Kendrew's journey in NAVI

Kendrew's career with Natus Vincere

Today the captain of Natus Vincere, who defended the colors of our esports club for a year and a half, Luke "Kendrew" Kendrew, left the Natus Vincere. Let's take a look back at all the highlights of the player with the Born to Win.

Kendrew joined NAVI in June 2019 — that's when it was announced that the MnM Gaming would transition under the yellow and black banner. That choice came as no surprise: the squad had performed well in smaller tournaments and also earned a ticket to the European elite by winning the Challenger League's ninth season. In other words, the Natus Vincere club was now represented by a young and hungry team for major victories, with Kendrew taking the lead as captain.

In his 20s, Luke already had plenty of experience in the professional Rainbow Six Siege scene. In fact,  Kendrew has had several years of experience playing at a high level and his track record includes playing for a number of organizations, including Invicta Gaming, Method, TrainHard eSport and PACT.

It's worth noting that Luke's competitive career could have gone in a different direction, as he was a rugby player before esports. However, his love for computer games eventually took over, and Kendrew decided to use his sports experience in Rainbow Six Siege. In the end, his leadership qualities, assertiveness, and sportsmanship helped him become the man the others were willing to follow in a tough situation.

NAVI Rainbow Six Siege team had a great start under the new tag, although it took some time to get up to speed. So, at first, the guys took 9th-12th places at DreamHack Valencia 2019, and then they failed to make it to the Major, losing twice to Team Vitality during the qualifying matches.

But then followed a period that could be considered golden for Natus Vincere in the discipline. Winning the ESL Premiership Summer 2019 regional tournament, a great performance in the European Pro League Season 10, and, as a crowning touch, a triumph in Japan in the final of the same tenth Pro League season. At the time, our team looked like a force to be reckoned with. The successes were also cemented by the ESL Premiership Winter 2019 title.

At the start of Six Invitational 2020, Natus Vincere approached the tournament as a team capable of making it to the playoffs. Alas, the desirable does not always coincide with the reality: the boys failed to overcome the group stage, leaving the team in disarray.  Kendrew had a heavy burden: it was necessary to keep the team strong and try to conquer new challenges.

It is unlikely that Luke himself could consider the task accomplished: the team was simply a tough opponent for the others, and the results were rather mediocre. And the unfortunate coronavirus pandemic played its part: the team played exclusively online, which was partly responsible for the unimpressive achievements.

2020 was a difficult year for the team and especially for Kendrew, who worked hard to bring the team to the top. The team even managed to reach the final part of the inaugural season of the European League, but everything was scrapped by the qualification for the Six Invitational 2021. Losing to Mkers broke NAVI's morale, whilst Luke was unable to turn the tides in the right direction.

We would like to thank Kendrew for his almost two years with  Natus Vincere. We are sure that Luke will be able to achieve all of his goals! #navination