posted Oct 20th, 2026 - The 4-way teams completed three more rounds today, adding to the three rounds flown on the opening day yesterday. Little has changed at the top of the leaderboard, except that the competition has returned to a situation in which France’s Aethers Lille are once again considered the leading contenders in 4-way Open.

Just over a month ago, Aethers Lille were still regarded as the strongest 4-way team in the world, as reflected in the NSL Power Rankings published on September 7th. However, the rankings were adjusted on October 14th, when it became clear that Mathieu Quizy would not occupy the tail slot for Aethers at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026. Clementine Le Bohec had already been called into action for the outdoor competition because Quizy’s health situation made his participation for France and Aethers Lille uncertain. Suddenly, it appeared that the two leading rivals on the 4-way Open Class leaderboard, NMP PCH HayaBusa and the Golden Knights, might benefit from the change in the French lineup.

That development prompted an adjustment to the NSL Power Rankings, placing all three teams jointly in first place. This did not mean that they were guaranteed identical results, but rather that they were expected to perform at a very similar scoring level and fight round by round for the three sets of FAI medals and the William H. Ottley Sword, awarded to the FAI 4-way Open Class world champions and also known as the “4-way Excalibur.”

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Power Rankings		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	Aethers	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	Golden Knights	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	SOAR	UK	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Skywalkers Most	CZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	Airbus 4-way Illertissen	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	Echochamber	SE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	Agera Oceanside	NO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	Out Of The Blue	NL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	Amnesya	IT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	Papea	ES	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	Qatar	QA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
13	Flyspot Sky4Four	PL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	Random Fixation	AU	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	MeXtreme	MX	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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NSL TV Unfiltered: 4-way and 8-way competition on Tuesday, October 20th

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The opening round of the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026 initially appeared to confirm concerns that Aethers Lille had been weakened by the lineup change. The French team lost the meet opener by three points to NMP PCH HayaBusa, while the Golden Knights matched Aethers’ score of 18 points. However, the new Aethers lineup recovered with a strength that few could have predicted. With Clementine Le Bohec in the tail slot, the French team has posted the highest score in every round since the opening round and now leads NMP PCH HayaBusa and the Golden Knights by ten points. The Belgian and U.S. teams are tied for second place.

With this advantage, Aethers Lille has put itself in a commanding position. It will be increasingly difficult for either HayaBusa or the Golden Knights to catch the French team over the remaining rounds. Each additional round appears to strengthen Aethers’ position, as the team continues to build experience with its revised lineup after completing approximately 150 jumps since the change.

The U.S. 8-way team Paraclete XP8 faced a similar challenge when its lineup had to be adjusted because Jeana Billings was unavailable until Tuesday. She arrived today, allowing John D’Annunzio to return to the alternate position. A three-time 8-way world champion, D’Annunzio answered the team’s emergency call despite having retired from active competition and completed the first four rounds with XP8 on Monday. Jeana Billings made a winning return to the lineup in Eloy, helping XP8 take Round 5 by one point over Qatar Falcons.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Power Rankings		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	Golden Knights	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	Aethers	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	SOAR	UK	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Skywalkers Most	CZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	Airbus 4-way Illertissen	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	Echochamber	SE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	Out Of The Blue	NL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	Qatar Vortex	QA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	Amnesya	IT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	Flyspot Sky4Four	PL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	Random Fixation	AU	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
13	MeXtreme	MX	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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