Intel Extreme Masters Katowice quarter finalists Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) have parted ways with their head coach. Sergey “Starix” Ischuk had been part of the organization for seven years, and hasn’t featured for any other organization since 2010.
His departure comes after Na’Vi failed to perform in their first few outings of 2017, despite possessing what should be a championship winning lineup, with superstars like Ladislav “Guardian” Kovacs, Egor “Flamie” Vasilyev, and Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostyliev. The team hasn’t won an event since ESL One New York in October 2016, their only tournament win since the departure of former in-game leader Daniil “Zeus” Teslenko.
The team’s analyst Andrey “Andi” Prokhorov will be taking the reigns as the team’s head coach, but it is unknown whether or not Na’Vi will look to bring another coach on board.
Starix meanwhile has confirmed in a post on social media site, VK, that he will be staying in the esports scene. He stated that he was looking for a new lineup to coach, however also did not rule out a potential return to playing. It’s been two years since Starix was a starting player, however the prospect of his return has many excited. Especially after the former Na’Vi and current Gambit player Zeus posted a cryptic message to Twitter.
“Due to specific circumstances our team wasn’t able to practice for pretty much any game in the past 10 days, you will find out why soon.” Is what the now deleted tweet read. Fans are speculating that it could be due to an imminent roster change, but could also have nothing to do with Starix, instead pointing towards the loan agreement Gambit have with Tengri for Abay “Hobbit” Khassenov.