Ukrainian organization Natus Vincere is making a sudden return to competitive Call of Duty after nearly three years away from the esport—but they aren’t fielding an international squad based in Europe. Instead, they’re picking up an Aussie trio who will enter the million-dollar World Series of Warzone tournament with plenty of momentum.
The Aussie trio of Zepa, Lymax, and Levi will fly the NAVI flag for the WSOW global finals in August following an announcement from the org on June 22. The trio came together for the North American final, flying to Canada to practice in the lead-up to the big qualifier. Thanks to their fourth-placed finish—including a win in game two and a massive 54 kills—the squad booked their tickets to the Esports World Cup for the WSOW Global Finals. Now, they’ll pull on the iconic black-and-yellow and rep the storied organization in Riyadh.
NAVI made a brief appearance in CoD Mobile in 2021, picking up international squad Team Anarchy for the CoD Mobile World Championship. The team bowed out of the Western finals in seventh and departed the Ukrainian org after the tournament concluded. Zepa is hoping he and his team’s performance at WSOW in Riyadh will sprout into something permanent with the org. “Never did I think NAVI would be interested in CoD again, but here we are with an opportunity and we are going to make the most of it,” Zepa said.
Zepa and Levi teamed up with fellow Aussie Teenie in the 2023 edition of the WSOW finals, running 30th. Lymax, in the meantime, found greater success alongside Breadman and joeWo, finishing sixth and netting a cool $24,000. This year’s edition of the Warzone tournament clocks in at a million dollars—double the total prize pool from last year—and includes both the SoloYolo and Match Point team events, with players and teams from across the globe converging on the Saudi Arabian capital.
North American and EMEA’s last chance qualifiers begin July 11 with the global final kicking off in Riyadh as part of Esports World Cup celebrations in late July and throughout August.
