Sheep Esports - Sources: Latvia appoints coaches PTJj, hyskeee and Arlite for VALORANT, CS2 and LoL at Esports Nations Cup

Like many countries in Europe, Latvia is among those without a domestic league and with very few top-level players, in addition to having a population of under two million. Despite this, the Baltic nation will take part in the Esports Nations Cup, notably in Riot Games’ main titles, League of Legends and VALORANT, but also in VALVE’s Counter-Strike.

According to sources close to Sheep Esports, “PTJj” is set to be Latvia’s VALORANT head coach, while fellow Latvian Reinis “hyskeee” Grīnbergs will oversee the CS2 selection. According to information from Sheep Esports, Artūrs “Arlite” Bogdanovičs is expected to take charge of Latvia’s LoL selection.

Among the three, hyskeee is the most known, particularly on the women’s scene, following two highly successful years in 2023 and 2024 with Nigma Galaxy and then Imperial, where he won three seasons of the ESL Impact League as a coach, the most prestigious competition in women’s Counter-Strike. At the end of 2024, Imperial brought hyskeee into its main roster setup as an analyst before also assigning him, in mid-2025, to manage the club’s academy team. A multifaceted coach, he previously competed as a player as well.

Issues with both games

The CS2 format, which differs significantly from other disciplines, may struggle to attract the biggest names in the game, especially given its particularly challenging timing. The final stage is set to take place between November 10 and 15, just after IEM China, alongside BLAST Rivals Fall, and right before the PGL Major Singapore, making the participation of some of the world’s top players unlikely. Despite its size, Latvia remains a Counter-Strike nation, with several players competing at a high, even elite level, such as Helvijs “broky” Saukants, currently with FaZe Clan, and Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis, who has been playing for FURIA for nearly a year.

On the VALORANT side, while the calendar is more forgiving, there are still very few players competing at the highest level. The most notable among them is Maikls “SerialKiller” Ždanovs, who notably played for Team Liquid in VCT EMEA and is currently competing in Challengers DACH with FOKUS. Latvia’s VALORANT head coach PTJj is also relatively unknown, with the limited information available suggesting he has only competed in Tier 3 of the EMEA region alongside local players, and notably still as an active player.

Three weeks to build a team

Starting out as a midlaner, notably with GamersLegion, Arlite transitioned into coaching in 2020 before stepping away from his career in 2022. He has remained active nonetheless, taking part in a few smaller local competitions as a player, and now, in 2026, finds himself leading Latvia’s League of Legends team for the Esports Nations Cup.

He will have to rely exclusively on Latvian players, in a country that features very few well-known names, even across the ERLs. Among the active players are Edijs “Ediz” Mezits, currently playing as a support for Deer Gaming in the NLC, and Miķelis “qualzy” Dzelve, who competes as a jungler for eSuba in the Hitpoint Masters league.

Alongside PTJj and hyskeee, he will have until the end of April to determine, with the help of national manager Sandis Rainskis, the players who will represent Latvia. For their respective titles, all three will need to select five players and two substitutes, with one key rule: no more than three of the seven participants can come from the same professional club.

All information about the ENC 2026

Scheduled from November 2 to 29 for its inaugural edition in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, the nation-based competition, the largest in esports history, is expected to bring together thousands of players from around 100 countries, competing across nearly 16 titles. Alongside the VALORANT tournament, set to take place from November 8 to 15, national matchups will also be held in League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Rocket League, and Rainbow Six Siege. For Riot Games’ FPS, around 32 national teams are expected to compete on-site.

Before that, however, participants must be determined. The Esports Foundation, which oversees both the ENC and the Esports World Cup as two separate events, has decided that 16 of the 32 teams will qualify directly for the main event based on their representatives’ results within Riot Games’ official circuits. The remaining spots will be decided through seven regional qualifiers, each awarding two slots. The final two places are expected to be distributed as wildcards by the ENC, likely at the organizer’s discretion.

Sheep Esports – Sources: Latvia appoints coaches PTJj, hyskeee and Arlite for VALORANT, CS2 and LoL at Esports Nations Cup