Team

Team Historical Statistics

Team Experience

NaVi Dota 2 Team Review

Team Natus Vincere’s name is no accident—it’s Latin for “Born to Win.” This club is famous for more than just its legendary NaVi CS2 roster. They once reigned supreme in Dota 2 (and even won the first-ever The International)! Today, mainstream Dota is undergoing a period of change—in 2025, they completely overhauled their roster, taking it from the NaVi Junior Dota 2 team. In MelBet Pick’em review, we’ll explore the reasons behind this decision and trace the entire history of the Ukrainian legend.

NaVi History

NaVi was born in early 2010, along with its CS roster, and the addition of a Dota roster to Natus Vincere was not long in coming. Just 10 months later, in the fall of 2010, NaVi Esports discovered a second game. It was a brilliant decision – the NaVi tag immediately shot to the top of the global Dota ranks.

This period of absolute dominance would last three years, during which time they would take gold and two silver medals at TI and defeat dozens of legendary Dota 2 teams (at the time, mostly Chinese). But nothing lasts forever – in 2017, key players left to found Team Secret. Since then, Natus Vincere Dota 2 has remained a Tier-2 team.

NaVi Founders

The idea for a new Ukrainian esports team emerged in 2009. The first sponsor was the experienced Kazakh businessman Murat Zhumashevich “Arbalet” Tulemaganbetov, and the Ukrainian Alexander “ZeroGravity” Kokhanovsky became the operations manager and true “architect” of the club. The CS team proved extremely successful, so the management immediately initiated expansion, adding the Dota 2 NaVi team.

Sixteen years later, NaVi founder “ZeroGravity” remains at the helm of his project (as a board member), which now boasts rosters in dozens of games. Since 2018, Evgeniy “HarisPilton” Zolotarev, the CEO of Natus Vincere, has also served as a key figure.

NaVi Initial Roster

The NaVi Dota 2 roster began in 2010 with players such as Alexander “XBOCT” Dashkevich, Andrey “Mag” Chipenko, Artur “Goblak” Kostenko, Alexander “Deff” Stepanyuk, and Bohdan “Axypa” Boychuk. Substitutions continued throughout the first year, which eventually led to the formation of the “golden roster” in the summer of 2011:

Even then, these weren’t just newcomers (only ArtStyle had been playing for less than a year.), but professional players with years of experience. But it was precisely this combination that proved so effective – the new Ukrainian team literally tore the scene apart, wresting the lead from the traditionally dominant Chinese teams of the time.

Like everything else in those days, training took place without a coach. This didn’t stop the team from immediately taking gold at the first-ever International. Even more astonishing is that this was, in fact, the team’s first tournament with this roster! The “golden era” of Natus Vincere Dota 2 would last until 2014, when Puppey and KuroKy (who joined in 2013) left to form Team Secret.

NaVi Current Roster

The club’s management has been constantly searching for new players over the past two years, with new esports players rarely staying on the roster for more than a few months. As of October 2025, the NaVi roster includes:

The key player here, of course, is the captain, Kyrgyz player “Zayac.” He is a seasoned Dota veteran who has played for both Team Secret and Virtus.pro. He joined the Natus Vincere Dota 2 team back in 2019, but his presence was inconsistent.

Emilzhanov returned to the team for the third time during the last roster reset in the summer of 2025. The remaining team members were also brought in then; all have 2-3 years of professional experience and hail from the Natus Vincere Junior roster.

Since autumn 2025, the Natus Vincere Dota 2 roster also has a new coach – Aske “Cy-” Larsen, who was previously the coach of Gaimin Gladiators.

NaVi Tournament Achievements

Over the course of 16 years, Natus Vincere has participated in a huge number of tournaments, though not all of them have been successful. The greatest achievement of NaVi Dota team, of course, remains their early participation in the Internationals:

Unfortunately, the team never took a prize at TI again after that, and only reached the quarterfinals once more – in 2014.

Other NaVi victories include first place at StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 2 (Tier 1) for $135,000 and second place at ESL One Germany 2020 (Tier 1) for $80,000.

NaVi Legends

NaVi Esports boasted many unique, world-class talents, but none was more striking than Danil “Dendi” Ishutin. He had a long history with the team – starting in 2010, leading NaVi to the top from 2011 to 2013, and striving to restore the team’s former glory until his departure in 2019.

An incredibly talented midlaner (albeit sometimes overly aggressive), a master of Pudge, Invoker, and Shadow Fiend, “Dendi” became not just a legend of the Ukrainian team, but a true pop culture icon of the game. Ishutin is still active today, having played for the Ukrainian team B8 for the past five years.

NaVi Upcoming Tournaments

In the near future, you’ll be able to see updated, young roster of NaVi Esports at Blast Slam’s Dota 2 tournaments. The team will also participate in DreamLeague Season 27 in December 2025. Many have high hopes for the team’s new roster – this isn’t an attempt to patch up a sinking ship, but a completely new, young, and well-established team.

The main challenge for the newcomers will, of course, be the next TI in August 2026, given that in 2025, the Natus Vincere Dota 2 roster managed to show local success and qualify for the tournament, but didn’t rise above 15th or 16th place. Time will tell whether the new players will fare better.

FAQ

When was NaVi founded?

The history of the Natus Vincere club begins in the winter of 2009-2010. The DotA team was added in the fall of 2010, before the release of the second generation of the game. The first NaVi Dota 2 roster consisted entirely of Ukrainian players.

What is the current NaVi Dota 2 roster?

The new NaVi roster is a transfer from the club’s junior division and consists of young Ukrainian players Taras “gotthejuice” Linnikov, Artem “Niku” Bachkur, Yurii “pma” Prots, and Stanislav “Riddys” Mitroshkyn, with the exception of captain Bakyt “Zayac” Emilzhanov from Kyrgyzstan.

What is NaVi’s position in the global Dota 2 ranking?

Today, the NaVi Dota 2 team is in the top 20 globally. As of October 2025, the ESL Pro Tour Leaderboard ranks NaVi and NaVi Junior (which is already the main roster) 21st and 19th, respectively. Ensigame ranked the Ukrainian team 16th, while Escore News ranked Natus Vincere the highest, placing the team 12th.

Who is the captain of NaVi?

Since the fall of 2023 (except for a short break), Bakyt “Zayac” Emilzhanov, an experienced Kyrgyz player with over 10 years of experience, has been the captain of Natus Vincere. During his career, he also played for teams such as Team Secret and Virtus Pro.

Who is the coach of NaVi?

Recent organizational changes sent former coach Vitaliy “Sword_Art” Petkin to NaVi Junior. The main NaVi Dota team has now a new coach, Aske “Cy-” Larsen, who previously coached Gaimin Gladiators quite successfully.

NEWS

Follow us