posted Oct 19th, 2026 - Although the 8-way competition has yet to deliver the anticipated exciting duel between the reigning U.S. world champions and their challengers from Qatar, that has not stopped the world’s top 4-way teams from launching the expected ten-round thriller. The first two rounds alone have provided plenty of evidence that an intense battle lies ahead over the remaining eight rounds.

As usual, the NSL News paid particular attention to the infamous Round 1, which once again caught a leading team off guard. This time, it was France’s national 4-way Open team, Aethers Lille, that struggled with its exit and lost three points to NMP PCH HayaBusa during a relatively slow sequence involving three blocks. Fortunately for the French team, the Golden Knights also had a flawed opening round. Both teams ended Round 1 three points behind the Belgians.

Before the competition, French national coach Mathieu Bernier had expressed satisfaction with the way Clementine Le Bohec had replaced Mathieu Quizy in the tail slot. However, he also acknowledged that the team’s exits had suffered slightly because there had not been enough training jumps to integrate the new tail fully into the lineup on exits. Aethers Lille responded emphatically in Round 2. With an improved exit, the French team bounced back to post the highest score of the round. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights fell another point behind NMP PCH HayaBusa and lost two more points to the French team, setting the stage for an increasingly competitive battle at the top of the leaderboard.

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NSL TV Unfiltered: 4-way Round 1 at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026

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Round 3 features an extremely fast three-point sequence of random formations before Block 19 (Ritz–Icepick) slows the pace, at least for a few seconds. This is the kind of sequence that fits the CISM World Championship format, and both NMP PCH HayaBusa and the Golden Knights will look to capitalize on their additional experience with these fast sequences.

The battle for the highest unofficial amateur ranking behind the FAI medal positions is currently firmly under German control, as their direct rivals are accumulating too many point deductions despite Airbus Illertissen’s strong performance. The Czech team Skywalkers Most had already collected seven penalties after the first two rounds, a deficit that cannot easily be overcome simply by flying faster. However, Sweden’s Echochamber, currently in fifth place, was only four points ahead of the Czech team. Italy’s Amnesya Fly X is competing with alternate Mario Fatturoso, who had to step in for Chiara Brunetti following an unfortunate landing in the alternate area on Sunday.

The situation in 4-way Women resembles the one on the 8-way leaderboard, with all four teams occupying their expected positions. However, the U.S. team Ranch TNT SDAZ surrendered second place in the opening round, allowing Norway’s Thyra to take the round win behind the French Nephtys. France’s 4-way Women team appears out of reach for the other 4-way Women teams and is instead measuring its performance against the 4-way Open Class leaderboard. The 4-way competition continues following Round 2, while the 8-way teams remain on standby for a delayed start after the weather break.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open/Women Combined		11,16,10		9,17,4		J,D,E,19		1,14,H		K,M,2,O		B,18,6		A,N,7,8		P,L,C,12		F,3,13		20,G,22		Q,15,5		Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	21		26		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		47	23.5
2	Aethers Lille	FR	18	-1	27		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		45	22.5
3	Golden Knights	US	18	-1	25		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		43	21.5
4	Airbus 4-way Illertissen	DE	17		19	-1	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		36	18.0
5	Nephtys Maubeuge	FR	17		17	-2	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		34	17.0
6	Echochamber	SE	13	-2	19		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		32	16.0
7	S.O.A.R.	UK	15	-1	16	-3	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		31	15.5
7	Out Of The Blue	NL	14		17		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		31	15.5
9	Qatar Vortex	QA	13	-3	17	-2	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		30	15.0
10	Skywalkers Most	CZ	13	-4	15	-3	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		28	14.0
10	Amnesya Fly X	IT	12	-1	16		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		28	14.0
12	Ranch TNT SDAZ	US	11	-1	15		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		26	13.0
13	Thyra	NO	12	-2	11		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		23	11.5
14	Random Fixation	AU	8	-3	14		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		22	11.0
15	Flyspot Sky4Four	PL	9	-2	11	-2	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		20	10.0
16	MeXtreme	MX	7		9		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		16	8.0
16	Funky Falcon	NL	8	-1	8	-2	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		16	8.0

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