NAVI announced June 25 morning the bench of in-game leader Aleksib following the Cologne 2026 Champions QF2 elimination to Spirit. The move makes Aleksib the first post-Cologne 2026 roster-move casualty — and confirms the silly-season speculation that began circulating the moment NAVI's QF2 series closed.
NAVI statement
NAVI CEO Yevhen Zolotarov in the official statement: "After internal evaluation of the Cologne 2026 campaign and the Stage 4 prep window, NAVI and Aleksib have mutually agreed to a bench through the BLAST Spring Finals stand-in period. Aleksib remains under NAVI contract and the door is open for return based on performance reviews after the stand-in trial closes."
The stand-in trial
NAVI confirmed three stand-in candidates will rotate through scrim blocks before BLAST Spring Finals 2026:
- fnatic_v1 — Tier-2 in-game leader who finished Tier-2 EU 2026 Spring season at #3 ELO. Known for AK-47-default execute calling and CT-side default reads. Scrim block week 1 (June 25-July 1).
- Norwegian academy graduate Soren "sjr" Madsen — promoted from NAVI academy. Scrim block week 2 (July 2-8).
- FaZe-Tier-2 reserve player kingfisher — released from FaZe academy in May 2026. Scrim block week 3 (July 9-13, immediately pre-Spring Finals).
The chosen stand-in starts BLAST Spring Finals 2026 on July 14.
Aleksib's Cologne 2026 performance
Aleksib posted a 1.04 individual rating at Cologne 2026 — below the 1.10 threshold tier-1 IGLs typically maintain. His T-side default execute calling on Inferno (NAVI's QF2 second-map pick) was specifically cited by analyst desk post-mortems as the weak point. NAVI roster (w0nderful, b1t, jL, iM, Aleksib) had been together since November 2025.
Aleksib's response
Aleksib on Twitter June 25 noon: "NAVI and I are aligned on what needs to happen. Cologne 2026 was not the campaign we needed. I respect the decision and I'll be ready to compete — whether back in NAVI or elsewhere — when the time comes."
What this means for Stage 4
NAVI's BLAST Spring Finals 2026 (July 14-19, Lisbon) is now a stand-in debut event. Bookmakers updated NAVI Spring Finals price from 12.00 (pre-bench) to 18.00 (post-bench). Cookie-window NAVI fans may want to wait for the stand-in confirmation before adjusting expectations for Stage 4.
