Natus Vincere Signs The Entire FlyToMoon Roster

Nobody expected this. But I guess it makes sense, since Na’Vi is a legendary organization in Dota 2. Along with Virtus.pro, they’re the biggest player in the CIS region and the first to win The International. Over the last 5 years, their fame has slowly diminished, but they still have a lot of financial power, influence, and one of the best CS:GO teams in the world. Because of these reasons, I can see why the FTM roster didn’t mind the move. In a way, this is similar to what happens in business, when a small company with a lot of potential gets bought by a large corporation. The big fish eats the little fish. It’s the law of nature and it also applies to esports.

Na’Vi’s Former Players

Prior to this move, Na’Vi had released 3 of its players on September 18^th: Crystallize, young G, and 9pasha. There were only two people left: Immersion, who had been playing for the team for 3 months, and illias, who’s just 18 years old and doesn’t constitute a real loss unless he turns to be a god-tier player overnight. But that’s not likely to happen, because his role is support.

Na’Vi’s New Roster

Na’Vi’s new roster is the entire FlyToMoon roster:

• V-Tune
• Iceberg
• GeneRaL
• RodjER
• ALWAYSWANNAFLY

The entire FTM team was brought in for a trial, with the expectation that the next 1-3 tournaments will show if they have the goods or not. I think they will prove to be quite successful, although we must keep in mind that Virtus.pro did something similar in CS:GO and the whole thing bombed. However, knowing who these players are and everything about their journey up until now, it’s probably safe to say that the potential for greatness is definitely there. Another thing that’s there is dedication.

Upon making the move, Na’Vi’s COO, Aleksey Kucherov praised the players’ dedication to their goal, even in the absence of contractual obligations “and other benefits of the Dota sphere”.

FTM’s former roster, now Na’Vi’s roster, had an excellent series of results in 2020. No less than 7 times they were in the top 4 of an important tournament and 3 times they claimed the title. Another big advantage that this team has is its most recent roster change: RodjER was brought in to replace someone and he is absolutely fabulous at what he does. His performances for Virtus.pro during the team’s glory years are the stuff of legends. If he manages to play at even 80% of that level, he’s gold for the team.

I’m excited to see what Na’Vi can do at its next tournament, OGA Dota PIT Season 3: Europe/CIS. The team had to go through qualifiers to get to the event and its performance was excellent. The main problem is that they will be facing Team Nigma in the first match, and it won’t be easy to win. But if they do win, I’m sure Na’Vi’s management will consider signing FTM’s roster for good right after the event.

 

Photo credit: Valve