“We need to rebuild the team from scratch.”
Even though electroNic is set to leave Natus Vincere, he leaves behind a remarkable legacy for the Ukrainian organization. From his early days, he was known as a talented rifler, and by the time he left NaVi, he had become one of the greatest riflers in history. His iconic partnership with s1mple led to many incredible comebacks, making them the dynamic duo of NaVi.
Accurately speaking, electroNic joined NaVi in the autumn of 2017, which was already six years ago! So, what was NaVi like before electroNic joined?
True, NaVi hit rock bottom. They failed to advance past the group stage in the PGL Kraków Major of 2017, marking the first time since 2015-2017. The last time NaVi failed to advance past the group stage was during the EMS One Katowice Major in 2014. Following this defeat, NaVi immediately prioritized roster changes, with GuardiaN and seized being demoted, leaving only s1mple, Edward, and flamie.
The poor performance was not the only reason for NaVi’s roster changes; there were various considerations behind them. GuardiaN and s1mple had conflicting roles and also faced motivational issues. seized was unable to fulfill the in-game leadership role effectively. During that time, Zeus was considered the best in-game leader in the CIS region, but he had been demoted by NaVi in July 2016.
Ultimately, Zeus returned to NaVi, but he didn’t understand why he came back.
If it wasn’t for the internal conflicts within the Gambit team, Zeus would not have returned to NaVi. At that time, Gambit had just won a Major championship, but unfortunately, the players, except for Zeus, did not want to continue receiving guidance from coach Kane and planned to remove him. Zeus’s return to NaVi was solely for the sake of friendship and not his own plans. He stated, “We will experience the taste of victory together with Gambit and continue training to become the best team in the world.”
After Zeus returned to NaVi, he was also perplexed. He didn’t understand why he made this decision and felt as if he had simply flowed from one ditch to another. He said, “I don’t understand why I came here at all. Because it’s NaVi, and I had just won a Major, I thought I should continue playing. To be honest, it’s actually quite challenging.”
Zeus&s1mple
The image provided is a screenshot from a video of s1mple and Zeus chatting after Zeus returned to NaVi. In the video, s1mple expresses that he is no longer toxic, while Zeus describes their working experience as follows: “Working with him is difficult. When we were in Gambit, everyone remained calm in-game, while s1mple would shout and scream at any time. I don’t understand this behavior myself, and it affects my own performance.”
It is evident that the atmosphere in NaVi is not quite normal, and their match results are mediocre. For 30-year-old Zeus, this is becoming quite challenging, “I realized that I no longer have the energy. The year with Gambit was extremely difficult, and NaVi performed poorly. We have to start from scratch. As I sit here, I can’t help but wonder, what exactly is going on?”
NaVi expressed interest in acquiring electronic from FlipSid3, but FlipSid3 did not agree. As a result, seized returned to NaVi.
electroNic was initially brought in as a replacement for seized. The timing of NaVi signing electronic and signing Zeus was similar, both happening during the offseason when roster changes are made. However, negotiations between NaVi and FlipSid3 did not reach an agreement, leading to seized returning from the substitute position to the team.
electronic also remembers this experience vividly. He said, “When NaVi initially contacted me, I immediately agreed and expressed my readiness. However, my contract with F3 was due to expire in October 2018, which was the first issue that NaVi had to address. Secondly, because NaVi chose to give seized a second chance, I was unable to join NaVi during the summer.”
The NaVi lineup consisting of Edward, s1mple, Zeus, seized, and flamie faced numerous defeats in various tournaments, and they even failed to qualify for the Chengdu Cup. Three months later, seized was once again demoted. Upon leaving the team, seized wrote, “The reason for my departure is simple – a toxic atmosphere within the team and an idle environment. There is no hope for achieving results. So, it’s not about the pressure; it has nothing to do with resilience.”
Finally, in November 2017, electroNic joined the NaVi roster.
