Natus Vincere Players Iceberg and ALWAYSWANNAFLY Contract COVID-19, Out of Dota 2 Singapore Major
Natus Vincere’s mid laner Iceberg and hard support ALWAYSWANNAFLY have tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to participate in the upcoming Dota 2 Singapore Major, as announced by the team today.
Former Virtus Pro and Evil Geniuses star RAMZES will be joining Na’Vi in Singapore, while the team’s coach Andrey “Mag” Chipenko will fill the final active slot.
According to Na’Vi’s manager Sergey Bykovsky, the team will make adjustments to roles and responsibilities as they play. RAMZES and coach Mag may not be the ideal replacements on paper, but they will fill in for the mid laner and hard support. However, the team will still miss out on ALWAYSWANNAFLY’s captaining skills.
The absence of Iceberg and ALWAYSWANNAFLY might weaken the performance of the top CIS teams in the Singapore Major. Virtus Pro’s first seed, who had an undefeated run in the Regional League upper division, announced on March 18 that their position one player, Nightfall, fell ill. Although he tested negative for COVID-19, the organization added iLTW as a potential substitute as a precaution.
The Singapore Major is scheduled to begin on March 27, with the grand finals set for April 4. Despite not being at full strength, Na’Vi will face a tough group stage, risking elimination before reaching the playoffs featuring the top 12 teams in the world.
Natus Vincere, Dota 2, Singapore Major, COVID-19, Iceberg, ALWAYSWANNAFLY, RAMZES, Mag, CIS teams, Virtus Pro, Nightfall, iLTW, playoffs, grand finals.