Sources: zen, Vatira and Juicy to represent France in Rocket League at the Esports Nations Cup

According to sources close to Sheep Esports, the French roster for the Rocket League Esports Nations Cup is expected to feature Alexis "zen" Bernier, Axel "Vatira" Touret, and Charles "juicy" Sabiani, a trio that would head into the event as overwhelming favorites for the title. Made up of one Team Vitality player and two Karmine Corp players who just won the Paris Major, this lineup is notably the same one that lifted the FIFAe World Cup 2025 trophy — another nation-based competition on Psyonix’s title.

Scheduled to take place in Riyadh next November, ENC 2026 will mark the first edition of a new event organized by Saudi Arabia, aiming to pit nations against each other rather than clubs, unlike the Esports World Cup, which the country also organizes. Alongside 15 other games, Rocket League will be one of the featured titles, with the competition set to run from November 3 to 8 and feature 48 teams from around the world. Unlike many other esports titles, this format already exists in Rocket League, following the structure FIFA introduced in 2024.

Coach during the first two editions, Victor "Ferra" Francal has therefore returned as Head Coach for the Esports Nations Cup. After finishing runner-up at the World Championship alongside zen and Vatira in 2024, the duo managed to get their revenge in 2025 with the addition of juicy, defeating Saudi Arabia, the very team that had taken the title away from them the previous year.

For the ENC, the format means France, through players competing for some of the best organizations in the world, should logically receive a direct invitation to the main event without having to go through qualifiers. Indeed, out of the 48 participating nations, 24 will receive direct invites to the competition, while the remaining spots will be distributed through six continental qualifiers and three Wildcard slots, likely at the organizers’ discretion.

To determine the invited nations, the Esports Foundation, which oversees the event, has introduced a ranking system based on players’ results throughout the current season. The players selected for each national team will therefore bring their ranking points with them, which will decide the 24 directly qualified teams.