tl;dr: nrg suck and are not making cham[s
Could NRG actually make top 3 and make champions. Even though 4 members would have played together last year and adding Ethan is definitely an upgrade. They're in 7th with a 3-3 record, tied with SEN and G2 who are both likely better teams. Then EG and LOUD sit behind them 2-3 so basically a game in hand on NRG. Plus, they face SEN, G2, KRU and C9 - none of which are easy games and imo I see them going 2-2 ending 5-5 in the season, which may not be enough to make to playoffs - and even if they play well and do, they'll almost certainly have to make top 3 and that is nowhere near a certainty. I don't know how long they've been practicing, but with the incoming patch and new map rotation - they probably have a better chance than if they were coming in stage 1 for example.