Das Ende einer Ära: Starix wird als Coach bei Natus Vincere ersetzt

Das CIS-Team Natus Vincere wird in Zukunft ohne Sergey ’starix‘ Ischuk aktiv sein. Starix war seit zwei Jahren der Coach des Teams, und zuvor fünf Jahre selbst aktiver NaVi-Spieler. Für ihn soll der bisherige Analyst Andrey ‚Andi‘ Prokhorov von nun an als Coach fungieren. Andi war diese Woche bereits als Coach für die ESL Pro League Spiele bei NaVi dabei. Wie die Zukunft für Starix aussieht ist noch ungewiss, er selbst deutet allerdings an, dass er eventuell wieder als Spieler zurückkehren möchte und auf jeden Fall auf Twitch aktiv sein wird.

Statement Yevhen Zolotarev – NaVi CEO

It’s no secret that recently our team has been going through some rough times and that we needed to make some changes. Both me and Eugene Yerofeev are generally against any measures affecting staff, but in this particular case we were all aware of the fact that inconsistent practice and imperfect training process in general have caused, along with some other issues, the recent unsatisfactory results of the team.

Sergey has been working in tough conditions right from the beginning, as he had to depart from the teammate’s position and take on a completely new role, which required keeping distance, working individually with each player and being fair and objective at all times. He was doing well as an in-game leader, but as the coaching restriction came, the team entered a slump. After the Katowice event, we all had a talk and decided to give Sergey some time to recharge his batteries. Andi is the one who has taken over the coaching responsibilities due to his unusual and at the same time very systematic game approach, while starix has taken a pause to decide on his next step. His contract remains in place and we are waiting for him to make a decision in order to start talking about what to do next and hopefully, continue to work together.

Another thing which I would like to say, not as the organization’s representative, but as a person who has known Sergey for 12 years and even played with him on one team, is that he showed great courage by taking responsibility for the team’s underperforming. Sergey, you are an epoch maker here at Na`Vi! I am sure that this pause will prove beneficial to you and see you come back even stronger, wiser and more certain about your future than ever. And no matter what path you will choose to follow, the most important thing is pursuing your goals!
We are waiting for you to return! :)))))

Aside from that, I’d like to wish good luck to Andrey. We believe in you and your ideas and promise to provide you with all necessary support. GL&HF. Concluding, I will quote one famous player who always says, „Let’s go get it!“

Statement Eugene ‚ugin‘ Yerofeev – Team Manager

After analyzing the work we have done over the half-year period and then looking at the results we have achieved, we concluded that something needed to change, and decided to try Andrey out as a coach.

In the traditional sports, if a promising team is not able to unleash its potential and fails to deliver results, the coach is replaced. Athletes are trained since their earliest childhood, they are taught to follow instructions with no questions asked. In order to become a coach there, you have to work hard. In our case the issues are a bit more complicated, at least that is how I see it. Basically, most cyber athletes are self-made. There are many teams that show decent performance without a coach, if we do not consider that some players perform the role of a coach-player.

The guys simply play the game they like, look for other players to create their own teams and go on to become professionals. They are self-taught, amateurs. And when a coach arrives to control what they do, obviously some conflicts and misunderstandings may arise. We can observe constant coaching changes in some teams, there are people who can’t decide between the role of a coach and that of a player. The task of a coach is extremely difficult. The players have to improve their own skills only, whereas the coach has to work both on himself and each and every player individually as well as teach them to work in a team and win. This job is not easy, it’s very stressful. Of course, it’s hard to compare coaches in traditional sport and here, and it is clear that in most cases the problem is not centered around a single person – it usually depends on the entire team. But we cannot leave the roster unchanged.

Natus Vincere-Lineup

Ioann ‚Edward‘ Sukhariev
Aleksandr ’s1mple‘ Kostyliev
Egor ‚flamie‘ Vasilyev
Denis ’seized‘ Kostin
Laislav ‚GuardiaN‘ Kovács
Andrey ‚Andi‘ Prokhorov (Coach)