An esports team from Ukraine is Natus Vincere, also simply known as Na’Vi. They are one of the top Counter-Strike teams, with a storied past and a sizable list of accomplishments to their credit. It was the first team ever to win three Major championships in one season. Furthermore, it is the first group to win $1 million in prizes and the first group to have the biggest esports following.
But what is the secret to their success, and how did they grow to be one of the most adored teams? Here is the entire untold tale of team Natus Vincere’s ascent to the top.
Na’Vi As Arbalet.UA In The Pre-CS:GO Era
The concept for the Natus Vincere organization existed even before CS:GO. Marat “Arbalet” Zhumashevich and Sergey “starix” Ischuk founded the squad formally in 2009. Starix assembled the organization’s initial Counter-Strike lineup. The first name of the group was Arbalet.UA.
Former KerchNET players Yehor “markeloff” Markelov, starix, Danylo “Zeus,” Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev, and Arseniy “ceh9” Trynozhenko made up the initial Na’Vi squad. Every single participant on this list was a seasoned veteran with a wealth of knowledge regarding the game. From the beginning, they had already established themselves as one of the best teams in the so-called CS 1.6 edition of the game.
Natus Vincere – Born to Dominate
Arbalet.UA did not last for very long, and they soon changed their name to Natus Vincere, also referred to as Na’Vi. James Cameron’s film Avatar served as an inspiration for the name “Na’Vi”. That movie and the made-up race known as “the Na’vi” had an impact on Zeus and Edward.
They made the decision to name their team after the Na’vi race as a result. Natus Vincere, which is Latin for “born to win/conquer,” is the abbreviation for the team’s name, Na’Vi. After some time, a vote for the team name was held among more than 2000 fans. On this issue, the fans came to an agreement and chose the name Na’Vi.
Reaching the Top, The Na’Vi Way
Every great team has a difficult beginning, and success is not always immediate. Yet, Na’Vi did not have these issues at first because they were made up of excellent players. They were born to win, as their team name implied. They were destined to be the finest, nothing less.
Team Na’Vi took home 12 medals in their inaugural season, 8 of which were gold. Starix and Edward were ranked as the fourth and fifth-best players of the year, respectively, while Markeloff was named the most outstanding player of the year, and Zeus was named the best coach. Na’Vi had a fantastic season and became the first team in Counter-Strike history to win three Major tournaments in a single year.
Moving To CS:GO
With the biggest fan following and an impressive list of accomplishments overall, Na’Vi is now one of the top CSGO teams in the world. You can find their rankings and achievements LIVE online. But things weren’t smooth always.
The entire crew found the switch to CS:GO to be extremely challenging at first. Na’Vi was made up of aged veterans who were accustomed to archaic game mechanics and strategies. When new teams arrived, they were unsure of how to interact with them. Every fan found it terribly challenging to watch their team perform in such a manner. The team that had grown accustomed to wins and trophies began dropping games at every competition.
Dropping Performance
DreamHack Winter 2013, the first official Major, took place a year after the debut of CS:GO. Na’Vi was one of the favorites to win. However, they failed to take home a single victory. They understood they had to change along with the game as it grew. They ultimately made the decision to respond since changes were unavoidable.
After DreamHack Winter’s underwhelming performance, Na’Vi signed players like Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács, who is regarded as the finest AWPer in the world, and Edward. The outcomes largely remained the same, despite the roster change. They once again failed to win a single match in the following Major, which was again an absolute disaster.
They narrowly made it into the playoffs in the third Major, which was a little better. The next game was against Fnatic, and Na’Vi lost and was out in the quarterfinals. The team simply wasn’t prepared for the new game and was aware of it.
The Leading Heroes Of NAVI
As one of the leading esports organizations today, NAVI has occasionally taken on notable athletes. Also, NAVI has strong leadership, which has also aided in its development of NAVI.
The most notable members of Natus Vincere are:
- Zeus (CS, CSGO)
- HarisPilton (CEO)
- s1mple (CSGO)
- Edward (CS, CSGO)
- Dendi (Dota, Dota 2)
- ceh9 (CS, streamer)
- Ubah (PUBG)
- ZeroGravity (CEO)
- ArtStyle (Dota, Dota 2)
- XBOCT (Dota, Dota 2)
- 9impulse (Apex Legends)
- clawz (Apex Legends)
- Cypher (Quake, Apex Legends)
In terms of an esports unit, each of these players helped NAVI develop as it is known today.
NAVI In Other Domains
As one of the major clubs in the esports industry, NAVI rosters are also present in various genres, both mobile and classic.
NAVI has VALORANT rosters. They joined Riot’s affiliate program and acquired one of the strongest European lineups like ANGE1, Apex Legends, R6, Brawl Stars, HALO Infinite, and other teams.
