In December of 2020, Natus Vincere announced that Valeriy “B1T” Vakhovskiy was stepping up from the organization’s academy roster after being signed during its initial formation in October 2019. Now, he’s stepped up to the primary roster and is running the show against the best of the best. Let’s break down his recent results and how he could change the entire team’s dynamic.
B1T’s Recent Results
Despite only being on the roster for a few months, Natus Vincere has been using B1T more and more during ESL Pro League matches. In fact, in their most recent matchup against MiBR, B1T was a large contributor towards the win. He had 46 kills on the scoreboard, second only to star player Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. While many doubted B1T’s performance in an active role, the match proved that he has what it takes to play with the best of the best.
B1T’s new role
B1T started out subbing for Egor “flamie” Vasilev on inferno for his first few matches, similar to Astralis player Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen, who only played Nuke. Lately, Natus Vincere has been using B1T more and more as he now plays on overpass, mirage, and inferno. While B1T previously played flamie’s support role, he is now taking on a more active role in the team, while Denis “electronic” Sharipov helps Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov with in-game leading.
Future of B1t
While B1T may not end up replacing flamie, Natus Vincere needs to make a decision soon. Valve’s recent ruling about six-man rosters will negate their chances of making the upcoming PGL Major if they don’t. In short, the ruling says if a player change is made, a 20% deduction on the team will occur. Due to this, Vitality benched their sixth-man Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom and Astralis are looking to use Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen in a different way. What Natus Vincere decides to do with B1T and flamie remains to be seen.
