Na'Vi releases 3 players, looks to rebuild for next DPC season

Steven Rondina Published 19/09/2020

Natus Vincere’s 2019-2020 Dota 2 team has been generally disappointing and that has the organization clearing the slate once again.

The organization has announced the release of most of its Dota 2 roster. Carry Vladyslav “Crystallize” Krystanek, mid laner Nikita “young G” Bochko, and off laner Pavel “9pasha” Khvastunov have all been released from the team. This leaves the organization with just two players in supports Alexander “Immersion” Hmelevskoy and Illias “illias” Ganeev.

Coach Andrey “Mag” Chipenko was also removed from the team.

“I’m a huge fan of Dota and the best reward for me as a fan is to witness beautiful triumphs of the guys you cheer for and work with…I agree with the fans of the club, who want radical changes. Today we are starting to restructure the roster and we are looking for various opportunities and solutions that we will consider in the coming months to come up with the best possible option,” Na’Vi COO Aleksey Kucherov said in a statement.

The team seemingly indicated that it is eyeing players who have been standouts in recent tournaments. It is unclear who exactly the team has in mind, but there is a long list of high-level talent in the CIS region that is either in the free agency pool or currently playing for smaller teams and teams without sponsors.

Na’Vi just can’t return to form in Dota 2, looks for another new roster

Natus Vincere was the original Dota 2 dynasty, winning The International 2011 and making the grand finals of the next two installments of Dota 2’s premier event. After falling short of that mark at The International 2014, Na’Vi made the controversial decision to release longtime captain Clement “Puppey” Ivanov.

Puppey went on to form the wildly successful Team Secret organization, while Natus Vincere embarked on a steady decline in the six years since. The organization enjoyed a slight upswing last year by qualifying for The International 2019 despite a roundly poor regular season, but any redemption that may have been found was undone by an early elimination.

Na’Vi rebuilt after this, but despite bringing in a number of skilled free agents the team has struggled to maintain a steady roster. Results have suffered and the team has lacked consistency.

The organization could be positioned to bring together a team of solid players, but it’s anyone’s guess as to whether that new team will have the tools to return Na’Vi to form.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

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