All change at NAVI.
Erik "Erik" Sandgren is leaving NAVI's active Valorant roster, it has been announced. The Swede has been the rosters Head Coach since November 2022, and has overseen some strong results during his time.
He is being replaced by Oliwer "Lateks" Fahlander, who has been Assistant Coach to Erik since he joined the roster.
NAVI Erik says "I am responsible" for below par results
Posing on X, formerly Twitter, Erik claimed responsibility for some of NAVI's recent performances. NAVI failed to qualify for the Valorant Masters Shanghai, finishing 5th-6th. This follows the side also failing to qualify for the Masters event in Madrid, with NAVI losing a tense Semifinal with Team Heretics back in February.
Erik feels that NAVI are capable of much better results. The goal of this change is to rejuvenate their roster before the end of the season. The side will be keen to qualify for the Valorant Champions event, held in Seoul.
New Head Coach Lateks will be focused on the second stage of the Valorant Champions Tour. Matches begin mid June, leaving just eight weeks for NAVI to regroup and try to salvage their season with a strong Group Stage performance. They had a 4-1 record in the initial stage of the event.
Latek told Navi's website:
"I’m excited to start this new chapter of my career, and though it won't be easy, I will do my very best to live up to the expectations.
"For this upcoming split, I want to find a way to reinvigorate ourselves while still minding what worked and did not work in the last split.
"I’m convinced that with proper effort, we will secure our ticket to the Championship."
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Memorable moments as Head Coach
However, recent stumbles should not discount the strong results that NAVI posted under Erik's stewardship. NAVI won the G-Loot Valorant Clash, took a top four at the VCT 2023: LOCK//IN in São Paulo and 4th place in the 2023 VCT EMEA League.
They also pulled off an impressive late run to the 2023 Valorant Champions event, snagging a second place in the highly competitive Last Chance Qualifier. They bounced back to beat KOI 3-0, despite losing to them earlier in the event.
NAVI will hope that this roster reshuffle gives their season a vital boost. Stay tuned to esports.gg for more Valorant coverage.
