Introducing Natus Vincere!
The CEVO Gfinity Counter Strike: Global Offensive Pro League Season 9 finals are fast approaching, as eight of the best North American and European teams prepare for battle at the UK’s finest dedicated eSports venue, the Gfinity Arena, from April 28th to May 1st. Tickets are now available for purchase!
Thirty two teams are battling their way through the online qualifiers hosted by CEVO, however, only eight will receive a coveted invitation to the $125,000 event.
With the first two teams announced, we’re delighted to welcome Natus Vincere to the Season 9 Pro League Finals!
History
Founded in 2009, Natus Vincere (lat. – Born to win) is a leading global eSports organisation based in Ukraine. Currently, Na`Vi field competitive teams across some of the largest eSports titles, including, DOTA 2, World of Tanks, FIFA, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, League of Legends and of course, Counter Strike.
Despite their relative infancy, Natus Vincere has achieved astonishing success in their six years of existence, most notably winning $1,000,000 at The International in 2011, while recently finishing first at the 2016 World of Tanks Grand Final and second at the MLG Major Championship: Columbus.
In addition to this, Na`Vi are also renowned for setting several world records, one of which is the famed accolade of becoming the first team in Counter Strike history to win three major tournaments within a single calendar year. – Intel Extreme Masters, Electronic Sports World Cup and World Cyber Games 2010.
Team Spotlight and Recent Performances
Natus Vincere: Zeus | seized | GuardiaN | Edward | flamie
In March 2015, following a string of disappointing performances, Natus Vincere announced that longstanding member of the legendary 2010 roster, Sergey "starix" Ischuk, had stepped down from the line-up, in place of Egor "flamie" Vasilyev.
Initially, the roster change experience mixed results, with Na`Vi only placing outside the top four, four times in over twenty events. However, it wasn’t until the end of the year that Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko, Denis "seized" Kostin, Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács, Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev and Egor "flamie" Vasilyev began to truly tick as a team and unlock their true potential.
Since then, Na`Vi have failed to place lower than third place over the last five months, securing three silver medals, and four gold. As a result, Natus Vincere has grown into one of the most dominant and formidable forces with the current competitive CS:GO scene, climbing to third place in the HLTV CS:GO Team Rankings.
Final Comments:
The current Na`Vi roster is one that has flourished over recent months, and as a result they have received an unprecedented amount of praise, which they undeniably deserve.
However, despite their efficiency and consistency, Na`Vi have faced some complications in recent weeks in the form of a wrist injury to GuardiaN, with the player being forced to withdraw from DreamHack Malmo.
At this moment in time, GuardiaN is scheduled to attend the CEVO Gfinity Counter Strike: Global Offensive Pro League Season 9 finals. The question is, will he be back to 100% fitness?
Only time will tell.
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