NAVI sign up for a tier-two event in Lisbon to avoid missing their first ever Major

Natus Vincere have never missed a Counter-Strike Major. That streak, one of the club's defining traits, is now on the line, and NAVI have made an unusual call to protect it: entering HyperX Retake Season 13, a tier-two LAN taking place in Lisbon from 29 October to 1 November.

Why NAVI need this event

The team's autumn has been difficult. According to HLTV, NAVI dropped out of the VRS top 20 in September and have since slid to 30th. Two LAN wins at ESL Pro League S24 provided a brief lift that didn't last.

Singapore Major invitations are handed out using the final VRS ranking of 2 November, and NAVI need LAN wins before then. HyperX Retake, with a $16,996 prize pool, offers exactly that: in-person matches against opponents who should, in theory, be more beatable.

An impossible calendar

The problem is that the event overlaps with PGL Masters Bucharest, played from 24 to 31 October, and ends less than a day before IEM Beijing starts, running from 2 to 8 November. NAVI had until 19 October to withdraw and didn't, so the further they go in Bucharest, the harder it will be to make both events work.

HLTV's simulator gives NAVI a 96.6% chance of reaching the Major, but that figure assumes they play both events and win some matches, especially in Lisbon. If the draw puts them in a three-team group, they could run out of room to get the wins they need.

Iberian Soul and BC.Game in Lisbon too

HyperX Retake will be more interesting than usual. Alongside NAVI, the field includes TYLOO, JiJieHao, OG, Metizport, Portugal's SAW Youngsters, s1mple's BC.Game and Spain's Iberian Soul. The format opens with best-of-three GSL groups followed by a single-elimination playoff bracket.

Before that, NAVI open in Bucharest on Saturday against G2, in a match where both teams are fighting for their place in the race to Singapore.

Source: HLTV, Dust2.