NAVI Junior has been making waves within the Dota 2 esports community with an impressive run at the ongoing PGL Wallachia Season 4.
The organisation’s academy Dota 2 roster advanced to Wallachia’s Playoffs yesterday after eliminating tier-one competitor Team Falcons in a dominant 2-0 fashion.
Wallachia Season 4 has been taking place since April 19th at the PGL Studio in Bucharest. It is the second Wallachia iteration to be held this year after tournament organiser PGL announced the return of the Dota 2 event series in October 2024. Sixteen teams have been battling through a Swiss Group Stage in hopes of making Playoffs and securing the lion’s share of the tournament’s $1m (~£750,000) prize pool.
While 11 teams were directly invited to the competition, NAVI Junior earned its spot at Wallachia Season 4 through one of the regional qualifiers. The Ukrainian squad won the Eastern Europe Closed Qualifier, defeating NAVI’s primary roster (3-2) in the Grand Final.
The NAVI Junior roster is part of the organisation’s academy programme, which also includes a junior Counter-Strike squad. The Dota 2 team was formed in 2022 and is packed with up-and-coming talent. Its youngest member, Artem ‘Niku’ Bachkur is only 16 years old. Niku joined NAVI Junior in 2023 at the age of 14.
With several tier-three titles under its belt, the academy team has tried to qualify for a tier-one Dota 2 tournament times in the past. After several failed attempts at DreamLeague and ESL One qualifiers, NAVI Junior barely missed out on Wallachia Season 3 earlier this year.
NAVI Junior Perseveres Against All Odds
Despite its underdog position, NAVI’s junior team has delivered solid results in the current Wallachia season, proving that grassroots Dota 2 talent can keep up with seasoned tier-one players.
During the Group Stage, the squad won three out of five matches. After losing to Aurora Gaming (1-2) and BetBoom Team (0-2), NAVI Junior eliminated not just Falcons, but also Talon Esports (2-0) and Nigma Galaxy (2-0).
However, with rising stakes, the roster seems to be struggling again. NAVI Junior’s first Playoffs match today against 2023 The International winner, Team Spirit, ended in a swift 0-2 loss for the young players.
The team will now have to defeat Tundra Esports tomorrow to continue its Wallachia run in the lower bracket.
