Zero Buyout Fees and No French Starters: Inside Team Vitality's RLCS 2027 Rebuild With Oski, nass, and diaz
The Hive just pulled off one of the sharpest roster heists of the competitive Rocket League offseason. In an official announcement published on Team Vitality and across its social channels, the Parisian powerhouse unveiled its starting lineup for the RLCS 2027 season: Polish-British star Oskar "Oski" Gozdowski, Moroccan-Belgian standout Nassim "nass" Bali, and Brazilian prodigy João "diaz" Henrique will compete under the guidance of returning Belgian head coach Benjamin "Eversax" Wagner.
Three Mechanical Powerhouses Signed for Zero Buyout Fees
In its reveal video titled "0€ for these three monsters" and featuring content creator Salty, the yellow-and-black organization openly celebrated the financial masterstroke behind this rebuild. In an ecosystem where top-tier Rocket League buyouts routinely reach six figures, Team Vitality capitalized on expiring contracts across Europe and North America to sign three world-class free agents without spending a single euro in transfer fees.
On the pitch, the mechanical ceiling and proven LAN pedigree of this trio immediately place Vitality back in title contention. Both 19 years old, Oski and nass arrive with established synergy after competing together under the Gentle Mates banner throughout the 2026 campaign. Back in February, the duo captured the RLCS 2026 Boston Major trophy by defeating none other than Team Vitality in the grand final, a series where nass set a LAN grand final record with nine goals scored.
To round out the lineup, Vitality looked across the Atlantic to secure 18-year-old Brazilian phenom João "diaz" Henrique. After making waves in the 1v1 circuit and competing in North America with Complexity Gaming, diaz enjoyed a breakout 2026 season with Spacestation Gaming. He propelled SSG to back-to-back international grand finals at the Esports World Cup 2026 and the RLCS 2026 World Championship, while also reaching the top four of the 1v1 World Championship where he clashed with nass in the semifinals. Following his departure from SSG in late September due to US visa hurdles, the Brazilian star now makes his European RLCS debut in a roster built to attack from every angle.
Ending an Eight-Year French Tradition After Departures of zen, ExoTiiK, and M0nkey M00n
Beyond the sheer firepower on the pitch, this signing marks a historic turning point for the French club. Since entering competitive Rocket League in 2018 and claiming two World Championship crowns, first with Fairy Peak!, Kaydop, and Scrub Killa in 2019 and later with Alpha54, Radosin, and zen in Düsseldorf in 2023, Team Vitality had always anchored its rosters around a French core.
However, a disappointing 9th-12th finish at the 2026 World Championship prompted management to part ways with zen, ExoTiiK, and stizzy in late October. One year after two-time world champion Evan "M0nkey M00n" Rogez exited the club, franchise cornerstone Alexis "zen" Bernier departed to form an all-star French-speaking superteam at Gentle Mates alongside Vatira and Atow, officially closing Vitality's domestic chapter.
For the first time in its history on Psyonix's title, Team Vitality will field a starting lineup with zero French players and transition to full English comms. Belgian head coach Benjamin "Eversax" Wagner is the sole returning member from the 2026 campaign, tasked with blending diaz's relentless solo creativity into Oski and nass's structured European tempo.
The battle for European supremacy in RLCS 2027 is shaping up to be an absolute bloodbath. Between Gentle Mates' blockbuster trio (Vatira, zen, Atow), Karmine Corp's youth movement around M0nkey M00n, and Team Vitality's new international juggernaut, every European Open regional is going to feel like a Major playoff bracket.
My Take
Let's be real for a second: when word broke that zen was leaving the Hive to link up with Vatira and Atow on Gentle Mates, plenty of fans assumed Team Vitality was headed for a painful rebuilding year picking up whatever domestic scraps were left on the market. Pivoting to sign Oski, nass, and diaz without paying a single euro in buyout fees is an absolute masterclass from Vitality's front office.
Sure, it feels strange seeing the iconic yellow-and-black jersey on the pitch without a single French player for the first time in eight years. But with the top French talent locked up elsewhere, forcing a second-tier domestic roster out of pure nostalgia would have been a massive mistake. Pairing two proven Major champions in Oski and nass with the raw mechanical brilliance of diaz under Eversax gives Vitality a terrifying offensive ceiling. If diaz settles into European life and English comms click early, Gentle Mates' new superteam just found its biggest nightmare in Europe.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles "Grimtag" is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
