Natus Vincere Disband Fortnite Roster

Popular esports organization, Natus Vincere (Na’Vi), has officially bowed out of the competitive Fortnite stratosphere. After joining back in January of 2019, the Dutch-based organization officially released Levi “LnueF” Edelijn and Quinten “Quinten van der Zijpp, in coincidence with disbanding the team. The notable career highlight for Edelijn and van der Zijpp was their 44th place performance at the Fortnite World Cup, which yielded $100K USD to the pair. The two players continued teaming together into the Season X Fortnite Champion Series, but unfortunately, they failed to qualify for the Season X Grand Finals.

Fortnite Team Manager of Na’Vi, Mykhailo “M1ke” Palamar provided a statement in regards to the organization's decision to leave Fortnite.

“Unfortunately, despite huge interest in the discipline on behalf of the players, the publisher, Epic Games, does not support the esports clubs, completely ignoring their interests.

The best example is the Fortnite World Cup that has taken place in July, which had strict restrictions regarding the number of sponsors and the sizes of their logos, while some were banned outright. During the long time we’ve spent in esports, this is the first time we’ve encountered this approach.

Developing the esports scene exclusively based on huge prize pools is a short-run and risky model, so Na'Vi esports club made a decision to not maintain the Fortnite roster and focus on other titles.”

The Future of Na'Vi

The decision to exit Fortnite will not impact Na’Vi directly, in fact, it is quite the opposite. Many esports enthusiasts reference Natus Vincere as one of the premier organizations across the rising industry. With many tournament victories over several titles, Na’Vi remains atop the world of esports in terms of their relevance.

Unfortunately, we have to announce the disband of our Fortnite roster. GL, @Lnuef & @QuintenFN!

📰: https://t.co/heL8SjF0kN #navination #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/RgNqHy58CL

— NAVI (@natusvincere) October 28, 2019

Epic Games’ organizational restrictions primarily affect franchises like Natus Vincere because of their minor presence in the competitive scene. Other organizations such as FaZe Clan and Team SoloMid have far more players and established personalities within the scene. The same cannot be said for Na’Vi, who only had four players on their team throughout its short stint in competitive Fortnite. It’s possible that Natus Vincere reappears in the Fortnite scene depending on how the next chapter of Fortnite Esports plays out. However, for now, this marks the end of Na’Vi in Fortnite.