No more Rogues in the Rift.
Natus Vincere has officially entered the LEC, taking over Rogue’s position and introducing one of the most prestigious organizations in esports to the League of Legends scene.
As the 2025 League‘s European Championship Summer Split begins, NAVI will compete with the existing lineup of Adam, Malrang, Larssen, Patrik, and Execute, alongside the previous head coach, ensuring a smooth transition between the teams.
Although team transfers typically do not occur during the season, Riot elucidated in a blog post that this move was made due to «several unique factors.» NAVI is already a prominent name in esports, recognized for their impressive achievements in Counter and Dota 2, and the developer is «confident» in the organization’s infrastructure to contend effectively with other teams in the upcoming summer.
Rogue was among the ten original founding organizations of the franchised LEC in 2019, alongside various other teams. Over their six-year tenure, they achieved three consecutive appearances at the Worlds, culminating in their impressive 2022 season. They finished as runners-up in the spring split to G2 Esports but rebounded by defeating the same adversary in the Summer split to secure their first-ever LEC title.
However, Rogue’s recent performance has declined significantly, consistently finishing at the bottom of the points leaderboard. They have not qualified for an international event since 2022, and the introduction of a new team may signal a potential turnaround.
«When the LEC was being established in 2018, we desired the league slot but were unable to secure it. Nevertheless, we have always believed that League of Legends was a vital element missing from our organization, and the aspiration to join the LEC has remained alive ever since,» stated Yevhen Zolotarov, CEO of NAVI, in the official announcement.
Zolotarov further mentioned that the current roster «clearly needs adjustments,» and they will utilize the offseason to implement necessary changes in hopes of altering the team’s trajectory.
Meanwhile, representatives from the LEC, Movistar KOI and G2 Esports, are set to participate in the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational, aiming to restore European prestige.
