For the third time this year, Natus Vincere have made it to the LEC Playoffs following a 2-1 victory over GIANTX. The team's support, Polat "Parus" Furkan Çiçek, evaluated the squad's form, the competition with the top teams, and their main goal for the remainder of the season.
NAVI will start their run in the lower bracket, as they failed to secure a top-four spot. Parus expected a 2-0 victory against GIANTX, but the series was prolonged due to an aggressive mistake by the ADC. Despite this, the support backs his teammate and notes the team's high overall confidence. In both previous splits this year, NAVI finished in fifth place, so the roster is determined to surpass this result.
According to the player, there is no critical gap between NAVI and the top teams. Karmine Corp and G2 Esports stand out due to their decisiveness in the mid to late game, experience, and ability to quickly punish mistakes, even when playing from behind. At the same time, Parus emphasized that Vitality are currently not on the same level as these two leaders.
The support points out that all teams in the league right now, including KC and G2, are making serious mistakes, meaning there are no unbeatable opponents. Compared to the last split, NAVI have significantly expanded their champion pool, improved their macro understanding, and are dominating the early game. In the regular season, the Ukrainian club had the early game lead in both matches against KC and in one against G2, so to win, they simply need to learn how to better capitalize on this advantage.
The team calmly reacted to the recent pessimistic interview given by their coach, TheRock7. Parus admitted that he deliberately avoided reading it to prevent any negative impact. He is convinced that the coach made the comments emotionally but still believes in the team. The players are now fully focused on the game and fixing their mistakes, which is already reflected in their improved results.
NAVI's absolute goal is to qualify for the World Championship. Parus compared the current situation to his previous season with BDS in 2025: according to him, the team environment in NAVI is much healthier and better. The player feels significantly more confident in himself and the team, planning to show high-quality gameplay to secure a ticket to Worlds 2026.
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