The first year of Natus Vincere’s Halo Infinite campaign didn’t quite go as planned.
But a few promising results in Raleigh and Orlando, as well as a last-minute qualification for the Halo World Championship despite recent roster changes that concluded with a top-16 placement, gives the NAVI camp an air of optimism going into 2023.
Furthermore, the organization announced today that it has made one major change heading into the new year, swapping out Kimbo for ex-Acend star Snipedrone. With the Acend roster splitting up, NAVI took the opportunity to sign the English player, reuniting him with a familiar face in Jimbo.
The two first teamed up together for Snipedrone’s first event in 2013 during the Halo 4 era. Most notably though, alongside the two brothers BUK 20 and BUK 57, Jimbo and Snipedrone found great success under the Epsilon Esports banner in Halo 2 Anniversary and Halo 5: Guardians between 2015 and 2016. The team ended top eight at the both the 2016 Halo World Championship and the X Games tournament held in Aspen that same year.
The two have briefly reunited in scattered tournaments and lineups since then, but have been separated since the beginning of Halo Infinite‘s competitive circuit. While Snipedrone enjoyed reaping the rewards of Acend’s dynastic hold over Europe throughout the game’s first year, Jimbo and NAVI struggled to have a similar impact despite his bountiful career prior. NAVI’s acquisition of the Dutch rookie Mighty in June and Snakey in July last year marked the start of their recovery, but they could still never reach the heights that Quadrant or Acend did.
With Snipedrone now in tow, there’s hope the team can better match the heights of their fellow top European teams. Mighty tweeted after the announcement, expressing that he was “really happy” to be teaming with Snipedrone for 2023 and that he will be “learning a lot under him.” Jimbo had a similar sentiment, saying he was “beyond glad to be back playing with Snipedrone” and noting the opportune timing of the reunion since it was approaching 10 years since their first event together.
With qualifiers for the kickoff Major in Charlotte set to start soon, we won’t have to wait long to see what this new NAVI roster can do.
