posted by Brasozial,
We're sad to announce that @natusvincere have undergone a roster change. In consequence, they have also withdrawn from #ESLOne Birmingham.
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) 14. Mai 2018
We're currently finalizing their replacement team and will announce it as soon as possible.https://t.co/cekGb8NmCM pic.twitter.com/EjcG7ba5bE
Na'Vi won't attend ESL One Birmingham 2018 due to the roster change. Ilya 'Lil' Ilyuk will switch to position five, while the new player will play on position four. Na'Vi can no longer be invited to TI8.
NaVi n OG invited to super major is a big fuck you to competitive integrity n esp the SEA scene
— EternaLEnVy (@EternaLEnVy1991) 17. April 2018
This tweet by Jacky 'EternaLEnVy' Mao is still in our minds when we talk about the invites for the last Major of the year. A whole discussion started on whether the invites were accurate or had been send out too early. Now one of the teams EE complained about appears to be making a surprising roster change, and Nikola 'LeBronDota' Popovic will not play for the CIS squad.
On the homepage of the Supermajor all invites are listed with their starting five. For Na'Vi it will be Fedor 'velheor' Rusihin playing, who is actually part of SFTe-sports* since February 2018.
Will Na'Vi lose all their points?
Now one big question is begging to be asked: Did Na'Vi break the roster lock?
If Na'Vi's new addition is a permanent one then Navi, who are at the moment in the top 10, would lose all their points they already earned in the DPC so far. There is no other information out yet on whether Na'Vi switched a support player, or are just playing with a substitute to avoid breaking the roster lock.
The only thing that is sure: Na'Vi will earn less points if they play with a sub for LeBron, since he can't earn points at the last Major. The rules state that competing on LAN with a non-registered 5th player means the main squad players lose 25% of any DPC Points they win, while the sub loses 50%.
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To get an invite for the upcoming The International Na'Vi needs to surpass not just Evil Geniuses, but also one of the Chinese trio Newbee, Vici Gaming or VGJ.Thunder - the closes of them is already 700 points ahead. The chance of surpassing them are already really low, with analyst Noxville stating the chance is below 1%. Could this be the reason they have decided to use another player on the last Major of the season? Is this a trial?
If Na'Vi can't get in the top 8 during the tournament, they could replace LeBron with Velheor on a permanent basis, since the DPC will be over. Whatever scenario is in their mind - the Dota 2 world is waiting for the reason of this roster change.
Will LeBron play in Birmingham?
Before we head into the Super Major, there are two more Majors left: Mars Media Dota 2 League: Changsha and ESL One Birmingham 2018.
While Danil 'Dendi' Ishutin's team won't attend the Major in China, the CIS squad qualified for the UK Major in Birmingham. It's not clear, if Na'Vi will be compete with velheor at the event in UK or if they'll be replaced due to a roster change.
Photo credit: EPICENTER
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