Cover-Credits:
Currently, most eyes are on the Lima Major 2023, which is showcasing the world's best Dota 2 teams brawling for Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points, but Natus Vincere (NAVI) in Eastern European (EEU) has already started to make amends as it waits on the sidelines. The organization announced on social media that it had signed PuckChamp’s Dota 2 roster. As a result of this acquisition, the team will now compete in Division 1 of the DPC 2023 Tour 2. NAVI was relegated to Division II after finishing last in Tour 1 a month ago. Arman "Malady" Orazbayev, who plays position five, is the only one who has managed to keep his spot on the team.
NAVI is back in Division 1 with the acquisition of PuckChamp
NAVI mentioned on Twitter, "What a struggle it was to get back to the first division," and attached a blog post of it signing the PuckChamp roster.
NAVI's Dota 2 roster now includes the following players:
Maxim “shigetsu” Popadinec
Maksym “mellojul” Pnev
Abdimalik “Malik” Sailau
Danial “Danial” Alibaev
Arman “Malady” Orazbayev
NAVI had always been competitive in the regional leagues, but it was unable to replicate those results with a young roster assembled just before Division 1 of the DPC 2023 Tour 1.
NAVI struggled a lot in the league, only winning one series out of the seven it played. Despite two 2-1 losses to Team Spirit and Darkside, followed by a win over One Move, it didn't look too bad at first, but the team quickly fell flat on its face in the following four series.
With the team's relegation to Division II, it parted company with Nikita "Nicky`Cool" Ostakhov, Vladislav "laise" Lais, and even Alik "V-Tune" Vorobey, who had been with them for almost two years. Malady also departed to join PuckChamp later on, but he and the other four members of the team were picked up a day later.
PuckChamp finished second in Division II last season, earning a promotion that will now allow NAVI to maintain its position in Division I. At the same time, it's unclear how NAVI's initial spot will be utilized in the upcoming season.
Georgii "swedenstrong" Zainalabidov, the position four player for NAVI at the time of the acquisition, has been made available for transfer and can therefore join a new team for Tour 2.
When it comes to roster shuffles, NAVI has typically been a club that picks up the most experienced and established players in the region, but this is the second time in a row that the organization has put its confidence in a rather youthful team.
While the first time did not go well, NAVI will be expecting a significant improvement in Tour 2, which begins next month.
