Na`Vi changes lineup ahead of SuperMajor

The unsuccessful results forced Natus Vincere to change. Na`Vi’s squad will have to adjust even after the transfer window has ended. Now, Fedor “velheor” Rusikhin will replace Nikola .’s position 5 support “LeBronDota” Popovic until the end of the season. Na`Vi Foundation announced on May 14th. This change has been registered on the official SuperMajor roster. This move means the team will forgo the closed qualifiers at The International 2018.

We are introducing the changes to dota 2 roster. Please, welcome our new support Fedor “velheor” Rusikhin!
A massive shout-out to @LeBronDoTa for being a part of us and GL&HF further!
?https://t.co/8PQTNTAoII#dota2 pic.twitter.com/3wYY14LL9MORE

— Natus Vincere (@natusvincere) May 14, 2018

With this change plus problems in obtaining a UK Visa, Na`Vi has had to withdraw from ESL One Birmingham 2018. Instead, the team will bootcamp in Kiev to prepare for SuperMajor in early June.

“We have decided to replace the player now and withdraw from Birmingham, due to uncertainty regarding the Visa issue. At the beginning of next week, we will have a short bootcamp in Kiev, then the team will bootcamp for a week in China to prepare for Supermajor. After returning from China, we will practice in Kiev again, and will attend the TI8 open qualifiers from there.”

• Igof “caff” Sydorenko – Na`Vi . Dota 2 Team Manager

The arrival of the rookie Russian support marks a new change in the team. Lil will return to position 5, the position he played previously with Na`Vi. Velheor will be under a lot of pressure when replacing the position 4 left by Lil because this young player has very little experience. Started in the Cascade team since 2016, now disbanded, velheor has only appeared in a few teams like SFTe-sports from February 2018 until now.

Here is Natus Vincere’s new lineup:

• Vladislav “Crystallize” Krystanek
• Danil “Dendi” Ishutin
• Victor “GeneRaL” Nigrini
• Ilya “Lil” Ilyuk
• Fedor “velheor” Rusikhin
• Alexander “XBOCT” Dashkevich (coach)

The TI1 champion team has been having a lot of trouble lately, having not been able to achieve high rankings for almost two years. With the appearance of Crystallize and Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosyan at the beginning of the season, the team gradually regained their position and achieved good results, much to the horror of the opponent.

Unfortunately, due to internal problems, SoNNeikO and RodjER left the team, creating one of the most anticipated transfers in the CIS between Na`Vi and Virtus.pro. Just two weeks later, the team still had no results. Natus Vincere’s defeat in the first event at ESL One Katowice 2018, marked the beginning of a long and difficult struggle for the team. Despite being highly motivated and having convinced the CEO of the organization more time to prove, this lineup did not reap the benefits. At the last EPICENTER XL, they defeated two candidates in the group stage but were still eliminated from the tournament, forcing the organization to make a decision to change and prepare for the bloody open qualifiers at The International 2018.