NAVI add B1T to BLAST Premier Fall Finals roster

The 17-year-old could make his debut for the team later today against Astralis as they experiment with a six-man roster.

NAVI Junior talent Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy has been added to the main team's roster for the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, the Ukrainian organisation announced on Tuesday. The 17-year-old has been playing an active part in the team's scrims as of late as the organisation look to use him "on certain maps in a tournament environment."

b1t has been a standout member for NAVI Junior, the academy roster that was assembled in September 2019. He was among the first three players to be signed for the team following the NAVI Esports Camp, a project aimed at uncovering new young talent in the CIS region.

The Ukrainian player has averaged a 1.15 rating for NAVI Junior, whose biggest achievement to date is a second-place finish in Eden Arena Malta Vibes Cup 5. He briefly subbed in for Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov in an ESL Pro League Season 12 Europe match against Heroic in September as the Russian star was experiencing connection issues.

“With the correct approach, the model with a wider roster is rather successful," NAVI coach Andrey "⁠B1ad3⁠" Gorodenskiy said in a statement. "I like the idea of refining players for certain maps. In the long run, it will strengthen our roster.”

Natus Vincere will face Astralis later on Tuesday in the first round of the BLAST Premier Fall Finals. The team will also compete in the IEM Global Challenge, which will run from December 15-20.

The CIS giants will field the following six-man roster in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals:

Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev
Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov
Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov
Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev
Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy
Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy