Sources: Cloud9 close in on NAVI duo electroNic and Perfecto

Cloud9 are edging closer to a deal to sign NAVI’s CSGO duo of Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov and Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy, sources have told Dexerto.

The North American organization is in advanced discussions with NAVI to sign the Russian duo after talks accelerated in recent days, sources said.

NAVI are currently in the process of turning their CS:GO team into an international roster, with Dexerto revealing on June 17 that Andrii ‘npl’ Kukharskyi had been given his marching orders.

NAVI have been heavily linked with Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen (NIP), Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius (Apeks) and Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan (GamerLegion) as part of the team’s off-season rebuild.

electroNic looks set to leave NAVI after almost six years

1pv.fr reported on June 21 that electroNic and Perfecto could still remain with the team, but it seems now that they are heading to the exit door at NAVI. They could be replacing Abay ‘HObbit’ Khassenov and Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov, who, according to Belarusian insider Harumi, are on their way out of Cloud9.

electroNic has been with NAVI since November 2017, when he was signed from FlipSid3 Tactics. He has established himself as one of the best riflers in the game, making HLTV.org’s Top 20 Player of the Year ranking every year between 2018 and 2021. During that period, his lowest ranking on the list was seventh.

In 2022, electroNic took up NAVI’s captaincy following the removal of Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov. Without surprise, his numbers took a slight dip, but he still managed to remain an influential player in the server, averaging a 1.10 HLTV Rating and 1.16 Impact on LAN.

Perfecto joined NAVI in January 2020 after leaving Syman Gaming. Both players are currently in the top 15 of the biggest prize winners in CS:GO history thanks to NAVI’s dream 2021, when the team won a series of international titles, including PGL Major Stockholm, and Intel Grand Slam Season 3.