According to information from many sources, Natus Vincere is in talks to recruit Acend player Mehmet “cNed” Yağız İpek to the VALORANT squad. The deal is yet to be finalized, but both Acend and NaVi seem confident that talks will be over soon.
Once negotiations are complete, NAVI VCT will have completed the starting lineup for the 2023 season. The organization is gearing up to take on the Masters-winning FunPlus Phoenix team, but star Chamber player Ardis “Ardiis” Svarenieks will not be present under the Navi umbrella along with the rest of his teammates.
Instead, Ardiis tried to transfer to the team elsewhere, and North American organization NRG was preparing to sign the player, according to previous reports. Ardiis is considered for sure for NRG, so the player is gearing up to compete in the Americas international league.
CNed, previously known as one of the best players in the world, carried his team to the big cup at the VALORANT Champions held in December last year. Acend had become VALORANT's top team after a spectacular comeback victory against Gambit Esports in the grand final.
Another European team, FPX, has seen a prominent rise in recent months culminating in a victory at the VCT Masters Copenhagen, which took place in July. FPX knocked out Paper Rex in a thrilling 3-2 victory in the grand final.
However, Acend and FPX were unable to form a partnership with developer and tournament organizer Riot Games for the EMEA international league, which will start next February. However, NAVI was one of the few teams that secured a partnership to represent the CIS(CiS) region. It was also reported that Cned was also in talks with Team Vitality in the past weeks.
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