Without much surprise, Spain will be one of the major nations in this first edition of the
Esports Nations Cup, especially on
Rocket League. the trio is expected to consist of Cristian
"crr" Fernández Raigal, Sergio
"AtomiK" Pérez Cortés, and Gaspar
"stizzy" Rosalen Andres, while Brandon
"Braan." Porto Fernández has already been introduced as the team’s official coach. Luis
"LuiisP" Puente Peña will be the fourth player of the lineup.
Already together under the Spanish banner during the FIFAe World Cup 2024, the four names are now set to reunite, hoping to improve on the Top 5-8 finish they managed to secure two years ago. Absent in 2025 due to the Royal Spanish Football Federation’s lack of interest in continuing to invest in the development of esports, Spain therefore did not take part in the second edition of this Rocket League World Cup. It is also worth noting that the country is once again absent from this year’s FIFAe competition and its new Nations League format, with the RFEF seemingly still unwilling to change its stance.
Unlike FIFAe, the Esports Nations Cup 2026, which will take place in Saudi Arabia next November, is a nations-based competition that is not tied to national federations or Olympic committees, therefore allowing Spanish teams to participate across all 16 titles featured at the event, including
Rocket League. For the latter, whose tournament is expected to run from November 3 to 8, 48 nations will travel to Riyadh for this inaugural edition, with half of the participating nations receiving direct invitations through a points system set up by the Esports Foundation, which oversees the event.
Based on the six Open tournaments held throughout the year, as well as the two Majors in Paris and Boston that have already taken place, this system determines an overall ranking according to the results achieved by the three selected players representing each nation. With stizzy and crr qualified for the Rocket League World Championship alongside Team Vitality and Ninjas In Pyjamas, respectively, Spain should normally avoid the qualification stages.
For the 24 directly invited nations, the appointment is already set for Saudi Arabia next November, while the remaining 21 spots will be decided through six continental qualifiers, each granting between three and four slots, scheduled to take place on July 17 and 18.
