NaVi And Virtus Pro are two of the most loved organisations in esports. They have multiple teams in various esport titles. In CS GO, both the teams are extremely strong and feature veterans in the industry such as Taz, Snax, Edward, Flamie etc. It’s hard times for these veterans as they look toward ending the year on a bad note.

2017 did not start on a bad note for both the teams. Virtus Pro were in fact one of the strongest teams around during January 2017. With Dust2 having been removed from the map pool, they looked menacing.

NaVi on the other hand had already been playing with Simple since several months. Simple was acquired from Team Liquid in August of 2016 while Zeus moved to the bench. This did not go well with certain members in the team and there was a lot internal tension. This manifested itself onto the roster as they looked towards a very mediocre year.

NaVi

Natus Vincere are a team that has lost itself for quite sometime. The team which was one of the top teams at time has simply not been the same ever since. The last time that they reached the finals of a big International tournament was more than a year ago. They won the ESL One Cologne 2016 against Virtus Pro. However the downward spiral for the team began soon after. NaVi acquired Simple in August and moved Zeus to the bench. This provided them with a lot more firepower as Simple was and is now one of the best players in Counter Strike Global Offensive. However the lack of a tactical mastermind such as Zeus definitely hurt them more in the long run. A few months later, Starix also left the team after lots of consultations.

Ever since their removal of Zeus, the team has lost a lot of it’s identity. The team has been quiet both in and out side of the game since the exit of Zeus. It seemed they were still adjusting to the changes in the team. But their group stage exit during PGL Krakow Major lay open the wounds. There was a lot of conflict within the team ever since Zeus’ exit. The lack of results with the new team definitely did not help matters. Once they were eliminated in the Group stages, the team put Seized and Guardian on the transfer list. Guardian moved on to Faze and the identity of NaVi changed forever.

Their Group stage exit at the PGL krakow Major was a big setback for the CIS team. The team looked extremely uncoordinated and seemingly without any strategy. They tried moving away from their famed “NaVi push”. But the lack of practice and poor execution meant that they hurt themselves much more. Watching their former teammate Zeus lead Gambit to the Major Victory only added salt to their wounds.

With a roster made up of Simple, Edward, Flamie, Seized and now Zeus; NaVi are still a very strong team. However they lack a lot of firepower right now with multiple members on the team underperforming. Simple still maintains a very good form, but he is not in a team where he has to do all the heavy lifting anymore. NaVi is a team which is formed around gameplay and strategies. But poor execution and failure of members to play their role to perfection means that the team has fallen into shambles. They did acquire Zeus and that is a ray of hope for the team. He has the experience to guide and lead a team such as NaVi. If he can do it is another question altogether.

That being said NaVi is one of the most experienced lineups in Counter Strike Global Offensive. The individual players on the team have shown us amazing gameplays in their careers. With Simple, one of the better players in CS GO,a member of the team this NaVi lineup needs only a small boost in order to change their fortunes. Even if they are not in the best of form right now, it is not a team that can be discounted easily. They remain a team which just needs to strike once and regain their confidence.

NaVi’s performance in the past few months:

3rd at ESL One Cologne 2017

Group Stage at PGL Krakow Major

Group Stage : ESL One New York 2017

Group Stage : Eleague CS GO Premier

The multiple Group stage exits summarises NaVi’s performance recently. The biggest duds in the team are Flamie and Edward right now. These experienced players are undergoing a loss of form.However in their recent online matches they have shown signs of resurgence, ever so slightly. It’s a case of momentum for the team and they need a couple of continuous victories in order to regain their confidence and play to win.

The question with NaVi’s success never starts with an If, it’s always, When?

Virtus Pro

Virtus Pro are the stronger of the two “dud” teams mentioned in this article. We say stronger, but they have not had any impressive results either. The team which featured in the finals of the Eleague Major 2017 has seen a huge downward spiral ever since. Initially it was not really a surprise since the team’s results have always been known to be volatile. But as the year neared its end, the results just worsened for the team.

Virtus Pro has always been known as a team which can have very diverse results. From being called Virtus Plow, the team has gone down to Virtus Throw very often. But their recent spate of results has been very surprising. They have had multiple failures to qualify for tournaments. Losing to T2 and sometimes T3 teams repeatedly has become normal for the team and their ratings have only plummeted.

Snax has been the In Game Leader for the team for the past several months since ESL One Cologne 2017. But the team’s performance has not improved since the role change. Snax is one of the most impactful players on the roster but not always the best In Game Leader. In the previous strong iteration of Virtus Pro, he was one of strongest players on the team His ability to dissect a particular play and take several individual one on one duels ( which he wins) has served the Polish team well in the past. In Game Leading adds a lot of responsibility on a particular player and requires a whole new dimension from the team. When a player becomes an ‘In Game Leader’ he has to think about a lot more than just his own performance. As a result more often than not, In Game Leaders statistics go down. We have seen similar results from past in game leaders such as Sean Gares, X6tenz etc



Snax also suffered a similar fate due to his Leadership role. His individual performance has definitely fallen. With the rest of the team also taking a back seat in terms of performance, the team has fallen down in the rankings at an alarming pace. They started off the year with a Major finals appearance and they ended the year not making it out of the groups in several tournaments.

Virtus Pro have effected some changes due to their poor performance. With Snax’s performance dipping, mostly due to the leadership problem, Taz has taken on the mantle. This frees up Snax and we can only hope that the veteran player comes back to his normal form.

Virtus Pro is a team which can flip their performance at any moment. Their high risk plays depend heavily on them being able to execute these plays. Most of the best players will admit that Virtus Pro, even one which is out of form is a severe threat to the best teams in the world. This is simply cause they always believe in themselves and almost never change their playstyle. The aggressive playstyle only requires a slightly better performance from any player and the result would go in their favor.

The two teams are one of the best in the world in terms of their potential. They have fallen upon darker times and their results have taken a downward spiral. But we still see glimpses of their brilliance occasionally. At the highest levels of counter strike confidence plays a very strong part of a team’s performance. It will not be long before these teams make a comeback

If you are reading this now, you probably have read the first two parts of the series: The Challengers and the Fallen Champions.