Ukrainian esport organisation Natus Vincere (NAVI) announced it would return to Apex Legends with a brand new roster and coach.
A trailer was posted on YouTube revealing the new roster, which is comprised of former GoNext Esports members who won the ALGS 2024 Championship.
This is the new roster shown on X by NAVI, all of whom have competed in the Apex Legends esports scene for several years:
- Jose ‘Uxako‘ Llosa
- Kyllian ‘zhidan‘ Brun
- Filipe ‘Hiarka‘ Morgado
The team will also be coached by Francisco ‘Esteves33‘ Esteves, the same coach that oversaw the GoNext Esports Apex Legends team in their 2024 win.
In the trailer Hiarka said: “Hello NAVI fans, my name is Hiarka, and together with Uxako and zhidan we won the ALGS Championship in Japan.
“Today, we are joining NAVI. I hope you guys can cheer for us, we will do our best to bring another big trophy to NAVI.”
Uxako has had a longstanding duo partnership with Hiarka since early 2021. Afterwards, zhidan joined in August 2024, completing the trio that led GoNext Esports to victory.
They primarily utilised Newcastle, Gibralter and Catalyst throughout the tournament, although only time will tell if they will use the same team comp this year.
NAVI has not competed in ALGS Championship since 2021 when it placed 10th in the EMEA region. It was only in 2024 that it began to see activity in the Apex Legends esport scene.
There’s been a lot of excitement surrounding the new signage, with accounts like Esports World Cup congratulating NAVI’s return to the scene.
However, it hasn’t gone without its fair share of criticism either. Some are condemning the organisation for not recruiting Ukrainian players.
On X, one user wrote: “Instead of signing one of the multiple Ukrainian roasters battling these difficult times, you choose to sign a French-Spanish roster, who are in no way related to Ukraine and just got lucky? Second big Apex L in a row.”
They’re not the only ones to feel this way, as several others have also called NAVI’s decision ‘crazy’ and ‘horrible.’