According to strong rumors in the last few hours, it appears that NRG star Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks will jump the pond again to return to his former lineup, NaVi (formerly FunPlus Phoenix), for the upcoming VCT season.
This would be neither the first nor the last time a player decides to return to what was his home after a season in a completely different region. In the esports scene, this happens more than we might imagine, as many players take on some challenges for a short period. However, when they cannot realize their goals, they return to where they are comfortable and happy.
Reports claim that ardiis would return to NaVi for VCT 2024
According to a report by Alejandro “anonimotum” Gomis, ardiis has reportedly reached a verbal agreement with NaVi to return to EMEA for VCT 2024. If this report is confirmed, ardiis will take Mehmet “cNed” İpek’s place at NaVi, so he will be the team’s Duelist for next season.
Sources: Ardiis 🇱🇻 is back 🇪🇺.
Ardiss has reached a verbal agreement with Navi 🇺🇦 and will play with the Ukrainian team in VCT.
Read on @blix_gg ⬇️ https://t.co/Y7T9LQw5pT
— Alejandro Gomis (@anonimotum) September 8, 2023
As mentioned, ardiis was part of the FunPlus Phoenix (now NaVi) lineup for several months before jumping across the pond to join NRG to play the VCT Americas League 2023. Before that, however, they managed to win the Copenhagen Masters 2022 under the FPX banner.
Ardiis and NRG
At NRG, ardiis displayed their full potential in the VCT Americas League and achieved great accomplishments throughout the 2023 season. NRG finished in second place in the VCT Americas regular season and finished in the TOP 4 of the Tokyo 2023 Masters. However, in the VCT Champions 2023, the team could not advance to the playoffs, as Bilibili Gaming eliminated them in the Group Stage.
After this disappointing performance in VCT Champions 2023, NRG changed their lineup, sending Sam “s0m” Oh and Pujan “FiNESSE” Mehta to the Content Creator division.
s0m confirms him and FNS are no longer on NRG’s starting Valorant roster, they will be full time streaming until an opportunity comes up pic.twitter. com/usRQKBV95n
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) August 28, 2023
Signing of ardiis with NaVi
Now if the deal between ardiis and NaVi is true and the player wants to leave his current organization, NRG will have to give the green light and sell the Latvian. If the move goes through, ardiis will come to NaVi to replace cNed, who will remain on the Ukrainian org’s bench until a new home is secured.
