Natus Vincere Makes Big Changes to Dota 2 Roster After Missing MAjor
Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) has made significant changes to its Dota 2 division following their failure to qualify for the second Major of the 2021 Dota Pro Circuit season.
In preparation for The International 10 regional qualifiers scheduled for later this summer, Na’Vi announced today that they have signed No[o]ne and brought back SoNNeikO, replacing Bogdan “Iceberg” Vasilenko and Andrii “ALWAYSWANNAFLY” Bondarenko.
No[o]ne and SoNNeikO Return to Na’Vi
No[o]ne and SoNNeikO previously played for AS Monaco Gambit during the second season of the DPC regional leagues. They joined the organization after the Live to Win roster acquisition and competed with Gambit during the ONE Esports Singapore Major.
SoNNeikO initially wanted to leave the team during the regular season but was convinced to stay. However, both SoNNeikO and No[o]ne refused to travel for the Major, expressing their desire to leave Gambit.
“We agreed to finish this season together. No[o]ne took on the responsibility of drafts and coordination, and we managed to qualify for the Major,” said SoNNeikO in a statement. “I decided not to participate in the major even though other parties were willing to continue working. I would like to apologize to my teammates and the organization and wish them success in Kyiv.”
Gambit Announces Replacements
As both SoNNeikO and No[o]ne were signed only until the end of the second DPC season, Gambit released them from the roster. Artem “Lorenof” Melnick and Stanislav “633” Glushan will stand in for Gambit in the Major.
Na’Vi Resets Roster
Na’Vi is making these changes as a reset after failing to qualify for the Major. They faced criticism for replacing Viktor “GeneRaL” Nigrini with RAMZES before the start of the second season.
“Despite the replacement just before the start of this season and numerous attempts to keep the squad together, we were unable to show consistently good results,” said Na’Vi COO Aleksey “xaoc” Kucherov. “Discussions with the guys led to the conclusion that the squad in its current form won’t continue playing together and, therefore, changes are inevitable.”
Reunited Core Players and SoNNeikO’s Return
With these changes, Na’Vi has reunited RAMZES, No[o]ne, and RodjER, who were part of Virtus Pro’s dominant core from 2018 and 2019. SoNNeikO is also returning to the organization after playing with various teams and stacks over the past year.
Na’Vi will now focus on preparing for the TI regional qualifiers, which will be the last opportunity for teams to qualify for Dota’s biggest event of the year.
Natus Vincere, Dota 2, esports, roster changes, The International, AS Monaco Gambit, Major, qualifiers