Natus Vincere: 2023 model FPX

Natus Vincere decided to keep it reliable and steady by signing the core of FunPlus Phoenix heading into 2023. However, the newly-acquired NAVI roster enters the first franchised era of VALORANT as a slightly altered team of five from the previous season. ardiis left his teammates to join the North American representative NRG Esports while NAVI acquired cNed to fill his shoes. Natus Vincere’s ceiling looks pretty high considering their past achievements and they are surely one of the favorites to bag this year’s EMEA trophy. Let’s dive deeper into the 2023 model NAVI!

2022 Performance

There are two sides to the coin when it comes to NAVI’s 2022 performance. First, the organization’s perspective. The Ukrainian organization had a modest roster compared to the top contenders. Cloud, 7ssk7, dinkzj, Duno, and zeddy represented the team in VCT 2022: EMEA Stage 1 and Stage 2 Challengers as well as the EMEA Last Chance Qualifiers. NAVI failed to reach the playoff stages of both Challengers tournaments and got swept against G2 Esports in the Last Chance Qualifier, failing to qualify for the VALORANT Champions 2022 event. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that their 2022 wasn’t optimal. The other side of the coin for this year’s NAVI is the FPX core that they signed. Shao, Zyppan, SUYGETSU, and ANGE1 have shown impressive performances last year. FPX won the VCT 2022: EMEA Stage 1 Challengers but couldn’t compete in Masters Reykjavik due to visa issues. The organization then placed second in the Stage 2 Challengers and won the Masters Copenhagen. Finally, FPX placed fourth in VALORANT Champions 2022. ardiis is the only missing piece from that successful team but cNed is the first-ever VALORANT Champions winner and he is a special player for sure. Even though 2022 was a rough patch for him at Acend, he is ready to prove his worth once again with some of the best European talent VALORANT has to offer. Natus Vincere are also at the top of our Europe Rankings List, thanks to last year’s success of FPX.

VCT 2022 OFF SEASON - G-Loot Clash 2022

Luckily, we had a chance to see how the new NAVI roster performs together in VCT 2022 OFF SEASON - G-Loot Clash 2022. They were one of the six invited teams alongside Giants Gaming, BBL Esports, FUT Esports, BRATAN MIX, and Team Vitality. The CIS team started by sweeping The Barbers with sharp scores, 13-6 and 13-7. Next, they came up against the Turkish side Fire Flux Esports and won the series with a reverse sweep, 2-1. FF had an impressive run but NAVI’s roster quality was the decision maker, especially with Zyppan and cNed’s individual efforts. NAVI’s first-ever test against a partnered team was in the semifinals in which they faced Team Vitality. The CIS team won the series in two maps, 13-8 on Pearl and 13-11 on Breeze to reach the grand final of the tournament. Lastly, Natus Vincere came up against the biggest surprise of the event, Parla Esports. The Turkish organization took down team hz, Divinity, and Giants Gaming before reaching the grand finals. It was a very tough and close series between the two sides but NAVI triumphed after five games and were the ones to lift the trophy. They closed the 2022 season on a dub and most importantly, put their new lineup on full display.

Player to watch in 2023

Of course, there is more than one player to have our eyes on when it comes to NAVI but after a rather poor season with Acend, cNed’s performance with his new teammates will be the main talking point. The Turkish player was considered one of the best in 2021 but with Acend’s descending graphic, he also looked sub-par over the course of 2022. Apart from that, he also carries a huge responsibility on his shoulders having to fill ardiis’ shoes. The Latvian player had an important role in FPX’s success last year and there were times when he put on a show by himself to win games. cNed is definitely capable of that as he had shown us in 2021. However, the VALORANT landscape keeps shifting. If there is one question to be asked going into 2023 regarding NAVI is will cNed find that peak form from 2021.

NAVI’s roster:

Valeriia "LERA_X" Khegai (Manager) Erik "d00mbr0s" Sandgren (Head Coach) Oliwer "LATEKS" Fahlander (Assistant Coach)