Sports
Esports Nations Cup unveils 64 EA Sports FC direct invites
Sixty-four direct invites have been announced for the EA Sports FC tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026. Sixty-four direct invites were announced for the EA Sports FC tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 that will take place this November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The announcement was made by the Esports Foundation, and the EA Sports FC competition will feature a total of 128 players. The 64 direct invites include one player each from 64 countries and territories, determined “through official citizenship.”
One direct invited was allocated to the highest-ranked player from each country or territory.
DIRECT INVITES*
1. DENMARK – Vejrgang
2. ARGENTINA – nicolas99fc
3. THE NETHERLANDS – Emre Yilmaz
4. ROMANIA – RvPLegend
5. BRAZIL – Paulo Neto
6. ITALY – Bonnano
7. SAUDI ARABIA – AbuMakkah
8. MOROCCO – Nassada
9. GERMANY – Levyfinn
10. PORTUGAL – Jafonso
11. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – GuiBarros
12. BULGARIA – Alihanlion
13. GREAT BRITAIN – Tekkz
14. FRANCE – Brice
15. AUSTRALIA – Mark11
16. EGYPT – K1John
17. ISRAEL – Yuval
18. MEXICO – Happy
19. SOUTH AFRICA – Kaylan
20. ALGERIA – Ilian
21. SPAIN – Neat
22. CHILE – depeedcl
23. JAPAN – Web Nasri
24. CANADA – AgitPower
25. MALAYSIA – AkmalJHD
26. INDONESIA – Javiero
27. LITHUANIA – Domasas
28. TÜRKIYE – KTzn
29. INDIA – Charanjot
30. QATAR – RXSHIID
31. COLOMBIA – Gercrack30
32. IRELAND – JP Sleator
33. JORDAN – sabo
34. KUWAIT – aliKwtx
35. SENEGAL – KingCJ0
36. BELGIUM – Bradley
37. KAZAKHSTAN – Dan1k
38. REPUBLIC OF KOREA – Serry7
39. AZERBAIJAN – YuLite42
40. GEORGIA – Bero
41. PAKISTAN – SalmanAhmad19
42. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – iALAWE
43. SWITZERLAND – Gianluca
44. FINLAND – Kossu72
45. SOMALIA – NHaych
46. NEW ZEALAND – NoahJA
47. MALTA – brandsha
48. PERU – Dome
49. SWEDEN – Ollelito
50. LEBANON – YagoFawaz
51. VENEZUELA – Jorgezxa
52. YEMEN – Toobi
53. HONDURAS – ThiagoCapo
54. CZECHIA – Matejs
55. NORWAY – Cooler
56. SINGAPORE – Operation-Eses
57. OMAN – BBA_BILAL21
58. DJIBOUTI – Ama2zerr
59. IRAQ – hussienwaleed73
60. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – HekTic JukeZ
61. HONG KONG, CHINA – psycho__xx__
62. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO – Griffeyfc
63. SYRIA – Momenx969
64. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE – MarcusGomes
*Invitations subject to change pending acceptance by each player.
Anders “Vejrgang” Vejrgang continues to lead the world rankings despite being eliminated in the quarterfinals at the FC Pro World Championship at EWC 2026. Romania’s Razvan “RvPLegend” Puiu went on to win the trophy, who advanced his way through from the play-ins.
Online qualifiers for the Esports Nations Cup tournament will be held through the in-game FC Pro Live Events mode and the Battlefy tournament platform.
Phase 1 will see players compete in a ladder-based format from Wednesday through Sunday, with matches available 24 hours a day. At the conclusion of the ladder stage, the top players from each region, based on their peak “Skill Rating” during the ladder period, will advance to the playoff stage hosted on Battlefy.
The Esports Nations Cup tournament in Riyadh will begin Nov. 22 and conclude with the Grand Final on Nov. 22.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Daniel Susac hits first two homers, helps Giants torch Brewers
Jul 29, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb (62) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images Daniel Susac belted the first two home runs of his career, Luis Arraez and Heliot Ramos stroked four hits apiece and the San Francisco Giants captured the season series over the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers with a 16-3 shellacking Wednesday afternoon.
Susac finished with three runs and four RBIs, while Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee collected three RBIs apiece, helping the Giants complete the three-game home series with two wins and the seven-game season series with a 4-3 edge.
Susac’s first homer — a three-run blast in a scoreless game — came in the second inning and was all the Giants’ scoring until the sixth, when a seven-run uprising turned a one-win margin into a 10-2 lead.
The early homer came off Brewers left-hander Thomas Pannone (0-1), who was called up from the minors earlier in the day to allow scheduled starter Shane Drohan to get two additional days off. Drohan was rescheduled for Friday’s series opener in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels.
Pannone, who hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2023, worked the first three innings, allowing three runs (two earned) and three hits. He walked two and struck out two.
The Giants broke the game open against the Milwaukee bullpen in the sixth, which featured a two-run double by Lee, a two-run single by Ramos and single-RBI hits by Christian Koss and Arraez.
Webb (6-7) was pulled at that point, having limited the Brewers to two runs on five hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out four.
The win improved the 29-year-old’s record against Milwaukee to 6-0 in nine career starts.
Arraez capped his 24th career four-hit game with an RBI single in a three-run seventh, before Susac greeted Andrew Vaughn with his second homer leading off a three-run eighth. Susac had entered the game without a home run in his first 131 big-league plate appearances
Koss joined Susac with three runs scored for the Giants, whose run total was a season-high at home and third-highest anywhere.
Brice Turang had two hits and two RBIs for the Brewers, who hadn’t allowed more than 14 runs in any previous game this season. Jake Bauers also had a pair of hits for Milwaukee, which was out-hit 17-8.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Jackson Koivun celebrates first PGA Tour win by fishing
Jul 25, 2026; Blaine, Minnesota, USA; With ball in hand Jackson Koivun acknowledges applause from the gallery for scoring eagle on hole 18, which made him leader in the clubhouse at -20 after the third round of the 3M Open golf tournament at TPC Twin Cities. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images Jackson Koivun’s celebration after his first PGA Tour victory required little more than a fishing rod and a quiet pond.
Rather than organize a party after winning the 3M Open on Sunday, the 21-year-old remained at TPC Twin Cities to go fishing after the biggest week of his young career.
“I heard really good things about the ponds on the golf course,” Koivun said before this week’s Rocket Classic. “A couple other players had gone in the previous days and I thought might as well decompress and do some fishing.”
The understated celebration followed a memorable finish. Koivun closed with a bogey-free 66 to reach a tournament-record 25-under 259, holding off world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by three strokes in only his third start since turning professional.
The significance of the victory has started to settle in through a steady stream of congratulatory messages. Koivun heard from friends in California and several established professionals he admired while growing up, some of whom praised how he handled the pressure of the final round.
Koivun entered the professional ranks with immediate PGA Tour status after completing a decorated career at Auburn and qualifying through PGA Tour University Accelerated. He credited the program with creating clearer opportunities for elite college players to move directly onto the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour.
“PGA Tour U’s been great,” Koivun said. “It’s given a lot of guys a pathway to the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour, to kind of go out there and prove themselves. Just in the state of college golf right now it’s gotten very, very competitive, guys are getting better and better. Yeah, I think college guys are more and more ready to come out here and compete.”
The victory moved Koivun to No. 70 in the FedEx Cup standings with two regular-season events remaining. He said he will not change his approach, instead focusing on putting together eight solid rounds at the Rocket Classic and Wyndham Championship to secure a playoff berth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Twins All-Star CF Byron Buxton (hip) returns to IL
Jul 25, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) runs the bases against the Athletics in the fifth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Minnesota Twins All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday for the second time this month due to a right hip impingement.
Buxton returned from the injured list on July 20 after missing nine games but re-injured his hip while batting in the third inning during Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.
“It’s just a re-aggravation of the hip,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said after Tuesday’s game. “In the second at-bat, he felt it. I think you could see it in the second at-bat, the ball he made contact with just didn’t look right.”
Buxton eventually exited the game after four innings.
Buxton, 32, is batting .263 with 25 homers, 45 RBIs and 57 runs in 82 games this season.
Buxton was named an All-Star for the third time this season. He was also selected in 2022 and 2025.
Luke Keaschall started in center field against the Royals on Wednesday night.
Minnesota promoted infielder Tristan Gray from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move. The 30-year-old has played in 63 games for the Twins this season and is batting .232 with four homers and 29 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
