Magic coach eksiver to stand in for AW at StarSeries Fall

Magic announced that coach Danila “eksiver” Yurkov will stand in for Andrey “AW” Anisimov at StarLadder StarSeries Fall in Barcelona after AW encountered visa issues. Eksiver is listed in the team’s active five for the entire event.

StarLadder StarSeries Fall runs Sept. 17-20 in Barcelona with a $500,000 prize pool and eight teams competing in a compact double-elimination bracket.

Magic are drawn against Vitality in their opening match on Sept. 17. Eksiver will take AW’s place on the server for that fixture and for any subsequent matches Magic plays in the tournament.

Eksiver joined Magic as coach in May. He has six recorded competitive maps to his name, with the most recent dating to March 2025.

Magic’s lineup for the event is Svyatoslav “MaSvAl” Masko, Vitaliy “sFade8” Marushka, Abdurakhim “mo0N” Issa, Nikita “tenzy” Kochenyuk and Danila “eksiver” Yurkov as the stand-in.

The team arrived in Barcelona after recent international play, including appearances at the Esports World Cup and FISSURE Playground 3 in China, where Magic beat FaZe 2-1 in overtime and defeated PARIVISION 2-0, finishing in the 7th–8th bracket.

Vitality will field its full five-player roster, with William “mezii” Merriman back from paternity leave alongside apEX, ropz, ZywOo and flameZ. The team previously used Justinas “jL” Lekavicius as a stand-in while mezii was away.

Other confirmed participants include MOUZ, FURIA, NRG, Aurora, NAVI and MIBR. Team Spirit and Team Falcons are not competing in Barcelona.

Organizers and Magic have not confirmed whether AW’s visa issue will affect future events or when he might rejoin the lineup. Magic’s opening match against Vitality will be the first occasion to evaluate how the temporary change affects the team’s in-game performance.

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