"He no longer stood out", — Natus Vincere's midlaner revealed the reasons behind Zayac's kick

The second-position player on the Natus Vincere roster Artem Niku Bachkur stated that the team's former captain, Bakyt Zayac Emilzhanov, no longer stood out for his experience and that his individual performance had declined, which were the reasons for his removal from the roster. Daze Tokpanov Niku shared details about Emilzhanov’s replacement by Tamir Daze Tokpanov in an interview with content creator Andrey Ghostik Kadyk during a live stream on Twitch.

“[Question: Why was Zayac kicked?] About 3–4 months ago, Zayac stopped fulfilling the roles of captain and drafter and became just a player, and as a player, he’s not top-tier. He’d already passed on all his knowledge to us. The only remaining strength was that he analyzed replays well, but otherwise he no longer stood out.”

Niku said that Taras gotthejuice Linnikov is now actively handling drafts alongside coach Aske Cy- Larsen. Bachkur also explained why Daze specifically took Zayac’s spot on the roster:

“When we had already decided to kick Zayac and were choosing who to take in his place, all the top options were either taken or simply didn’t want to join us —the ones who would have definitely strengthened the team. So we started looking at less obvious options, among which Daze was the best; he was available and wanted to play with us.”

The NAVI midlaner noted that while Tokpanov isn’t a Tier 1 player — which would have been the best option for the team — he’s a solid performer and, in terms of individual skill, better than Zayac, who has been losing form in recent months.

Additionally, according to Niku, while considering non-standard options to replace Zayac, the club even contacted Zhao XinQ Zixing, although the players were unsure of his English proficiency.

“I can give you a little insider info: XinQ said he’ll finish out this season with Chinese teams and plans to play for European ones next season.”

Bachkur did not name the other players who could have replaced Zayac. They are likely currently on the active rosters of other clubs.

With its updated roster, Natus Vincere attempted to qualify for BLAST Slam VII but lost the match for the slot to PARIVISION. In the very next qualifier, for DreamLeague Season 29, the team performed successfully, defeating Team Liquid in the series for a spot in the championship.

As CyberScore previously reported, V-Tune will once again compete as a stand-in at PGL Wallachia Season 8.