Natus Vincere’s former CS:GO in-game leader Boombl4 has officially joined all-Russian team 1WIN today in time for the BLAST Paris Major’s European RMR closed qualifier, confirming a report by insider Aleksey “OverDrive” Biryukov earlier this month.
The 24-year-old joined 1WIN alongside Aleksei “NickelBack” Trofimov and head coach Dmitry “hooch” Bogdanov. They’ll play with Aleksandr “TRAVIS” Timkiv, Denis “deko” Zhukov, Igor “Forester” Bezotecheskiy, and the other coach Vadim “MSE” Zimin.
Boombl4 had basically been on the sidelines since he was removed from NAVI’s roster in May 2022 due to bringing “high reputational risks” to the Ukrainian organization amid the controversy surrounding his ex-wife Lika, who seemingly showed support for Russia during the war while they were married.
Apart from playing three matches with mixed team BEBRA, Boombl4 remained inactive after NAVI cut ties with him following their runners-up campaign at the PGL Antwerp Major. He most notably spent time doing rap while waiting to join another team after his contract with Natus Vincere ran out on Jan. 1, 2023.
It’s unclear if Boombl4 will be the in-game leader of 1WIN at some point or if the captaincy duties will remain with NickelBack, who has also been an in-game leader throughout his career. Should Boombl4 be just a rifler, he could focus on his individual form and getting frags just like he did before he became the captain of NAVI after Zeus’ retirement in September 2019.
Boombl4’s debut with 1WIN will happen at the BLAST Paris Major’s European RMR closed qualifier, which will be played from Feb. 16 to 19. After that, 1WIN have to play the upper-bracket quarterfinals of ESL Challenger League season 44 Europe against Endpoint on March 7.
