Esports powerhouse Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) has added nine new individuals to their lineup, including “Young G” and “Immersion,” as well as a new coach, manager and analyst for the team.
Natus Vincere Hopes to Build a New Dota 2 Legacy
Since Natus Vincere (Na’Vi)’s roster won the first international in 2011, the team’s Dota 2 trajectory has nose-dived. Na’Vi has struggled to keep up to a constantly growing number of new teams determined to secure the multi-million prize titles from the game’s largest event, The International. It didn’t help that Valve has continually increased the prize pool, pushing today’s award amount to over $25 million. Now, in bid to reinvent themselves once again, Na’Vi has revealed the names of their new Dota 2 additions.
Na’Vi has welcomed Nikita “young G” Bochko and Aleksandr “Immersion” Khmelevskoy to the lineup. The duo has competed for Team Spirit and Winstrike respectively, and they do have the raw competitive experience necessary to get ahead in the game.
Na’Vi has added a total of nine new individuals who will hopefully take the team forward and back to the top of the competitive world. The full list of players joining is:
- Vladislav “Crystallize” Krystanek
- Nikita “young G” Bochko
- Pavel “9pasha” Khvastunov
- Alexander “Immersion” Hmelevskoy
- Illias “Illias” Ganeev
- Andrey “Mag” Chipenko as Coach
- Igor “caff” Sydorenko as Manager
- Vitaliy “Sword_Art” Petkin as Analyst
A Young Team with a Lot of Potential
Most of these players have already the mileage to begin shaping the next generation of players. Young G has been active since 2018 as a solo mid player and he has already clocked several participations in high-profile teams, including Nemiga Gaming, Imperial Pro Gaming, and Winstrike Team.
The other highlight addition, Immersion, has only been active since 2018 but he has already had a go at several established teams, including Espada, Gambit Esports, and Team Spirit.
Andrey “Mag” Chipenko, the team’s coach, explained that with the present roster, Na’Vi was hoping to pick up the slack, as there was clearly something “left to be desired” judging on past performance from the team.
The key strength of the new lineup lies in the fact they are all young players with plenty to offer. However, Na’Vi’s novices will face some tough opponents ahead, not least Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, and Team Secret, who have been working with the fairly same set of players for a while now.
Commenting on Immersion’s ability in the game, Mag said that the Russian player has a diversified and strong set of heroes he can play well, offering the team a lot of flexibility and adaptability.
What’s more important is the perceived potential of each player, which Mag believes is important. Talking about Immersion Mag added: “He knows the game, and he’s got potential, and we hope to empower him to develop that potential.
Presently, Na’Vi has no games coming up, which will give the new lineup some time to practice and get to know each other’s rhythms.