We continue the series of materials about the CIS-region players in the prestigious HLTV Player of the Year rating. The next one is Valeriy b1t Vakhovskiy, a rifler from Natus Vincere, easily called the main discovery in the Counter-Strike industry.
Valeriy was transferred from the Junior squad to the NaVi main roster at the very beginning of 2021 as the sixth player. Initially, he was a substitute for Egor flamie Vasiliev on the Inferno map. Together with the team, Vakhovskiy won the BLAST Global Final'20. Then, b1t started to receive more playing time on other maps.
A key moment in the young shooter's story can be considered Valve's decision to fine RMR points while using 6-player lineups. After a consultation with the players and NaVi Junior coach Amiran ami Rehviashvili, the head coach Andrii B1ad3 Gorodenskiy decided in favor of Valery, sending flamie to the reserve. What happened next is already a story, which many pro-players now call the best replacement in the history of the pro-region.
With his confident shooting, an incredible percentage of headshots at every tournament, and mature decisions in difficult situations on the tier-1 stage against famous opponents, b1t amazed the CS:GO audience. Many analysts predicted that the 18-year-old guy would not succeed mentally in LAN tournaments. Still, just by the time he was playing offlane, Valeriy had adapted to the main roster and demonstrated the statistics of one of the best players on the planet. Vakhovskiy was awarded the title of EVP 6 times. He was close to becoming MVP a few times, but what can you do when your teammate Oleksandr s1mple Kostyliev holds the historical record for the most valuable player titles in a calendar year?
According to the Natus Vincere team members, the main distinguishing feature of b1t is his calmness and restraint/confidence. The top of Vakhovskiy's possibilities is not yet known. He regularly trains with ami and Denis electronic Sharipov individually. By the way, the latter successfully predicted in 2020 that Valeriy would get into the top-20 of HLTV, the only pro-player of the past ranking.
During the super successful 2021 for Natus Vincere, Vakhovsky became one of the richest sportsmen in CIS history, earning more than legends like Daniil Zeus Teslenko and Ioann Edward Sukharev during their entire career. Many people predict the title of the world's best player for b1t in the coming years, and former teammate Ilya m0NESY Osipov is called the major competitor for Valeriy.
Speaking of Ilya, Vakhovsky named his friend in his 2022 top 20 predictions. Also, BlameF, huNter and stavn selected the G2 Esports recruit. Something tells me we'll see Ilya a few more times in predictions, at least thanks to Nikola NiKo Kovač.
The statistics confirm that at the end of 2021, b1t is legitimately among the strongest players on the planet. He is still undefeated in LAN tournaments (4 titles), and for sure, he is one of the youngest Major winners.
Best Highlights
Valeriy gave us several highlights. But, according to tradition, we'll highlight only two of them.
To repeat such a triumphant path of Natus Vincere in the coming 2022 will be extremely difficult, considering the reshuffles of many squads. But, there is no doubt that b1t will continue to progress and already has his place in history.