Natus Vincere are among the teams signed up to compete at HyperX Retake Season 13, a 16-team LAN in Lisbon, Portugal, scheduled to run from October 29 – November 1 with $16,996 on offer.
The organization had until October 19 to pull out of the event, which overlaps with PGL Masters Bucharest (October 24-31) and ends less than a day before the start of IEM Beijing (November 2-8), but remained signed up after the deadline passed.
The scheduling conflict comes after Natus Vincere was put at risk of missing a Major for the first time in the organization’s history after a dismal Fall season that saw the team crater below the top 20 on the VRS in September.
Read more
Five VRS talking points a month before Singapore Major invites
Two valuable LAN wins at ESL Pro League Season 24 provided a brief boost, but the team has since slipped to 30th on the VRS and NAVI’s spot at the Major is still not guaranteed as teams below them fight to catch up.
They currently sit at a 96.6% chance of qualifying on HLTV’s simulation page, but that number can be misleading: it takes into account that Natus Vincere will play two events before the invite deadline and assumes the team will win at least some of their matches, particularly those against lower-ranked teams at HyperX Retake.
However, without enough LAN wins, Natus Vincere would remain firmly out of the running for a Major spot, and a further spanner is thrown in the works as the team list for the LAN in Portugal remains incomplete.
Read more
Aleksib: “We need to enjoy the game more; all these setbacks make you overthink”
That could mean Natus Vincere ends up in a GSL group with only three teams, leaving them devoid of a chance to grab one of the crucial LAN wins they need to lock in their invite.
