Sources: NAVI closing buyout of KC Blue’s TheRock as new LEC Head Coach | Sheep Esports

NAVI are kicking off the LEC offseason unusually early — going so far as to pay another buyout to prepare for the year ahead. According to sources speaking to Sheep Esports on Monday, the organization has reached an agreement with a new Head Coach for 2026: Vasilis “TheRock” Voltis, who most recently led Karmine Corp Blue in the LFL. The interesting part, perhaps, is that they are even paying a buyout for him.

Simon “fredy122” Payne, NAVI’s Head Coach for the Summer Split, has been informed that he won't continue with the organization following LEC's elimination. NAVI have been scouting TheRock for some time, and the deal was finalized recently.

Normally, once teams wrap up their season, they reach verbal agreements with future players or coaches. This timing allows contracts to officially begin in mid-November, when salaries start being paid, while the new hires remain under contract with their former organizations until then. NAVI’s case is very different. The organization has opted to pay a buyout to Karmine Corp in order to secure TheRock immediately, giving them a head start on the offseason.

This approach mirrors their earlier move with Jungler Enes “Rhilech” Uçan, signed for 2026 before the start of Summer Split despite still fielding Francisco “Thayger” Mazo Sánchez during that period. NAVI’s willingness to pay buyouts and act aggressively in the market feels closer to practices in CS:GO, where publisher-defined free agency windows do not exist, than to the more regulated ecosystem of League of Legends.

According to our sources, TheRock had hoped to continue with Karmine Corp in the LEC. However, the French organization chose not to extend him an offer, making NAVI’s approach an opportunity he could not ignore. KC currently fields a full coaching staff in the LEC — Rehareha “Reha” Ramanana, Žiga “Apples” Jereb, and Wadi “Wadi” Benarbia — all of whom previously coached Karmine Corp Blue before the team’s promotion.

Karmine Corp’s LFL team has become a direct pipeline to the LEC, not only for players but also for staff. Alongside the promotions of Cabochard, Saken, Targamas, Vladi, and Caliste, KC’s entire current coaching staff — Reha, Apples, and Wadi — all came through the LFL roster. Several other KCB alumni, both players and coaches, are now spread across the league, underlining the LFL team’s influence on the European scene and how sales can even fill their pockets.

Note that TheRock will continue coaching Karmine Corp Blue for LFL Playoffs at the very least, before moving on to his mission at NAVI.

As is often the case for teams entering the LEC, the first year is one to forget. We saw it with Karmine Corp in 2024, BDS in 2022, Team Heretics in 2023, and Astralis in 2021. NAVI is no exception. After acquiring Rogue’s slot, the Ukrainian organization had to keep the existing contracts and attempted to build a roster around Adam "Adam" Maanane in the toplane, Thayger in the jungle, Emil “Larssen” Larsson in midlane, and a role-swapped Kim “Malrang” Geun-seong at support alongside Lee “Hans SamD” Jae-hoon, who was promoted from Ici Japon Corp Esport.

The split was a disaster: eight games played, eight games lost. NAVI posted the worst gold difference at 15 minutes in the league, averaging over 1.7k gold behind, and also recorded the fewest kills with just 7.5 per game. This Summer Split is definitely one to forget.

Alongside TheRock’s arrival, Jungler Rhilech is still expected to start for NAVI in 2026. However, sources also indicated that additional roster changes are planned, though it has not yet been decided which positions will be affected.

The Greek coach joined KCB earlier this year, winning the LFL Flash-In, reaching the Spring finals, and making two EMEA Masters semifinals. He will remain in charge for the Summer Split playoffs and will decide whether to participate in EMEA Masters. NAVI have also paid a buyout to secure the coach ahead of next year.

TheRock began his career with Team Phantasma in the Greek league, winning the Spring 2022 split. He then joined WLGaming Esports, where he also secured a split title, before moving to Partizan Esports in the EBL for Summer 2024. Domestically, TheRock has never finished outside of the finals in any competition he has coached. He has also participated in the EMEA Masters with every team he has trained. At 35, he will now join the European tier 1 for the first time with NAVI, who will be aiming to improve on their performance in 2026.

For more roster changes, check out our Transfers Hub and Offseason Live Tracker.