{"id":8439,"date":"2023-07-25T11:00:44","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T11:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/news\/cs-2\/a-risk-worth-taking-navi-go-international"},"modified":"2023-07-25T11:00:44","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T11:00:44","slug":"a-risk-worth-taking-navi-go-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/a-risk-worth-taking-navi-go-international\/","title":{"rendered":"A risk worth taking: NAVI go international"},"content":{"rendered":"

A stalwart of their region, NAVI has been home to a Ukrainian team ever since its inception in 2009. A time before CS:GO was even released, it took fourteen years for that status quo to be shifted.<\/p>\n

The consequence of war and a lack of players available to play the roles required by the team, the decision for NAVI to go international was an inevitable one. All the same, it remains a risk, but that doesn’\u0099t mean it isn’\u0099t a risk worth taking.<\/p>\n

Ever since Kirill ‘\u009cBoombl4’\u009d Mikhailov departed the organization and Denis ‘\u009celectroNic’\u009d Sharipov took up the mantle of in-game leader, trophies have dried up for the fabled organization. The best team in the world before that change, a singular trophy at BLAST Premier Spring Final isn’\u0099t enough to live up the the reputation the team built for itself in the year prior.<\/p>\n

Boombl4’\u0099s replacement, Viktor ‘\u009csdy’\u009d Orudzhev failed to impress the team’\u0099s coach, Andrei ‘\u009cB1ad3’\u009d Gorodenskiy, during his time on trial with the team, and their next attempt, Andrii ‘\u009cnpl’\u009d Kukharskyi, well, he failed to impress anyone at all.<\/p>\n

A change was coming whether NAVI liked it or not, but due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, the organisation had committed to not adding any more Russians to their ranks, and their lies their first issue.<\/p>\n

\"NAVI (Image Credits: Michal Konkol\/BLAST)<\/span><\/div>\n

While electroNic was doing a decent enough job as a makeshift in-game leader, it never truly felt right that he had taken up the mantle. A player who should be one of the stars of the team, his individual level wasn’\u0099t impacted too much, but it was clear it had taken a toll on what he could bring to the team.<\/p>\n

NAVI were crying out for a leader, but since the retirement of Danylo ‘\u009cZeus’\u009d Teslenko, those have been hard to come by in Ukraine. There’\u0099s Volodymyr ‘\u009cWoro2k’\u009d Veletniuk, but he’\u0099s an AWPer, and NAVI already tried having Oleksandr ‘\u009cs1mple’\u009d Kostyliev become a rifler to make room for a lesser AWPer once with Ladislav ‘\u009cGuardiaN’\u009d Kovacs, and it didn’\u0099t end well. That’\u0099s also without mentioning his spats with s1mple, as well as the fact that he doesn’\u0099t even IGL his own team anymore.<\/p>\n

Woro2k’\u0099s replacement as IGL on Monte, sdy, performed admirably in the role at the BLAST.tv Paris Major as they reached the quarter-finals as a vast underdog. A run that included a win against NAVI themselves, the decision to turn him into an IGL came far too late for it to be one that NAVI could also profit from.<\/p>\n

Outside of those two, the only real option within Ukraine is Rodion ‘\u009cfear’\u009d Smyk. The former leader of NAVI Junior has backing from s1mple, but clearly not enough to have ever been handed an opportunity to lead the main team.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

There are options in Russia, both Leonid ‘\u009cchopper’\u009d Vishnyakov and Andrey ‘\u009cJerry’\u009d Mekhryakov are accomplished in the role. With Spirit, chopper has reached the semi-finals of a Major at PGL Antwerp 2022, while Jerry has reached multiple Majors with his FORZE squadron. A player who would fit in in the tactical sense, while Valeriy ‘\u009cb1t’\u009d Vakhovskiy is a Major winner, he would be able to aid in his development too.<\/p>\n

It’\u0099s a shame then that their nationality is a dealbreaker, because a team consisting of either one of them leading s1mple, b1t, electroNic and Ilya ‘\u009cPerfecto’\u009d Zalutskiy would have been a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n

So, if an IGL couldn’\u0099t be found, were there any other options? Well, yes, but not really.<\/p>\n

In the same Ukrainian dream team that s1mple named fear, he also named Ihor ‘\u009cw0nderful’\u009d Zhdanov as someone he’\u0099d like to play with. Formerly of Team Spirit, the new Sprout signing is also an AWPer, so presumably, the inclusion of w0nderful in that squadron would mean he would use the big green over s1mple, too.<\/p>\n

While w0nderful is a good player, despite his year-long stay in tier one with Spirit, he is still very raw. A solid player in the clutch, his inclusion on NAVI would come with another issue outside of a supposed role clash.<\/p>\n

As an AWPer, s1mple is incredibly dynamic. The type of player to put the game on his own shoulders and constantly look for impact, w0nderful doesn’\u0099t operate on the same wavelength. A much more supportive player, he’\u0099s more used to watching his teammates back with the AWP than leading the game with it. That doesn’\u0099t mean it couldn’\u0099t work, but it would require a huge tactical overhaul in order to make it work.<\/p>\n