France has assembled many of its top players for the upcoming
Esports Nations Cup. By bringing together players who have competed in VCT over recent years and who are now largely reunited under
Mandatory, one of the strongest teams in the VCL France ecosystem, the country appears to have built a particularly solid roster on paper.
According to sources close to Sheep Esports, the lineup will consist of:
- Sylvain “Veqaj” Pattyn
- Jonathan “TakaS” Paupard
- Ryad “Shin” Ensaad
- Clément “CyvOph” Millard
- Thomas “kAdavra” Johner
As previously reported by Sheep Esports and later confirmed by team manager Bora “
YellOwStaR” Kim,
the roster will be coached by Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer. At this time, Sheep Esports can't confirm the two substitutes who have been added to the French VALORANT roster for the ENC. This article will be updated as soon as our reporters have been able to confirm the information.
Among the most famous head of the roster, Veqaj was the only French player competing in VCT EMEA at the beginning of the year with Fnatic. Despite delivering promising performances, he stepped away from the active roster for health-related reasons and was replaced during the Stage 1 playoffs by future teammate CyvOph, who himself had a brief first experience in VCT with Team Vitality.
The three remaining players are all currently part of Mandatory, one of the most consistently competitive VCL teams in EMEA over recent years, although the organization has yet to achieve its ambitions of winning either Ascension or even the French league itself. Nevertheless, all three players have already had opportunities in VCT in previous seasons, even if none managed to remain at that level for an extended period. Shin represented Karmine Corp between 2022 and 2024, while TakaS and kAdavra played for Gentle Mates between 2023 and 2024, and 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Points earned by the polish roster
France currently sits at 2,100 points, distributed as follows:
- Veqaj (225 points)
- Shin (350 points)
- kAdavra (350 points)
- TakaS (475 points)
- CyvOph (700 points)*
With that total, France possesses a relatively strong points tally, though it may still fall slightly short of securing a direct invitation among the sixteen qualified teams. As a result, the country is likely to compete through the qualifier stage, scheduled to take place from June 26 to 28.
* It appears that all 700 points awarded to CyvOph by the official ENC website stem from his time on the bench for Team Vitality, even though, according to the rulebook, substitutes should not earn any points. This situation will be corrected if the organization updates its rankings.
