According to HLTV, Magic will be entering the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 tournament without AW. The team’s coach, eksiver, will be taking the place of AW for the entire event.
Taking place in Barcelona from 17 to 20 September, the tournament features a $500,000 prize pool divided among eight teams in a double-elimination bracket. Notably, Team Spirit and Team Falcons will not be participating, leaving MOUZ, Vitality, FURIA, NRG, Aurora, NAVI, MIBR, and magic as the top contenders, as reported by Esports Insider.
Magic comes to Barcelona following a strong performance at FISSURE Playground 3 in China. They secured a 2-1 victory over FaZe in overtime on Ancient and Cache, followed by a 2-0 win against PARIVISION, ultimately finishing in 7th-8th place, as noted by Esports Insider. While AW’s absence is notable given their recent form, no reasons have been provided by either source.
Esports Insider’s bracket breakdown reveals that magic will face Vitality in the opening round. This matchup will now be influenced by eksiver stepping in for AW. Vitality, on the other hand, has welcomed back William ‘mezii’ Merriman from paternity leave, reuniting their usual lineup alongside apEX, ropz, ZywOo, and flameZ after using Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius as a stand-in at BLAST Open Porto.
While it’s not uncommon for coaches to substitute missing players in Counter-Strike, it remains a rare occurrence during competitive events. This switch comes at a critical time for Magic, as they prepare to face Vitality in a $500,000 LAN event with a high-stakes, single-elimination format that offers little room for lineup changes. The match against Vitality will be the first test of how eksiver’s presence affects Magic’s performance on the server.
As of the current reports, there is no confirmation from either outlet regarding the duration of AW’s absence beyond the StarSeries Fall event.
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