The final question mark has been lifted: which coaching staff would
Natus Vincere choose
for its LEC debut? The Ukrainian organization provided the answer on Friday, opting for continuity by integrating the former Rogue coaches. Head Coach Simon "
fredy122" Payne, Assistant Coach Kim "
Trick" Gang-yun, and Analyst Nico "
Blueknight" Jannet will all be continuing their journey under the NAVI banner. While Trick and Blueknight joined Rogue for the 2025 season, fredy122 stands as the team’s historical figurehead, having experienced the full arc of the organization’s LEC presence.
Joining Rogue in November 2018, fredy122 was instrumental in guiding the team to its lone LEC title in Summer 2022, shortly before reaching the quarterfinals at Worlds. He also endured the team’s decline, which began in 2023 and culminated in two ninth-place finishes in early 2024, followed by three consecutive tenth-place standings until Rogue departed from the league. Despite these struggles, fredy122 remained in position and will now have at least one more split to try to turn things around.
Alongside the coaching announcements, Natus Vincere also confirmed the majority of its player roster.
As previously reported by Sheep Esports, Adam “
Adam” Maanane will be occupying the toplane, while Emil “
Larssen” Larssen — who joined Rogue with fredy122 — will continue in the midlane. According to our sources, Larssen
has agreed to a significant salary reduction to stay with the team.
NAVI also revealed that
Kim "Malrang" Geun-seong would be making the transition from Rogue as well. However, the team has not yet confirmed our earlier report indicating that Malrang is expected to role-swap to support. Additionally,
the organization announced the arrival of AD Carry Lee "Hans SamD" Jae-hoon, whose outstanding performances in the LFL over the past two seasons have earned him a well-deserved promotion.
Finally, NAVI has confirmed the identity of its new jungler:
Francisco "Thayger" Mazo. Per sources, the former Barça eSports player will join only for the Summer split, as
NAVI already secured their jungler for the 2026 season: Enes "Rhilech" Uçan.
