Starix departs Na`Vi after two years as coach

After a prolonged period of slumped form, Natus Vincere has decided to make a change in leadership.

Sergey “starix” Ischuk is stepping down as coach of Natus Vincere, after a seven-year career playing and coaching with the team.

The decision was made following several discussions with the team and organization, according to the former coach. The team’s analyst Andrey “Andi” Prokhorov will be now be taking the reins as coach of the Na`Vi CS:GO team, which has struggled to achieve any noteworthy results since its victory at ESL One New York on Oct. 2.

Having signed with Na`Vi in 2010, starix became part of the organization’s legendary Counter-Strike 1.6 lineup. The roster went on to win all major events of 2010, and shattered the previous record for most prize money won in a single year.

In a post on social media site VK (translated by HLTV), starix explained that his departure was directly related to the team’s lack of recent progress. The former coach was adamant however about remaining in the esports industry, and is open to coaching a new roster—or even resume his playing career.

Starix’s most recent game at a LAN event saw the coach fill in for Na`Vi’s star AWPer Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács at the DreamHack Masters Malmö group stage in April 2016.

Na`Vi replaced long time in-game leader Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko with Ukrainian superstar Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev on Aug. 4 last year, but besides the ESL One New York win and a top four finish at EPICENTER the team has struggled to make a mark.