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Thorin Excited To See NAVI’s Dynamic Duo In Action

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Thorin Excited To See NAVI’s Dynamic Duo In Action

CSGO broadcaster and journalist Duncan “Thorin” Shields is thrilled to see the changes at Natus Vincere and he is particularly keen on seeing an old NAVI star pairing up with a new recruit

Prominent CSGO analyst Duncan “Thorin” Shields is excited to see the new Natus Vincere roster. He believes the organization’s core player Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev can forge an explosive partnership with Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen, who joined Natus Vincere from Ninjas In Pyjamas. 

Friday marked a significant milestone for Natus Vincere as they formally confirmed their departure from the CIS region and revealed their fresh European roster, captained by Aleksi “⁠Aleksib⁠” Virolainen. The team's roster additions include rising stars Mihai “⁠iM⁠” Ivan from GamerLegion and Justinas “⁠jL⁠” Lekavicius from Apeks, who made waves during the Paris Major.

In a move similar to that of Team Liquid, Natus Vincere undertook a daring roster reconstruction, choosing to retain only Oleksandr “⁠s1mple⁠” Kostyliev and Valeriy “⁠b1t⁠” Vakhovskiy. This strategic move signifies a major shift for the Ukrainian organization, not only in terms of their lineup but also by veering away from their customary brand identity and regional association.

The announcement triggered a wide array of responses, including enthusiasm, skepticism, and an overall sense of confusion regarding the very existence of this roster. The announcement caught everyone by surprise as barely anybody could have mustered the thought of such drastic changes at the NAVI camp before the player break had begun. 

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Thorin, however, thinks the organization took the right approach and believes Aleksib-s1mple’s partnership can make them a force to be reckoned with. 

“The s1mple and Aleksib duo is just fire! We can forget about all the other MAM players right away. The reason I believe this duo will be incredible is that Aleksib has never had a player of s1mple's caliber before. We can talk about NiKo, but he is currently facing the same issues with NiKo that he had with Aleksib before. The last captain who made NiKo work properly was nexa – his friend. Right now, Aleksib has the greatest player in history, so he doesn't even need to aim. He can just say, ‘You know, buddy, you know better, so just do all the work yourself.’ I'm not even worried about the other members of the lineup because it's a dream come true.”

“In the past, Aleksib never had a player like that close to him. I think Aleksib is seriously underrated, and s1mple is the star who will bring all the pieces together. I'm ready to take back my words if, for some reason, Aleksib doesn't succeed; maybe he won't be able to handle a big ego. But right now, this is the dream duo.”

The first assignment for the new-look NAVI team is the BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023,which will mark the return of competitive CSGO following the player break. The tournament will take place between July 13-27 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Aleksib and the boys will take on Astralis in their first match in the competition. They will also play Heroic and BIG in the group stages.