France has finalized its seven-player roster for the Esports Nations Cup, according to sources who spoke to Sheep Esports on Thursday.
Five members of the lineup
had already been revealed by RFT through the team’s Head Coach Quentin “
Zeph” Viguié. However, like most participating nations, France is allowed to submit a seven-player roster, including two substitutes.
France's submitted roster
- Toplane: Adam “” Maanane,
- Jungle: Rudy “” Semaan, Théo “” Borile
- Midlane: Ilias “” Bizriken
- AD Carry: Steven “” Liv, Caliste “” Henry-Hennebert
- Support: Théo “” Le Scornec
Who will start as AD Carry?
Nations that qualify directly for the main event are typically allowed to submit two players for the same position and decide later which one will officially start at the tournament.
That is the case for France in the AD Carry role. Sources indicate that no final decision has been made between Steven "Hans Sama" Liv and Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert, with the starting spot for the November competition still up for grabs.
While Caliste was previously revealed as the starting AD Carry, sources familiar with the situation told Sheep Esports that no final decision has been made. Caliste remains a strong contender for the role, but the starting spot is expected to be decided in the coming months, likely depending on both players’ performances.
With the Esports World Cup having relocated from Riyadh to Paris, some figures involved in the scene are now wondering whether a similar shift could occur for the Esports Nations Cup. If that were the case, France would be in a far stronger position to ensure the full roster can attend the event in person.
SkewMond the king of the jungle
In the jungle, however, the situation appears much clearer. SkewMond is widely expected to be France's starting jungler, while Sheo has been included on the roster as a substitute should any issues arise.
SkewMond's presence alone provides France with enough ranking points to secure direct qualification to the main event, thanks to his status as a G2 Esports player. Alongside Hans Sama, France boasts two G2 representatives, giving the nation one of the strongest point totals in the tournament.
As a result, France is expected to receive a favorable seed. Greece, Denmark, and Turkey have also earned direct qualification thanks to the presence of G2 players Labrov, Caps, and BrokenBlade respectively, but are expected to enter the tournament with lower seeds than France.
While France and the other top 16 nations will enter the tournament directly in November, the Esports Nations Cup Qualifiers will begin on Friday, one day after the publication of this article.
The final event in Paris will feature 32 teams in total. Fourteen spots will be awarded through the qualifiers, while the final two places will be allocated through Wild Card invitations.
You can take a look at all ENC rosters in our
Nations Cup Tool and in our
Transfers Hub.
EDIT: The previous wording of the article suggested that the Esports Nations Cup had been relocated to Paris. We have since clarified the text to reflect that this is not the case, and that this remains speculation within the scene, following the Esports World Cup’s relocation.
