NAVI has rejected a report that the organization could leave VALORANT. Amiran ‘ami’ Rekhviashvili, the club’s head of esports, responded publicly on September 20 and said NAVI would continue supporting the game’s competitive ecosystem regardless of whether it receives partner status. The statement answers the central exit claim, but it does not reveal the club’s 2027 roster, operating model or place in Riot’s next partnership cycle.
The distinction between the rumor and the response is important. The original claim circulated without a stated reason or supporting detail about how a closure would happen. Rekhviashvili’s answer came from a senior NAVI executive and directly addressed the organization’s continued presence. That makes the denial the reportable development. It does not make every unanswered question about next season settled, because staying in the ecosystem can take more than one competitive form.
Partnership status is the clearest unresolved issue. Rekhviashvili said NAVI’s support would continue whether the organization is selected as a partner or not. That phrasing rules out treating partnership as the sole condition for remaining involved, but it does not announce the selection result. It also gives no roster deadline, player list or tournament route. A commitment to the discipline and a confirmed slot in a specific league are related but separate facts.
What NAVI confirmed and what it did not
NAVI confirmed its intention to remain in VALORANT. The club did not confirm which players will represent it, whether the present staff will continue unchanged, or how it will compete if it is outside the partner group. Those details matter because readers can easily interpret a broad commitment as a complete season announcement. The September 20 response is narrower: it rejects an exit and promises continued ecosystem support.
The official NAVI website still carries an active VALORANT team page, which is consistent with that response but is not a substitute for a future roster announcement. Team pages can show the current or most recent structure while off-season decisions are pending. The safe conclusion is therefore not that every contract will be renewed. It is that the organization itself says it will not abandon the game, and further announcements are needed to define the practical version of that commitment.
The rumor appeared after a difficult competitive finish. NAVI lost 1-2 to Joblife and 1-2 to Team Heretics in the EMEA Stage 2 Play-In and did not advance to the playoffs. Those results provide context for why off-season questions have intensified. They do not prove that the organization planned to close its division. A disappointing finish can lead to roster changes, staff changes, a different qualification route or no structural change at all. Only a confirmed announcement can distinguish among those outcomes.
This is also why the denial should not be mixed with speculation about individual players. The statement was about NAVI’s presence in VALORANT, not a guarantee for every member of the 2026 lineup. Reporting imagined signings or releases would add facts that Rekhviashvili did not supply. The club may make personnel decisions while remaining committed to the game. Organizational continuity and roster continuity are not the same claim.
The next details NAVI still owes readers
The next useful update would identify NAVI’s competitive route for 2027 and the people assigned to it. A partnership announcement would answer one part of the question. A roster statement would answer another. If NAVI competes through a route outside the partner group, the club would need to explain that plan separately. None of those possible steps should be written as completed based only on the September 20 denial.
For now, the strongest available evidence is the direct response from the head of esports. It is more authoritative than an unsupported report of closure, and its wording deliberately extends beyond the partnership decision. At the same time, the lack of format and roster detail places a clear boundary around the story. NAVI says it is staying; how that commitment appears in competition remains pending.
NAVI’s head of esports has directly rejected the idea that the club is leaving VALORANT and tied its support to the ecosystem rather than partner status alone. That resolves the exit rumor at the organizational level. It leaves the 2027 roster, competitive route and partnership outcome for later confirmation.
