Ukrainian e-sports stars beat Russians to first place at US tournament

Leading Ukrainian e-sports team Natus Vincere — known as NAVI — beat their Russian opponents to come out on top of the Intel Extreme Master Atlanta 2026 Counter Strike 2 (CS2) tournament in the U.S on May 18.

The team took home their second championship trophy of the year as well as $125,000 in prize money after beating German team GamerLegion 2-1 in the popular first-person shooter video game, the team wrote in a press release.

In addition to winning the prestigious days long tournament — watched by over 600,000 people during peak viewership — NAVI player Igor 'w0nderfu'l Zhdanov was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the first time in his career.

NAVI faced off against Russian team BetBoom in the quarter finals, beating the team 2-0. The Russians ended the tournament in fourth place, taking home $20,000.

"This victory is special: we managed to beat ardent opponents from Team Vitality and defeat the Russians," Maksym Krippa — the Ukrainian businessman and majority owner of Navi since 2022 as well as the hit S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game franchise — wrote on social media.

"This is the fourth final of a major tournament this year and the second victory. The team went through a difficult draw and confirmed its level in matches against the strongest opponents."

NAVI has been a key team in Ukraine’s burgeoning e-sports sector since its founding in 2009 with a worldwide fanbase. Since its formation, the team has won over $21 million and amassed some 17 million followers across social media and YouTube, according to the team’s LinkedIn.

The team’s next tournament will be the Cologne Major in June where they hope to secure a new trophy, fans, and support for Ukraine, Krippa wrote.