S1mple replaces Zeus in Na'Vi

Image courtesy of Navi

Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, the up-and-coming 18 year old star will replace Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko, the 28 year old veteran and in game leader of Navi.

Navi will now have to elect a new, and potentially inexperienced, in game leader - Zeus had acted as the IGL for Navi during both the 1.6 era and during all of Global Offensive. Many will question the need for a permanent IGL, as Sergey "starix" Ishchuk has been a key figure for the team since he adopted the coaching role in March 2016.

Navi’s eSports Director Yevhen "HarisPilton" Zolotarov had this to say about the departure of Zeus, a demigod in the organization:

 I would like to comment on each of these cases separately. Regarding Oleksandr’s arrival, I believe that this transfer has a potential of becoming one of the most successful in the CS:GO history, given how high-skilled, motivated and demanding towards his teammates this player has proven to be. I hope that we are at the outset of long and productive cooperation. I would like to personally thank Daniil Teslenko for everything he has done for Na`Vi, his great devotion, victories, sincerity and dependability. The career you had is what most of the world can only dream of! Daniil, you are a legend!!! ”

Navi’s form seems to be on the decline as of late - Navi managed to string together a series of 9 1st-4th place finishes at large tournaments in late 2015 and early 2016, including victories at IEM X San Jose, DreamHack Leipzig, Counter Pit League Season 2, and qualification for StarLadder i-League StarSeries XIV among teams like Fnatic, EnVyUs, and Titan. More recently, Navi withdrew from of ECS due to fatigue and crashed out of ESL One Cologne in the quarterfinals.

S1mple had this to say about his new opportunity:

I am really happy to join this great organization and be part of my favorite lineup with the world’s best players on it. I will do everything I can to achieve big goals together with the team. ”

Navi’s current roster:
Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev
Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács
Denis "seized" Kostin
Egor "flamie" Vasilyev
Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev
Sergey "starix" Ischuk (coach)
Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko (inactive)

The current line-up’s LAN debut will be in a month in Nanjing, China for the SL i-League Season 2 Finals, featuring a $300,000 prize pool.

Headline image courtesy of Mossawi.nl