headtr1ck in NAVI bootcamp as s1mple is doubtful for BLAST Premier Fall Groups

NAVI Junior player Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov will bootcamp with the main team ahead of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups as Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev is in doubt for the tournament, Dexerto has learned.

The 18-year-old is traveling to the team’s bootcamp location and will step in for s1mple if needed as the two-time CS:GO player of the year could miss the BLAST Premier Fall Groups due to personal reasons.

Earlier on August 13, s1mple teased fans with an Instagram story that contained the following message: “Big announcement soon”.

headtr1ck is no stranger to NAVI’s main team. Earlier this year, he played three matches for NAVI at ESL Pro League Season 15 as a replacement for Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov, who had returned a positive test ahead of the event. He averaged a 0.97 HLTV rating as NAVI beat AGO, Evil Geniuses and Complexity in the group stage of the tournament.

headtr1ck is one of the two academy players that NAVI have registered as substitutes for the BLAST Premier Fall Groups alongside Andrii ‘nipl’ Kukharskyi. He was a standout player in NAVI Junior’s 5th-6th place run in WePlay Academy League Season 5 with a team-high 1.24 HLTV rating.

NAVI have been placed in Group B of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, alongside Complexity, G2 and Team Liquid. The tournament will run from August 19 to August 28, with six spots at the Fall Final up for grabs.