Nova Esports round out lineup with swagzor ahead of Stage 1
Following the arrivals of qiutiaN and alexRr, Nova Esports turn to rising Russian talent swagzor to complete their Stage 1 rebuild.
CHINA – Nova Esports have completed their roster for VCT CN Stage 1, with Russian duelist Mikhail “swagzor” Vanyushin officially joining the squad as their import player.
His arrival marks the final piece of the team’s latest rebuild, following the earlier acquisition of in-game leader Bijan “qiutiaN” Moeinzadeh and the appointment of Alexander “alexRr” Frisch as head coach in place of Won “pr” Jun-yeon.
The move also confirms the end of Ho “heybay” Shun-hei’s time with the organization, while Chen “OBONE” Yijie has been moved to a substitute role as NOVA continue reshaping their lineup after a difficult start to the 2026 season.
“I’m extremely excited to show what I can do and I hope everyone will support me, thank you!” swagzor wrote on Twitter shortly after the move was made public.
swagzor arrives in China with rising momentum behind him, having only recently made a name for himself during a standout stand-in spell with Enterprise Esports in VALORANT Challengers NORTH//EAST. Despite joining on a temporary basis, the 18-year-old quickly became one of the team’s key firepower pieces in the duelist role and played an important part in Enterprise’s strong run of results.
During his short time with the team, EP captured both the N//E Kickoff and Stage 1 titles, while also going on to win the VALORANT EMEA Clash 2026 mid-season event. Individually, swagzor also impressed with numbers that backed up the hype. At the N//E Kickoff tournament, he posted the highest ACS across the entire event at 284.1, while also recording a 1.29 VLR rating.
Before that, swagzor had mostly competed across a mix of lesser-known rosters since first appearing in 2023. This move to China will mark both his biggest opportunity yet and his first real test at tier-one level on LAN.
His signing also continues a growing trend of Russian talent entering the VCT CN ecosystem. Players such as Ilya “vo0kashu” Ushakov, Arthur “Rarga” Churyumov, Roman “f4ngeer” Smirnov, and coaches Aleksandr "hvoya" Eremin and Dmitry "steady" Prutkov have all found their way into the Chinese scene, with swagzor now becoming the latest name to make that jump.
According to the team’s announcement, swagzor is expected to operate in a double-duelist setup alongside Guang “GuanG” Honglin, which could give the team a more aggressive look with an appropriate firepower heading into Stage 1.
Nova Esports have recently endured their worst results to date this year, finishing 11th-12th at both Kickoff and the CN Evolution Series Act 1. Communication issues may have played a part, prompting the organization to pursue a new coaching direction with yet another foreign coach.
NOVA have been drawn into Group Omega for VCT CN Stage 1, where they will face a difficult slate against Xi Lai Gaming, EDward Gaming, Dragon Ranger Gaming, Trace Esports, and Wolves Esports. Their campaign will begin with a tough opening match against EDward Gaming on March 31, followed by another test against Dragon Ranger Gaming on April 3.
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