posted Apr 9th, 2026 - The first two rounds in the horizontal 4-way events have been completed at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026 in Weembi Lille. The competition has already proven to be as exciting as expected in both categories—except, perhaps, for the very top position. The Aethers are fully living up to the high expectations of spectators, opponents, coaches, and experts alike. The French national team won both opening rounds with the highest scores and has already established a four-point lead over the Golden Knights.

The anticipated duel between China and Nephtys in 4-way Women has delivered a compelling start, with both teams much closer to each other than the gap between first and second place in 4-way Open. The second Chinese 4-way Women team, currently in third place, is the biggest surprise so far. NFTO will need to perform at their best to secure a medal position. Meanwhile, the U.S. delegation is not represented by XPG4 in this category; instead, the lineup more closely resembles the XP Angels of 2025, with coach Jeana Billings included in the team.

The two all-female Chinese 4-way teams are once again expected to combine for the 8-way lineup. The progress shown by the second 4-way Women team suggests that China’s 8-way squad could perform at a significantly higher level compared to the FAI Indoor World Championship 2025, where they finished fourth behind the Qatar Falcons. With last year’s bronze medalists absent in Lille, the third-place position is theoretically open. In practice, however, three French teams and Paraclete XP8 are the main contenders for the 8-way medals. China would need to deliver a similarly surprising performance as seen in the 4-way Women event to reach the podium in 8-way competition.

FAI Indoor World Cup 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way AAA Top 10		J,20,C,4		10,O,L,M		B,21,N,H		14,F,3		18,16,9		E,6,8		19,1,Q		G,5,12		P,D,17,22		15,11,2		K,A,13,7		Total	Avg
1	Aethers	FR	33	-1	37		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		70	35.0
2	Golden Knights	US	32		34	-1	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		66	33.0
2	China	CN	31		35		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		66	33.0
4	Nephtys	FR	29		36		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		65	32.5
5	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	31	-1	32	-3	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		63	31.5
5	Siberries	RU	30		33		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		63	31.5
7	Skywalkers Most	CZ	28	-3	34	-1	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		62	31.0
8	Strike	RU	28		32		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		60	30.0
9	Amnesya Fly X	IT	28	-1	31		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		59	29.5
10	China	CN	27	-2	28	-2	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		55	27.5
10	Gen XYZ	BR	26	-1	29	-1	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		55	27.5

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Grey: 4-way Open at Weembi - Magenta: 4-way Women - Yellow: 4-way Open in Moscow

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Golden Knights - China Women in Round 1

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The combined Top 10 leaderboard is more diverse than ever, with a 27+ average currently required to secure a spot. This combined 4-way ranking includes teams from all gender categories in horizontal 4-way competition. Notably, four 4-way Women teams are ranked in the Top 10—one of which is not even present at the competition site in Weembi Lille.

The NSL News previously “detected an unusual Russian 4-way leaderboard” in its update on June 5, 2025, which featured the Russian 4-way Women team Siberries. Due to current restrictions, Russian teams are not permitted to participate in FAI/ISC events. Instead, they organized their own competition using the same sequences as the indoor world championship held last year, where Siberries first appeared.

Russian 4-way teams were again unable to travel to France for the Indoor World Cup. As a result, they have organized another parallel event in a wind tunnel in Moscow, once again using the identical competition draw as the teams competing in Weembi Lille. This time, they are even performing the same sequences simultaneously. Both Siberries and the 4-way Open team Strike are unofficially within Top 10 range after the first two rounds and will continue to follow the FAI/ISC competition draw over the coming days. However, they will not appear on the official FAI/ISC leaderboards for the Indoor World Cup at Weembi Lille.

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Aethers - Nephtys in Round 2

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