NaVi's chances of making EWC 2026, the LGD boycott and the national teams tier list: key takeaways from Maincast

In the latest episode of the podcast, Alexey BafiK Bafadarov and Dmitry Droog Chumachenko discussed LGD Gaming's performance at BLAST SLAM VII,, the prospects of Natus Vincere after their unsuccessful qualification campaign for Esports World Cup 2026, and also evaluated the national teams ahead of Esports Nations Cup 2026.

One of the main topics of the show was LGD performance at the recent tournament. The analysts described the team as one of the most interesting squads on the professional scene thanks to its discipline, strong preparation, and unconventional in-game decisions.

Droog: The roster looks very strong, and if LGD is serious about developing this project, their discipline can take them a long way. Their first tournament under the new tag resulted in a grand final appearance and qualification for EWC. That is a real breakthrough.

It is worth noting that ahead of BLAST SLAM VII, the Chinese organization signed the former Heroic roster. The team finished second at the tournament after losing to Team Yandex in the grand final. In addition, LGD secured a spot at Esports World Cup 2026 through the European qualifier.

However, the organization has also become the subject of debate among Chinese fans. According to the analysts, part of the fanbase reacted negatively to the club's international roster and effectively refused to support the new LGD lineup.

The hosts believe this reaction is largely due to the fact that Chinese organizations have historically relied on domestic talent and rarely signed foreign players.

A separate segment of the discussion focused on Natus Vincere. The analysts believe that the current roster has significant potential but is facing considerable pressure from the community.

BafiK: The team did not qualify for EWC, but I can say that this is definitely the most talented and hardworking roster among Ukrainian players in the last ten years. However, in my opinion, you can see that the hunger for the game has faded a little.

The panel noted that many fans expect the team to win almost every tournament, even though by global standards the roster is not yet considered a consistent title contender.

Despite failing to qualify for EWC 2026, the analysts do not rule out the possibility of NaVi still attending the event if some Eastern European teams encounter visa issues and are unable to travel. The tournament's relocation to Paris could potentially contribute to such complications.

BafiK: The chances of NaVi still making it to EWC are fairly high. If one of the four Eastern European teams cannot attend the tournament, then NaVi would become the next team in line. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but it is a realistic possibility.

The experts also discussed Esports Nations Cup 2026, which will take place in early November, and shared their tier list of national teams.

According to the analysts, Ukraine has a strong roster capable of challenging the favorites, but it is not yet among the leading contenders for the title.

BafiK: We did not place Ukraine in S-tier. It remained in A-tier. I think this team is on a similar level to Denmark, where NaVi coach Cy is playing, as well as Sweden. In my opinion, the strongest national teams are Indonesia, Peru, the United States, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and China.

While discussing the strength of national rosters and player talent across different regions, the analysts also touched on the upcoming qualifiers for The International 2026, describing them as a much tougher challenge for NaVi because of the level of competition in the region. Even with four available slots, qualifying will be far from easy.

Finally, BafiK commented on the recent changes in Nigma Galaxy ahead of the TI15 qualifiers. In his opinion, moving Sumail SumaiL Hassan back to the carry role is a questionable decision.

BafiK: SumaiL will be playing carry for Team USA, so Nigma is, in some ways, a form of practice for him. But every time he has played this position in the past, the results have looked quite disappointing.

This is already the third time he has returned to the team and, as he said himself in an interview many years ago, he primarily plays for the money.

It was recently announced that Artem Lorenof Melnyk and SumaiL joined Nigma, with Melnyk taking over the mid lane position.

The two rounds of open qualifiers for the year's biggest tournament will take place from 09.06.2026 to 13.06.2026. In total, teams will compete for 24 spots in the closed qualifiers across five regions, which are scheduled to run from 15.06.2026 to 28.06.2026.

The International 2026 will be held in Shanghai, China, from 13.08.2026 to 23.08.2026. The tournament's starting prize pool is $1,600,000. Seven directly invited teams will be joined by nine teams from regional qualifiers.

Earlier, CyberScore reported on the return of Danil Dendi Ishutin, Artour Arteezy Babaev, Quinn Quinn Callahan and other stars to the open qualifiers for The International 2026.