NAVI revealed a new international roster, matching the rumors that the organization is moving away from the CIS region.
The Ukrainian organization has announced the signings of Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen, Justinas "jL" Lekavicius, and Mihai "iM" Ivan during the player break. This move confirmed the off-season rumor Natus Vincere or NAVI is planning of moving away from a CIS-only lineup.
The squad now consists of a combination of European talent complimenting the Ukrainian core in the legendary Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev and the rising Valerii ‘b1t’ Vakhovskyi.
NAVI's new CSGO roster
Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy
Aleksi “aleksib” Virolainen
jL
Ivan “iM” Mihai
That means Andrii "npl" Kukharskyi, Denis "electroNic" Sharipov, and Ilya "Perfecto" Zalutskiy were all let go and will now join the free agent market.
Perfecto and electroNic were a part of the lineup that won the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Championship. Both of them are currently rumored to join Cloud9.
Aleksib is an experienced in-game leader that recently got replaced by Hampus "hampus" poser in Ninjas in Pyjamas. He has played with multiple European powerhouses since establishing himself with ENCE. The Finnish captain is certainly capable of leading an international squad, as he led OG for about 2 years before switching to G2.
It would be ideal if Aleksib could revive the form he showed in ENCE and guide NAVI back to the top of the competitive scene.
iM and jL are relatively new talents, with both of them competed with tier-one teams and displayed superb performances at the BLAST Paris Major. iM finished second with GamerLegion and showcased that impeccable consistency and flair, while jL along with Apeks secured a top-four finish at the Major.
This spanky new squad will look to begin NAVI's transition into CS2 with good results. Although there have been no updates from Valve on when the switch will be taking place, it is good to prepare early.
Headline photo credits: NAVI
