Natus Vincere

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

On 17 December 2009, Natus Vincere, at the time with the name of Arbalet UA, was formed, based around their Counter-Strike team, which consisted of players Ioann "Edward" Sukharev, Yegor "markeloff" Markelov, Sergey "starix" Ischuk, Arsenij "ceh9" Trinozhenko and Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko, with ZeroGravity taking the position of manager. The abbreviation Na'Vi was inspired by the film Avatar, with its full form being decided by the fans through a competition. In 2010, Na'Vi won ESWC 2010, defeating SK Gaming in the finals: 16:5 (de_train) and 16:4 (de_inferno). They also won Arbalet Cup Dallas beating Mousesports in the final match: 19:15 (de_dust2), 16:12 (de_inferno). On 4 October 2010, Natus Vincere became the World Cyber Games world champions by defeating Danish team mTw.dk in the finals. In 2015, Na'Vi reached the finals of DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 where they were beat 0–2 by Team EnVyUs. Na'Vi won Intel Extreme Masters Season X - San Jose after beating Team SoloMid in the grand finals 2–0. In 2016, Na'Vi became the champions of ESL One: New York 2016, defeating Virtus.pro in the finals. On 8 July 2018, Na'Vi ended up winning ESL One Cologne 2018 over BIG 3–1. On 12 September 2021, Na'Vi became the 3rd team ever to complete the Intel Grand Slam after winning IEM Katowice 2020, IEM Cologne 2021, DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 and ESL Pro League Season 14. On 7 November 2021 they won their first CS:GO Major, PGL Stockholm 2021, defeating G2 Esports 2–0. On 1 March 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Natus Vincere cut ties with their holding company, Russian esports conglomerate ESForce.

In Their Own Story

The dust settles on Dust II's site A. The clock ticks down as the final round approaches. Inside the NaVi headset, voices are calm but urgent, coordinating a desperate retake against the odds. The player in the yellow jersey peeks the angle, crosshair perfectly placed at head level. For a split second, time seems to freeze—the sound of footsteps echoing through the map is all that matters. Then, the trigger pulls. A spray of bullets finds its mark, turning the tide of the match and etching another moment of glory into the team's storied history.

Reader's Guide

The Counter-Strike division of Natus Vincere has a storied history. Key roster changes include the addition of Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev on 4 August 2016, replacing Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko. In 2017, Denis "electronic" Sharipov joined in place of seized. In 2019, Zeus retired and GuardiaN was acquired from FaZe Clan, with Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy joining as coach. GuardiaN later stepped down and was replaced by Perfecto. The team's 2021 achievements include winning the Intel Grand Slam and the PGL Stockholm Major.

Did You Know?

• Na'Vi was originally named Arbalet UA when formed on 17 December 2009.
• In 2010, Na'Vi became the first team to hold the IEM, ESWC, and WCG championship titles simultaneously.
• The abbreviation Na'Vi was inspired by the film Avatar.
• In 2010, Na'Vi set a record by winning $220,000 in one year, surpassing Fnatic's previous record of $189,000.

Origins and Organizational Structure

Natus Vincere, translating from Latin as 'born to win,' was established in Kyiv, Ukraine, in late 2009 by Murat Zhumashevich. The organization's inception occurred during the Intel Extreme Masters tournament in Dubai, where Zhumashevich pledged financial backing and training facilities while enlisting professional player starix to assemble the initial roster. Officially formed on December 17, 2009, under the temporary name Arbalet UA, the team originally comprised Edward, markeloff, starix, ceh9, and Zeus, managed by ZeroGravity. The iconic abbreviation Na'Vi was inspired by the film Avatar, with its full designation selected through a fan competition. Today, the organization has expanded far beyond its Counter-Strike roots to field teams in numerous disciplines including Dota 2, VALORANT, League of Legends, and mobile titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Notably, their divisions hold significant status globally, such as being a partnered member of the VCT EMEA for VALORANT and maintaining franchised positions in both the MPL Indonesia and the LEC.

The Historic 2010 Breakthrough

The year 2010 marked a transformative era where Natus Vincere ascended to global dominance. After an initial setback at the Arbalet Cup CIS, the team regrouped to secure second place in Stockholm before claiming victory at ESWC Ukraine. Their crowning achievement came on July 4, when they defeated SK Gaming to win the ESWC World Championship, becoming the first CIS team to reach this pinnacle. This success was followed by a triumph at Arbalet Cup Dallas against Mousesports and a historic World Cyber Games victory over mTw.dk in Los Angeles. By October, Na'Vi held the three most prestigious titles simultaneously: IEM, ESWC, and WCG. Their momentum continued with a DreamHack Winter win in Jönköping, where they outplayed top European squads to claim the title and set a new annual prize money record of $220,000, surpassing previous benchmarks held by Fnatic and SK Gaming.

Individual Excellence and Team Recognition

The 2010 roster did more than stack team trophies — it put a string of Ukrainian names at the very top of HLTV.org's individual rankings. Yegor 'markeloff' Markelov finished the year as the number one player in the world. Sergey 'starix' Ischuk and Ioann 'Edward' Sukharev followed at fourth and fifth in the global list. Captain Daniil 'Zeus' Teslenko landed at 19th and also picked up the best captain of the year nod. At DreamHack Winter 2010, starix took home the MVP after steering the team through a run of commanding playoff wins. That stretch showed what a roster looks like when raw aim meets organized leadership, and it set a standard for Ukrainian CS players that took years to match.

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