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Ardiis announces free agency from Natus Vincere
VCT CN’s most ardent supporter, Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks, has announced his restricted free agency status from Natus Vincere. This announcement on X comes a year after his reunification with old FunPlus Phoenix teammates Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov, Andrei “Shao” Kiprskii, Dmitrii “suygetsu” Iliushin, and Pontus “Zyppan” Eek, and a season of disappointments, absent of any international appearances.
The announcement also comes several days after Zyppan’s own similar announcement of entering restricted free agency. This marks the 2nd of the original 5-man FPX core to be breaking up following their full reunion in late 2023 under the Natus Vincere banner.
Ardiis: Finding a Way Back to the Top
In 2022, ardiis was the centerpiece for one of VALORANT’s most successful rosters - FunPlus Phoenix. The European core had finished 1st and 2nd respectively in both Challengers that year. While they were unable to attend Masters Reykjavik, FPX lifted the trophy at Masters Copenhagen, cementing themselves as the true masters of Europe and one of the best teams at the time.
Come Champions, FPX battled their way to finish 4th behind DRX at their first ever Champions event. The end of the 2022 VALORANT season also heralded in the beginning of the partnership program and ardiis crossed the ocean on a daring venture. Joining forces with one of the most prolific minds in North America - Pujan “FNS” Mehta - ardiis filled the void left by Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker, who had himself moved on to Cloud9 at the time to form a ‘superteam’.
2023 would not be the year ardiis continued his streak of dominance and success. Neither would 2024 as it turns out. In 2023, ardiis still attended VCT LOCK//IN São Paulo, VCT Masters Tokyo, and VALORANT Champions 2023. In 2024, ardiis and NA’VI did not attend a single international tournament, finishing 5th-6th in both Stage 1 and 2.
Crossing Oceans Once Again
“I don’t think I’ll ever live outside of EMEA again. It was a hard year. I don’t think I really realized how hard it would be, living in a completely different country, completely different timezone. [...] To speak with friends and family was near enough impossible.”
Speaking with ardiis at the beginning of 2023, he shared his experience of living in North America during his time with NRG and if he would ever consider crossing oceans again. While at the time, it was an emphatic no, perhaps now circumstances have changed.
In his announcement, ardiis announced his availability and willingness to play in either VCT EMEA or VCT CN. The latter comes as something of a surprise following his hilarious U-Turn mid-Champions - emerging towards the end as the region’s biggest supporter.
NA'VI Current Roster:
- Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov
- Andrei “Shao” Kiprskii
- Dmitrii “suygetsu” Iliushin
- Pontus “Zyppan” Pontus Eek (R-F/A)
- Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks (R-F/A)
- Oliwer “LATEKS” Fahlander
There's still plenty of VALORANT action ahead in the OFF//SEASON. So, check in with Strafe to catch all of the latest VALORANT news.
Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.
Featured Image Source:Michal Konkol/Riot Games
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