posted Feb 1st, 2026 - The final scores on the Wind Games 2026 leaderboard tell the story. Once again, the Aethers dominated the field—just as they did a year ago, when they did not concede a single round at the same event. NMP PCH HayaBusa managed to tie two rounds at the Wind Games 2025, a feat they repeated again last weekend.

Among the two other national teams at the top of the leaderboard—NMP PCH HayaBusa and the Golden Knights—the Belgians can at least claim, statistically, that they have closed the gap to the French indoor world champions. They reduced the deficit from 33 points in 2025 to 28 points after all ten rounds at this year’s Wind Games. That said, they were even closer at the FAI Indoor World Championship in April 2025, where the final score was 329–306.

The situation was even more critical for the Golden Knights, the reigning U.S. indoor and outdoor champions, who will face both Aethers and HayaBusa at the outdoor world championship this October. The U.S. Army team finished 43 points behind the French team (332–289), compared to a 36-point deficit at the same event last year. Both the Golden Knights and HayaBusa are targeting first place at this year’s outdoor world championship, while the Belgians appear to be focusing more realistically on the 2028 event. The competition draw limited major shifts across the ten rounds, but the Aethers’ consistently fast and reliable performance proved decisive, resulting in a convincing 28-point margin over the second-place team.

Wind Games 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Top 10		13,15,M		8,N,G,L		H,6,16		Q,D,J,12		17,P,21		7,3,2		F,19,11		B,20,4		22,E,10		C,9,5		Total	Avg
1	Aethers	FR	31	-2	37	-2	32	-1	39		34		29		32		32		25	-2	41	-3	332	33.2
2	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	27	-3	34	-2	32		33	-1	33		26	-1	27	-2	28	-1	25		39	-2	304	30.4
3	Golden Knights	US	30	-1	32	-2	29		31	-3	31	-1	25		29	-1	26	-3	23	-1	33	-1	289	28.9
4	Unruly	INT	28	-3	30	-2	26	-3	32	-1	29		26		27	-2	26	-1	24		39		287	28.7
5	Arizona Airspeed	US	27	-2	31		27	-2	31	-3	29	-1	25		28		26	-1	23		36		283	28.3
6	Tunnel Vision	US	27	-1	32		28		29	-4	30		25		27		26		23		34		281	28.1
7	Dynos	INT	26	-1	30	-1	27	-1	30	-1	29		26		27	-1	27		21		35	-1	278	27.8
8	Amnesya Fly X	IT	23	-3	29		24	-1	25	-4	27		20	-1	24	-1	23	-1	20	-1	29	-3	244	24.4
9	Skynamite	DE	23		24		24		27	-2	20	-1	21		23	-1	21	-1	17	-1	28	-2	228	22.8
10	Monaco F1	FR	21	-2	26		26		21	-5	20	-3	21		22		20	-3	18	-1	30		225	22.5

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Aethers - NMP PCH HayaBusa at the Wind Games 2026

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Very few teams managed to surpass their Wind Games averages from last year: Monaco F1 (22.2 vs. 22.5), Kairos (21.3 vs. 21.5), Panthers (18.9 vs. 20.1), and Magyx (13.3 vs. 19.1). Only three teams finished last weekend with new team-record averages: Skynamite (22.8), Magyx (19.1), and Double Trouble (14.4).

The Aethers’ unspoken statement in Empuriabrava was clear to everyone. The French team is well ahead of all competitors—even the most serious challengers from Belgium and the United States—and appears firmly on track to secure 4-way Open Class medals for France. However, the Wind Games marked the first indoor competition of the season, and the next benchmark will be their performance at the Shamrock Showdown 2026 – 1st Bob Hallet Memorial, the first outdoor meet of the world championship year.

The Golden Knights once again emerged as the strongest U.S. team in Empuriabrava, an important result in its own right. Their goal is to arrive in Arizona in October as the nation’s top 4-way team and represent the U.S. delegation at the world championships in Eloy. This time, they outscored Tunnel Vision, who had finished ahead of them at the Wind Games 2025. The new Arizona Airspeed lineup did the same, edging Tunnel Vision by two points, with former Tunnel Vision member Michelle Karamon flying point. All three U.S. teams will meet again at the national indoor championships at the end of February, where the Golden Knights return as defending U.S. champions. As an indoor-only team, Tunnel Vision will skip the outdoor competition in April at Skydive DeLand, where Arizona Airspeed will look to challenge the Golden Knights.

FAI World Meet 2010			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Finalists		10,7,12	3,11,5	J,M,Q,P,L	19,1,13	N,18,20	K,17,8	2,15,H	4,D,6	O,E,9,G	22,B,16	Total	Avg
1	Aerodyne Aerokart	FR	21	22	56	20	22	24	22	24	40	26	277	27.7
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	22	21	53	23	20	24	23	25	40	23	274	27.4
3	Sky Panthers Barkli	RU	19	21	56	21	19	21	23	22	41	21	264	26.4
4	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	21	21	55	20	17	20	23	22	36	18	253	25.3
5	Evolution	CA	19	19	51	20	18	22	21	21	31	18	240	24.0
6	Sinapsi	IT	19	19	49	16	20	17	21	19	37	19	236	23.6

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France 4-way Open - Arizona Airspeed at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2010

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The Aethers will once again compete at the Shamrock Showdown 2026 – 1st Bob Hallet Memorial, where they will face the two U.S. teams at the opening of the outdoor competition season. The event will serve as an early benchmark, helping to define the competitive landscape at the start of the 2026 season.

A similar scenario played out in 2010, when the French national 4-way Open team from 2007–2010—Guillaume Bernier, Mathieu Bernier, Julien Degen, Jérémie Rollett, with Olivier Hénaff on camera—used the early season to set the tone for a year that culminated in the outdoor world championship in Menzelinsk, Russia. That season ended with France winning 4-way gold for the last time, as part of a complete French FS sweep.

That same event also marked a historic milestone for Mathieu Bernier, who became the only competitor ever to win both 4-way and 8-way Open Class gold at a single world championship. Today, Bernier serves as the French national coach and assembled the current 4-way Open lineup in 2022. The original Aethers lineup failed to reach the podium at Eloy 2022, but Mathieu Bernier remained confident in the team’s potential. That confidence was rewarded when the team climbed to second place at Crystal Coast 2024. Now, as the world’s dominant 4-way team in both indoor and outdoor competition, the Aethers continue to validate Mathieu Bernier’s long-term vision.