NAVI parts ways with PUBG Mobile roster, players to stick together

PUBG

October 6, 2022

Yusuf Ahmed

Ukrainian esports organization Natus Vincere announced yesterday that it was disbanding its PUBG Mobile roster. NAVI’s PUBG Mobile team is one of the most successful ones in recent history, and the news surprises many.

While the news of disbanding the PUBG Mobile roster comes as a surprise, the team’s Sergey “Kitsune” Pomerantsev confirmed that the roster will be sticking together. The roster consists of:

Sergey “KITSUNE” Pomerantsev
Vitalii “Matic” Shulga
Aleksey “Mequ” Tolov
Daniil “Tixzy” Gordeev

It appears that the parting of the team comes from the present circumstances instead of the team’s performance.

“We are grateful to the players for their performance under the NAVI tag and wish them the best of luck in their careers going forward,” the organization said in a blog post.

The players aim to remain together under a new organization

NAVI played in the PUBG Mobile Pro League (PMPL) CIS. The spring season of the PMPL was initially put on hold when the Russia – Ukraine conflict broke out in February. It was later canceled as a whole due to the war. The fall season of the PMPL didn’t happen either.

It appears that NAVI is releasing the roster mainly due to their inability to run the roster properly. The players haven’t competed in any official tournament since the PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) 2021 Grand Finals in January.

Also Read: PUBG Mobile PMGC 2022: Teams and Slots Distribution Revealed

NaVi’s PUBG Mobile roster was one of the most decorated ones globally

NAVI entered PUBG Mobile in 2020 by picking up the roster. Not soon after, the team went on to win the PMPL EMEA League which features teams from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. At the PMGC 2020, the European team put up a dominant performance as well and placed fourth. This is a huge feat as the PUBG Mobile leaderboards in esports competitions are usually dominated by Chinese and Southeast Asian teams.

They continued their domination into 2021 with first place at the EMEA Championship and second place in the World Invitational (PMWI) East. They won the inaugural season of the European Championship later in 2021. This saw them book a berth at the PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) 2021, where they didn’t disappoint either.

In the League Stage, where they competed against teams solely from the West, the team put up several class performances. However, they couldn’t remain consistent and finished in second place.

The Grand Finals, on the other hand, were the real challenge as NAVI faced-off against teams from China and Southeast Asia. Here also, NAVI held their ground and put up more consistent performances to finish in second place.

All in all, they have earned more than $1 million from PUBG Mobile tournaments and are the 11th highest-earning team according to EsportsEarnings.com. A team of their caliber shouldn’t have a hard time finding another organization to show their skills for.