Going international: NAVI reportedly seals deal for star CS:GO rifler

There has been a lot of murmur around NAVI’s CS:GO team and the impending roster changes that await the CIS organization. The rumor mill began a few days ago with a report that NAVI is going international. A new wagon on the hype train is the claim that NAVI has already agreed terms to sign a star rifler who first made an impression at the Paris CS:GO Major

A report from blix.gg on June 21 claims NAVI and Apeks rifler Justinas “jL” Lekavicius have agreed terms for the player’s transfer from Apeks. This is a confirmation of a recent claim that the CIS region’s most successful organization is preparing to follow the trend and go international for the first time in its history.

That NAVI is looking to offload youngster Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi is the worst-kept secret on the CS:GO esports scene. NAVI is used to contending for titles and waiting for the 17-year-old to blossom is a process it seems unwilling to go through.

This has naturally inspired a wide discussion in the community about who npl’s successor will be. If this report is to be believed, the discussion is over and NAVI has found its new fifth member.

Lithuanian jL burst on the scene during May’s Paris Major, where he and his Apeks teammates surprised everybody by reaching the semifinals. A curious fact worth pointing out is that jL was actually the worst Apeks player during the Major as far as pure stats go. Not the best sign for the supposed new NAVI player, but numbers don’t tell the whole story in CS:GO.

The NAVI transfer rumors far out-scope just the removal of npl and the addition of jL. Long-time player Denis “electronic” Sharipov is supposedly “almost confirmed” to be one foot out the door, with Finnish IGL Aleksi “aleksib” Virolainen set to take his place.

The name of Mohammad “BOROS” Malhas was also often mentioned when discussing potential NAVI signings, but he ended up signing with Falcons, which opens the door wide open for the jL transfer to come through.

All of this is still unconfirmed, but there is enough smoke here to indicate the burning of a medium-sized cornfield, so the fire can’t keep hiding forever.