Erik (doombr0s) and Natus Vincere part ways after a poor split

After a disappointing VCT EMEA Split 1, Natus Vincere and Head Coach Erik “Erik” Sandgren (prev. doombr0s) have decided to part ways.

Former Asst. Coach Oliwer “LATEKS” Fahlander will be promoted to take up the team’s reign.

The roster move marks the end of an almost four-year partnership of the former-FPX and Natus Vincere core of ANGE1, Shao, Zyppan and Erik.

The core rose to popularity in 2022, with Suygetsu and Ardiis after winning the VCT EMEA Stage 1 Challengers 2022. Unfortunately, they could not participate in the following VCT Masters Reykjavik 2022 due to VISA issues.

But the team ran it back in the next challengers, qualifying for Copenhagen and made a lower bracket run to win their first International title.

They followed it up with a top six finish at the VALORANT Champions 2022. The FPX core transitioned to Natus Vincere alongside the coaching staff.

Under the NaVi banner, with cNed replacing Ardiis, but the team did not achieve the same level of success.

Come VCT 2024, Ardiis returned and everyone had high hopes for NaVi, but they crumbled in face of new competition in Team Heretics, missing Masters Madrid.

They performed exceptionally well during the VCT EMEA 2024 Split 1 Regular season, but lost to Team Heretics in the opening round of the playoffs, crushing their Masters Shanghai dreams.

The roster move follows a plethora of mediocre results. Despite the obvious signs of brilliance, the team has been struggling since Copenhagen'22 to achieve significant results on the international stage.

Erik took to X (formerly Twitter) to talk about his time with the core.

Natus Vincere will head into Stage 2, with LATEKS as the team’s head coach.

The new roster for Split 2 will be:

• Kyrylo "ANGE1" Karasov
• Andrei "Shao" Kiprskii
• Pontus "Zyppan" Eek
• Dmitrii "SUYGETSU" Ilyushin
• Ardis "ardiis" Svarenieks
• Oliwer "LATEKS" Fahlander (Head Coach)
• Mykhailo "M1ke" Palamar (Manager)

VCT EMEA 2024 will resume with Split 2 started June 18th.

Featured Image Credits: VALORANT Esports / Riot Games

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