Suygetsu leaving Navi? Valorant star enters free agency

Dmitrii “suygetsu” Iliushin will be the third Natus Vincere player to enter free agency following what seems to be a massive reshuffling of the NAVI squad going into next season. This comes as no surprise, as the NAVI president of esports recently hinted at significant roster changes in the Valorant squad following the conclusion of the competitive season. Changes we are beginning to see take full effect.

The announcement of Zyppan’s departure a couple of days ago seemed to have triggered the snowball effect of subsequent departures in the Valorant NAVI squad. Not long after Zypann’s announcement came Ardiis’ announcement, and now Suygetsu seems to be the next NAVI star on the chopping block. We can’t say we didn’t expect changes in the NAVI squad, but we greatly underestimated the extent of changes they’d make.

Suygetsu’s departure announcement

Suygetsu recently announced his departure from Ukrainian organization Natus Vincere on his X profile (formerly Twitter) with the following message:

In his tweet, he announced that, although still under contract with NAVI, he would entertain suitable offers from any interested parties.

Suygetsu’s tenure at NAVI

Suygetsu joined NAVI back in 2022 from FunPlus Phoenix, where he played with a lot of his current NAVI teammates, such as Zyppan, Ardiis, ANGE1, and Shao. His first year in Natus Vincere kicked off with a bang as he performed exceptionally well and not long after won his first tournament with the team, the G-Loot Valorant Clash Tournament.

Although never placing first in any of the subsequent tournaments, they still managed respectable positions in competitions such as the VCT 2023 Lock LOCK//IN in Sao Paolo, where they placed fourth, and the VCT EMEA 2023, where they also placed fourth once more. Their performance in the Valorant Champions 2023 tournament left much to be desired, as they ranked twelfth, which was shocking for a team of such quality. The result was quite disappointing and must’ve been the first indication of a need for change within the squad.

The real nail in the coffin could definitely be attributed to the team’s performances in the VCT 2024: EMEA League games, where the NAVI side racked up loss after loss, failing to beat teams they were expected to barely struggle against. They racked up losses against far weaker teams such as KOI and GIANTX, only managing to win against Gentel Mates, which led to them failing to reach the playoff stage.

What’s next for the NAVI player?

Suygetsu is highly rated within the competitive valorant community owing to his insane accuracy and signature 2-bullet burst vandal headshot. His agents of choice are Cypher, Killjoy, and Viper, agents he has learned to utilize quite efficiently in dispatching enemies. It would be hard to see a player of his stature struggle to find a team, as he has quite the resume and has been able to prove himself sufficiently on the international stage. The same can be said for his teammates Zyppan and Ardiis, who are exceptionally brilliant and are expected to be snatched up quite soon.

Header: img: NAVI Suygetsu at VCT LOCK IN Sao Paolo – src: (Riot Games | [Photographer, Colin Young-Wolff])