Natus Vincere face Joblife in the VCT EMEA Stage 2 play-ins on 6 August. The best-of-three match is part of the upper opening round.
NAVI arrive from the EMEA group stage. Joblife qualified through the regional system after a strong Challengers campaign. The loser moves into the lower bracket rather than leaving immediately.
CyvOph completed NAVI’s Stage 2 roster
NAVI signed Clément “CyvOph” Millard on 25 June. He joined ExiT, chloric, Ruxic and hiro in the active lineup. Dawid “Filu” Czarnecki moved to the inactive roster. CyvOph had played for FNATIC earlier in the season. His arrival completed NAVI’s five before Stage 2. Salah Barakat also joined ANGE1’s staff as assistant coach. The rebuilt team opened Stage 2 with a 2-0 win over FUT Esports. NAVI won Split 13-6 and Ascent 13-9 in the first week. Team Vitality then beat NAVI 2-1. NAVI won Sunset 13-9 before losing Breeze and Split. Gentle Mates followed with a 2-0 victory on Sunset and Haven.
BBL Esports added another 2-1 defeat. NAVI won Haven 13-11, but BBL answered on Ascent and Sunset. NAVI closed the group with a 2-0 victory over PCIFIC. Ascent ended 13-11, while Summit required overtime before NAVI won 14-12. Hiro led the opening map with 31 kills. Ruxic and hiro were NAVI’s leading players on Summit. The five matches produced two series wins and three defeats. NAVI won six maps and lost six. The team scored 123 rounds and conceded 136 across the complete group stage. The Joblife match is the current lineup’s first series against a regional qualifier in this Stage 2 bracket.
Joblife reached the Stage 3 lower final
Joblife began the EMEA Stage 3 playoffs with a 1-2 loss against REBORN. The result moved the roster into the lower bracket on 30 June. Three consecutive wins followed. Joblife beat MIR 2-1, NAVI Junior 2-1 and FOKUS 2-1. Every victory required a deciding map. The MIR series ended with a 15-13 victory on Split. Joblife then beat NAVI Junior 15-13 on Ascent. The match against FOKUS ended with a 13-9 win on Lotus. REBORN ended the run with a 3-1 win in the lower final. Joblife finished third after playing five playoff series across five days.
Joblife won Breeze 13-6 during that final. REBORN took Split and Lotus before closing Ascent 15-13. The close fourth map ended Joblife’s lower-bracket run. The roster also placed fourth in EMEA Stage 2. Joblife won the French regional playoffs during the first two domestic stages of 2026. Those results secured the wider regional position used for the VCT play-in. The NAVI meeting follows that completed Challengers schedule.
Joblife made one change before the play-ins
UNFAKE, kamyk, doma and runneR remain listed with Joblife. Egor “chiwa” Stepanyuk encountered visa problems before the play-in period. Joblife added Danish player Pa1ze on 24 July while chiwa handled the visa issue. The change came after the Stage 3 playoff run. Pa1ze had played for FOKUS during that same competition. Joblife beat FOKUS in the lower third round before making the later roster change.
Enzo remains inactive on the team listing. Larsson is registered as head coach, with SKAZZ working as assistant coach. Joblife currently list Pa1ze alongside UNFAKE, kamyk, doma and runneR. Chiwa remains connected to the roster while handling the visa issue.
The first result changes only the bracket side
Two map wins decide the opening series. The winner moves forward in the upper bracket. The loser continues through the lower side. NAVI earned entry from the partnered VCT group phase. Joblife earned entry through regional results. Both begin this match under the same best-of-three rules. The other upper opening series pairs GIANTX with Eintracht Frankfurt. Results from those two matches establish the next play-in round.
NAVI’s active five have not faced this Joblife lineup in a recent official match. Joblife did beat NAVI Junior during its Stage 3 lower-bracket run. NAVI Junior and the senior NAVI team use different rosters. Joblife’s 6 August series is its first meeting with the senior lineup. Joblife’s earlier victory over NAVI Junior used Pearl, Breeze and Ascent. The senior NAVI group used Split, Sunset and Haven most recently. This meeting starts with a separate map selection.
Joblife’s lower-bracket run contained three deciders
MIR selected Lotus in the first lower-bracket match. Joblife won the map 13-10 and later closed Split 13-8. MIR took Breeze between those results. Joblife then beat NAVI Junior after another three maps. The deciding Ascent reached overtime before Joblife completed a 15-13 score.
FOKUS also forced a third map. Joblife won Pearl, lost Split and completed the series on Lotus. REBORN stopped the run in the lower final. NAVI use their senior VCT roster in this fixture. Joblife enter after a long run through the academy qualifier.
