BanKs: “Right now, NAVI doesn’t look appealing to most top players.”
Host James “BanKs” Banks, along with analysts Jonathan “Devilwalk” Lundberg and Dustin “dusT” Mure, in the latest episode of the All About Counter-Strike podcast, discussed Natus Vincere’s slump and challenges, assessed the current roster of the “Born to Win” team, and reflected on how the organization can attract star players.
On Natus Vincere’s Slump
BanKs: NAVI is in a bad spot right now. I’m worried about what the future holds for the team, as I haven’t been impressed with their play at recent tournaments.
dusT: The players definitely realize they’re performing poorly and are dissatisfied with their recent performances. Nevertheless, Natus Vincere’s slump is simply unbelievable; I haven’t seen anything like it in a long time. A few months ago, the team was consistently making it to the finals of major tournaments and even won two trophies. Then they failed to make the playoffs at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, and after a break, they literally gave up. Now NAVI is getting knocked out of events in last place or 9th–12th, losing to teams on the level of M80—it’s madness. They used to be a solid Tier 1 team, but now they barely make it into the top 15 of the world rankings. Their chances of qualifying for the next Major are dwindling with every loss.
Devilwalk: There’s no joy in the NAVI players’ eyes. No one encourages each other during tough moments—they all just look down in disappointment. It seems like they’re giving up even before the matches are over.
On NAVI’s current roster
dusT: I think Natus Vincere was counting on makazze to become a consistent Tier 1 star, and for a while everything went according to plan, but now he, like b1t, has slowed down significantly, failing to stand out even on Ancient and Mirage, his best maps. Unfortunately, w0nderful is still very inconsistent. When he’s on his game, he plays like a top-3 sniper, but lately he’s been having more and more bad tournaments. Then there’s iM, who takes on star roles but, statistically speaking, is the team’s fourth-best player. NAVI’s current roster is no match for the world’s strongest teams.
On signing star players
BanKs: Natus Vincere performed very well at the 2026 Esports World Cup as an organization and earned $3,000,000—that’s a great sum, part of which could certainly be spent on the CS roster. I’m confident that in the coming months, the coaching staff will be looking for suitable transfer candidates. However, the problem is that only B1ad3 and b1t are capable of attracting top players. Right now, NAVI doesn’t look appealing to most top players, although it might still manage to sign a couple of young talents after the Major.
Recently, Natus Vincere lost to MOUZ 1-2 in the lower bracket of StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026. The team finished the tournament in last place and dropped to 17th in the VRS, marking its worst ranking since the system’s inception.
Photo by Sebastian Pandelache, PGL.
