Following a defeat to Movistar KOI, Natus Vincere bounced back at the end of Week 4 of the League of Legends EMEA Championship Summer Split by taking down Team Heretics with a 2-0 score. This result allowed the team to climb to fourth place in the standings with a 3-3 record after three weeks. NAVI have three more series ahead of them over the next two weeks.
NAVI top laner Volodymyr "Maynter" Sorokin shared his thoughts on the importance of this win for their playoff chances, his Gwen pick, his respect for Rasmus "Caps" Winther, and also spoke about the roster situation and his departure from Ukraine.
According to Sorokin, the victory over Team Heretics gave the team more confidence, as NAVI have now defeated three direct competitors in the race for playoffs. The player noted that he currently tries not to follow the mathematical chances and percentages of advancing, but rather focuses on his own game.
Volodymyr paid special attention to his Gwen pick in the second game, which marked only the third time the champion was played in the Tier-1 scene this summer (and the first victorious one, as BLG's Wenbo and Leviatan's Devost lost their matches).
Maynter explained that his decision to pick Gwen was prompted by a small buff to her passive ability, as well as her high effectiveness against the opponents' heavy frontline combo (Vi, Rakan, Aatrox). Despite a difficult early game against an Aatrox blind pick, the champion scales incredibly well into the late game.
Commenting on Caps' induction into the Hall of Legends after Faker and Uzi, Maynter emphasized that he is amazed not so much by the Dane's titles, but by his long-standing commitment to the game, positivity, and pure kindness. Volodymyr called Caps his favorite European player.
In terms of mechanical execution and macro play, Sorokin considers Choi "Zeus" Woo-je to be his main role model among top laners. Should he be inducted into the Hall of Legends himself, Maynter would choose a skin for Gnar, since this champion is versatile and always remains relevant in the meta.
Maynter commented on the rumors that NAVI had considered Turkish top laner Eren "Lot" Yıldız this summer. The player noted that he was unaware of this, but views such situations as normal professional competition.
Volodymyr also shared details about bringing in Panagiotis "Empyros" Tantis as a substitute player. Leaving Ukraine during the war requires an official letter from the ministry. Due to certain circumstances, the document issuance process was delayed, creating a risk of missing the roster lock 3-4 days before official matches. Since the journey to the venue takes 24 hours, NAVI played it safe by enlisting Empyros in case of an emergency.
Maynter considers his best career moment to be the comeback with Gentle Mates against KCB (the team of his current assistant coach, GotoOne). While trailing 0-2, Volodymyr delivered an inspirational speech in the style of Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, after which Gentle Mates won with a score of 3-2.
In the current NAVI roster, Volodymyr is closest to support Polat "Parus" Çiçek and head coach Vasilis "TheRock" Voltis.
In a blitz poll format, Maynter shared his own perspective on esports "red and green flags":
- Green flag: A teammate who doesn't get angry after losses; a support who loves roaming; the phrase "we scale at 20 minutes" when 10k gold behind (this is usually said by Parus or Maynter himself); emoting after a solo kill; playing better on stage than in scrims; a teammate who constantly challenges your calls, and a player who never types in all chat.
- Red flag: The phrase "it's just solo queue" after going 0-10; never blaming the jungler; putting Flash on D (Maynter plays with Flash on F); ignoring the purchase of Control Wards; a top laner who split pushes instead of joining a 5v5 team fight; a teammate who never challenges your decisions.
- Neutral: Proxying the minion wave between towers at level 1 (Sorokin respects this style, although he personally dislikes players who do it).
As a Reminder, League of Legends Hall of Legends: All Inductees from Faker to Caps (2024-2026)