posted Mar 26th, 2026 - Dennis Praet and NMP PCH HayaBusa coach Gary Smith have both worked with the Dutch national 4-way team Out Of The Blue (OOTB) in the past, and they were full of praise for the team on March 24th when reviewing the results of the BENELUX Indoor Championship 2026 last weekend.

OOTB secured 2nd place, finishing just behind NMP PCH HayaBusa, while setting a new team average record and achieving their highest single-round score. However, it wasn’t only the 52-pointer in Round 10 that impressed Gary Smith and Dennis Praet. In fact, the Dutch team was outscored in the Super Sequence by another Belgian team—Ayro—who posted a 53-pointer in Round 10, yet still finished 15 points behind OOTB overall.

The OOTB performance was even more remarkable given that this was the first competition for the new lineup, which includes two new team members. The NSL News previously covered the roster changes in an update on January 13th, introducing the new teammates for returning Mechie Voermans and Roald de Leest. Timmy De Smet and Siem Ibens clearly lived up to expectations, and the potential of the new lineup suggests a new level of performance for the Netherlands’ top team.

BENELUX Indoor Championship 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		8,Q,13		17,10,2		J,6,B,16		3,12,5		22,L,4		P,E,21,F		9,14,O		11,G,C,15		D,7,1		A,K,M,H,N		Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	27		25	-1	35		27		23	-3	42	-2	32	-1	27	-2	33		69	-3	340	34.0
2	Out Of The Blue	NL	24		21		28		21		21		36		31		25		28		52		287	28.7
3	AYRO	BE	22		20		29		19		20		30		27		24		28		53		272	27.2
4	Airbenders	BE	20		19		27		22		19		35		28		21		29		49		269	26.9
5	Phoenix	BE	19		15		19		17		18		29		19		17		23		25		201	20.1
6	Hybris	BE	18		15		20		15		16		26		21		16		21		32		200	20.0
7	Name	NL	18		12		16		13		12		28		20		17		20		29		185	18.5
8	Funky Falcon	NL	13		13		16		12		13		22		17		11		18		17		152	15.2
9	Supra	DK	14		12		17		13		11		23		18		15		10		18		151	15.1
10	Slow Is Fast	BE	16		11		12		10		9		21		14		14		17		18		142	14.2
11	Bust a Move	NL	11		9		14		9		11		13		14		12		15		20		128	12.8

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Out Of The Blue at the BENELUX Indoor Championship 2026

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Mechie Voermans, alongside the 2023 lineup (Mandy Feijen, Bart Daenen, Ralf Pijnenburg), set the previous OOTB record average (26.6) over eight rounds with a limited dive pool at the ISR Grand Prix 2023. The inclusion of the Super Sequence last weekend naturally elevated the meet averages across all teams to significantly higher scores, and OOTB’s 28.7 does not accurately reflect their current performance level.

However, the team’s average over the first nine rounds (26.1) still points to a new and previously unseen performance ceiling for OOTB. It is notably higher than the team’s previous 10-round record average (24.0), achieved by the same 2023 lineup at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2022.

Out Of The Blue’s previous lineup (Mechie Voermans, Roald de Leest, Paul Hofstee, Ralf Pijnenburg) finished 10th with a 22.9 average at the FAI Indoor World Championship 2025. The new lineup appears poised to move beyond battles for the lower Top 10 positions and challenge at a higher competitive level. Ranking spots just behind the medal contenders at FAI/ISC events now seem within reach for the Dutch national team—effectively the unofficial amateur world championship tier. The NSL Power Rankings for the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026 will likely require adjustment following the results of the BENELUX Championship 2026.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2025			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		D,4,17		C,22,10		5,P,Q,18		1,M,J,O		16,6,19		H,8,21		12,13,A		L,G,K,9		15,F,7		E,2,N,B		Total	Avg
1	Aethers Medjay	FR	32		23	-1	35		41		28		27		29		45		32		37	-2	329	32.9
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	27	-2	24		31		34		26		26	-1	27		49		34		36		314	31.4
3	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	29	-1	22	-2	33		40	-1	24	-3	23	-4	26		43	-4	28	-3	38	-3	306	30.6
4	Skywalkers Junior	CZ	28		22	-2	30		39		25		23	-4	25		38	-2	27	-3	33		290	29.0
5	NFTO	UK	24	-1	22		26	-1	28	-4	22	-1	22		22	-1	36		29		30		261	26.1
5	Fly X Amnesya	IT	26		19		25	-2	32	-1	23		22	-2	23		32	-5	27	-4	32		261	26.1
7	Qatar Lions	QA	26	-1	19	-3	28	-1	31	-5	24		21	-2	22	-1	34		24	-4	31		260	26.0
8	Echochamber	SE	23	-1	17	-2	27	-1	32	-2	22	-1	22		25	-1	34	-3	27	-2	28	-4	257	25.7
9	Papea	ES	26	-1	18	-3	25		35	-2	19	-2	21	-3	21	-2	33	-3	28	-2	29	-3	255	25.5
10	Out Of The Blue	NL	22		18		21	-3	29	-2	21		21	-1	20	-1	28	-3	25	-1	24	-2	229	22.9
11	Realfly Fire	CH	22		14	-3	23		31		19		18	-3	18	-1	26	-4	21	-3	25	-1	217	21.7
12	Netunos	BR	20	-1	16		20	-3	26	-2	18		18	-1	18		27		21	-1	19	-3	203	20.3
13	Singapore	SG	16		10	-4	11	-4	17	-5	14	-1	15	-2	11	-4	15	-3	15	-2	19	-1	143	14.3
14	Thailand	TH	8	-1	7	-2	7		11	-5	7		7	-3	5	-3	8	-4	11		8	-3	79	7.9

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Out Of The Blue at the FAI Indoor World Championship 2025

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