domestic and regional results into a successful European run, as well as a potential path towards the 2026 Shanghai Champions, as announced by Riot Games during the final of the Champions Paris 2025 event.

For more roster changes, check out our Transfers Hub and Offseason Live Tracker.