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Harry Kappa walked away with the biggest prize at Saturday’s Last Dance EA FC 26 Tournament in Nairobi, beating Lil Pip 5-1 in the grand final to claim the Ksh 12,500 winner’s prize after a long day that brought together 42 players from across Kenya.
The tournament, held at Valley Arcade Mall in Lavington, Nairobi, had exactly the kind of field you would expect when Kenya’s top FC 26 players are all in the same room. Lil Pip, Trex, Ado, Dulo, Fox In The Box, Collo Gamer, Lord7, Harry Kappa and several other big names were all part of the action.
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And by the time the dust settled, it was Kappa standing with the trophy money.
But getting there was far from simple.
Harry Kappa survives a stacked Nairobi tournament
The EAF 26 Tournament was billed as a major gathering of Kenya’s top FC 26 players as the season gears towards the end, and the turnout backed that up. A total of 42 players showed up at Valley Arcade Mall, with everyone expected to battle through one big double-elimination bracket.
That was the plan, anyway.
The organizers were using FIFAForce Challonge, a platform that is still relatively new to the Kenyan competitive gaming scene. An issue with the platform meant that only the first 32 players could be placed into the main bracket. That left 10 players outside. Instead of turning players away, the organizers created another bracket for the remaining 10. It meant the tournament had to take a slightly different route, but the competitive format still gave the players a chance to fight their way through.
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The top two players from the 10-player bracket would eventually join the top four from the 32-player bracket. From there, the final six would battle for the biggest prizes of the day. It was an unusual setup, but it also added another layer of pressure. There was simply no room for a bad run.
The tournament had almost every big name
One of the biggest talking points coming out of the event was the quality of the field. This wasn’t a tournament where a few big names were missing and the rest of the field was made up of unknown players.
Kenya’s competitive FC 26 scene was heavily represented.
Among the players who turned up were:
- Harry Kappa
- Lil Pip
- Trex
- Ado
- Dulo
- Fox In The Box
- Collo Gamer
- Lord7
- And several other established competitors
That made the Ksh 30,000 tournament one of the more interesting events on Nairobi’s calendar. The prize pool was split between the top five finishers, meaning there was plenty on the line even for players who didn’t make the final.
Prize breakdown
- 1st — Ksh 12,500
- 2nd — Ksh 7,500
- 3rd — Ksh 5,000
- 4th — Ksh 2,500
- 5th — Ksh 2,500
With that kind of field, even making the money was an achievement. Winning it was another matter.
A long road to the final
The double-elimination format meant players had some room for error, but it wasn’t the kind of tournament where you could afford to keep slipping. Every game mattered. The players had to survive one of the two brackets before the best performers were brought together for the decisive stage of the competition. That made the tournament particularly demanding for players who were forced to play several matches throughout the day.
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There was also the mental side of the competition. Playing one big match against a top opponent is difficult enough. Playing several of Kenya’s best players in the same tournament, while knowing that every defeat can put your tournament life in danger, is a completely different challenge.
That is what made Kappa’s eventual victory so impressive. He didn’t just win a small local bracket. He came out on top of a tournament that attracted 42 players, including some of the country’s most recognized FC 26 competitors.
Lil Pip comes closest to stopping Kappa
If anyone came close to taking the title away from Kappa, it was Lil Pip. The TR Esports player had another strong showing in a major Kenyan tournament, eventually making it all the way to the grand final. But the last game turned into a completely different story.
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Kappa took control and never really allowed Lil Pip back into the contest. The final ended 5-1 in Kappa’s favour. It was a brutal way for Lil Pip’s run to end, especially after surviving a tournament filled with top-level competition, but it showed just how sharp Kappa was when the biggest match arrived. For Kappa, it was the perfect ending.
Trex takes third as Lord7 and Collo Gamer make the money
Behind the two finalists, the tournament still had plenty of familiar names fighting for the remaining positions. Trex finished third, adding another strong result to what has already been a busy year for Kenya’s top players.
Trex has already established himself as one of the country’s proven tournament winners, and another podium finish against such a strong field only adds to his reputation. Moses Ndarwa, better known as Lord7, finished fourth.
Lord7’s presence was particularly interesting because he has been one of the most consistent players in Kenya throughout the current competitive season. He currently sits at the top of the Football Esports House Kenya Best Athlete of the Year 2025/26 leaderboard with 76 points and five tournament wins. So even though fourth place may not have been the result he wanted, another deep run against a field like this shows why he remains one of the biggest names in Kenyan FC esports.
Collo Gamer completed the top five. The Phoenix Esports star has also been enjoying a strong period. Collo and teammate Shaq have been among the most talked-about players in Kenya since joining Phoenix, with both players quickly making an impact in tournaments and money matches. For Collo, fifth place means another payday and another solid finish in a tournament packed with elite competition.
Kenya’s FC 26 calendar is getting crowded
And that’s a good thing. The last few weeks have seen Kenyan FC 26 players jumping from one major competition to another. There have been team tournaments, independent competitions, money matches and events backed by organizations looking to discover and develop talent.
Players such as Kappa, Lord7, Shaq, Collo, Trex, Prorate, Lil Pip, Ibrah, Tank, Scad and many others are constantly finding new opportunities to test themselves. That competition is also making it harder to stay at the top.
Winning one tournament doesn’t guarantee anything at the next. A player can dominate one weekend and then find himself eliminated early the following week. That’s what makes the current Kenyan scene so exciting. There isn’t one player who can simply walk into every tournament expecting to win. Even the biggest names have to earn it. And Saturday’s tournament was another example.
What comes next for the Kenyan FC 26 scene?
The EAF 26 Tournament may be over, but the bigger race continues. Players will now move on to the next tournament, the next bracket and the next opportunity to prove themselves. For Kappa, the pressure is now different. He has just beaten a stacked field. Everyone will know what he is capable of. The next time he walks into a major tournament, opponents will be watching him differently.
For Lil Pip, Trex, Lord7, Collo and the rest of the country’s top players, Saturday’s result provides another reason to keep pushing. And for Kenya’s competitive FC 26 community, that’s exactly what organizers and fans want.
More tournaments. More players. More big names. More stories.
The Harry Kappa victory at Valley Arcade was another reminder that Kenya’s FC 26 scene is no longer a small community waiting for its big moment. The big moment is already happening. And every weekend, another player is trying to take the spotlight.
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