For three days, from May 1st to 3rd, 2026, the Pharaon’s Field in Évry-Courcouronnes vibrated to the rhythm of a tournament where anything seemed possible. Four clubs for one title to be won: the Cavigal from Nice, double defending champions, the Pharaons from Évry, the hosts, the Cobras from Contes and the Bandits from Nogent. And at the end of the road, one champion: the Cobras who managed to step up their game until the perfect final.
GROUP STAGE
The tournament opened with a clash: Évry–Nice, a duel between the most disciplined collective and the most dangerous line-up. And at 11:30 am, the tone was set: Évry hit 10 safe hits, Nice 12, but it was the Pharaons who won 9–4, taking advantage of three Nice errors to turn every opportunity into a point. Ferreira, incandescent in the group with his .667 and his OPS 1.917, set the pace of a group that would not tremble.
Then Contes entered the scene against Nogent. The Cobras hit 9 hits, the Bandits only 2, ….Buts, aucune erreur, les deux équipes se rendent coup pour coup. Mais Évry remporte la victoire grâce à un home run de Lamon en fin de match.
SEMIFINAL: Contes 4 – 3 Nice
The match that turns a tournament.
The semi-final pits Nice against Contes. These two teams had met earlier in the day.
Nice only hits 4, commits 3 errors, and faces a pitcher on fire. The Dominican pitcher delivers 7 innings, 13 strikeouts, only 4 hits allowed, a .167 batting average against him, a 2.00 ERA. A star pitching performance, a championship game performance before the championship game.
On the other side, Sylvain Buvat responds bravely: 7 innings, 8 K, 0 walk, a 3.00 ERA that tells of the solidity of a man who refuses to give up. But Contes hits better: nine hits, no defensive errors, and especially an incandescent Rony Papa, author of a .750, a home run and an OPS 2.250. Batista himself hits 1.Nice, however, so brilliant in the group stage, fades away at the worst possible moment. Contes, on the other hand, transforms into a playoff machine.
LITTLE FINAL: Nice 10 – 6 Nogent
First, the small final pits two wounded but determined teams against each other: Nice wants to save its tournament, Nogent wants to save its honor.
And the match becomes an offensive explosion. Nogent hits 9 hits, scores 6 points, but still commits 4 errors. Nice responds with 10 points, 9 hits, only 2 errors, and a trio that refuses to let go: Gonfrier, again him, hits a triple and signs an OPS 2.167; Sanchez hits .667; Parois achieves a perfect 2/2 with an OPS 2.000.
On the other side, Nogent finally finds its fire: Pertuisot hits another circuit and displays an OPS 1.750, Villani signs a perfect 2/2 (OPS 2.000), Samuel hits .500, De Amorim hits a double.
But defense makes the difference: Landaeta, Villani, and Coquel make a great play.Remarkable performance. Nogent fights, but Nice hits harder. Cavigal takes the 3rd place.
FINAL : Contes 9 – 5 Évry, the takeover
The final pits Évry, undefeated in the group, against Contes, who have been gaining momentum since the previous day. And from the first few innings, we understand that something has changed : Contes is playing like champions.
The Cobras hit 12 hits, Évry only 2. The Pharaons score five points, but only one is earned : Batista, again, delivers an absolute masterpiece : 8 innings, 12 strikeouts, 2 hits, .071 BAVG, 0.88 ERA. A complete game. A title game. A game that will remain in the history of the club.
And behind him, the offense rolls : Loïc Dalloni signs a perfect 4/4 (OPS 2.000), Rony Papa hits a triple and a home run (OPS 2.350), Eric Viano hits .667 with a triple, Evan Matranga adds a .500 clean.
Évry resists thanks to Ferreira, still brilliant with a double, an RBI and an OPS 1.267, but the Pharaons never find their rhythm.
La défense de Contes verrouille par l’intermédiaire de Papa, Navarro et Matranga qui signe un 5/5. À la huitième manche, le match est arrêté : 9–5, Contes remporte le Challenge de France.
Rencontre avec Stephan Mari, le Président-Manager des Cobras de Contes, que nous remercions de ses grandes réactivité et disponibilité.
BTVF : Stephan, bravo pour votre victoire. Lors de la phase de poule, vous avez chuté face à Évry, et face à Nice, deux équipes que vous battez en match à élimination directe. Sur une compétition de 3 jours seulement, comment on se remet en mode « winner » ?
Le fait d’avoir terminé 1er de poule nous a permis de commencer plus tard dans la compétition et face à Nogent, équipe la moins expérimentée. Grâce à cette configuration, on a pu faire lancer Rony et saisir l’occasion de prendre les manche JFL. Mais le match a été beaucoup plus difficile que prévu.
Nous avons su rester concentrés et nous sommes récompensés par cette victoire.
Nous avons une équipe jeune et dynamique, qui a su se surpasser lors de cette compétition.
Nous avons également eu la chance de compter sur le soutien de nos partenaires, qui nous ont permis de nous concentrer sur le terrain.
Nous remercions également les organisateurs pour leur travail et leur professionnalisme.
Nous espérons que cette victoire permettra de mettre en avant le baseball en France et de donner envie aux jeunes de s’essayer…BTVF : Rony Papa a été l’un des hommes du week‑end : décisif en demi‑finale, décisif en finale avec un triple et un home run, MVP du Challenge. Comment décririez‑vous son rôle dans le groupe, au‑delà des statistiques ?
Rony est un vrai relai avec nos jeunes, une locomotive. Il est un exemple pour eux, il est toujours disponible pour eux, il est toujours là pour les aider. Il est un leader naturel, il est toujours positif, il est toujours souriant. Il est un joueur complet, il est un joueur qui peut jouer n’importe où sur le terrain, il est un joueur qui peut faire la différence à tout moment. Il est un joueur qui aime le softball, qui aime le jeu, qui aime le sport. Il est un joueur qui aime son équipe, qui aime son club, qui aime son sport. Il est un joueur qui aime tout simplement le softball. Il est un joueur qui est toujours là pour son équipe, qui est toujours là pour son club, qui est toujours là pour son sport. Il est un joueur qui est toujours là pour le softball.Arrived at the club about ten years ago, he was trained here. He is a naturally gifted player who has worked hard to achieve his current results. Players in their forties want to pass the baton.
Rony is becoming a more physical player, today he is exploring his abilities. He is an intelligent boy who asks himself a lot of questions. He is on the right track and everyone wants to follow in his footsteps.
BTVF: The final was a model of control: 12 hits, a fiery attack in the 8th inning when the Pharaons were leading 5-3 at the end of the 6th, and a Batista in a state of grace. How did you experience this match?
It was a stressful match! We went through all the states! We approached the final with nothing to lose, without any headaches. When we have fun, it passes! We are a group that plays a lot mentally!
We started the match well. We made 12 hits but we advanced little in the end. We were wary of the Evry attack. We were able to quickly recover from the setback in the last two innings and raise our level of play to score.BTVF: The club was founded in 1996, so you are celebrating your 30th anniversary this year, you already have the Challenge in your pocket, with a European Cup to play next year, and you finished at the top of your group with only one loss… an idea of a double for your birthday?
