Perfecto Reveals He Was Offered NAVI’s IGL Role After Boombl4’s Departure

Perfecto Reveals He Was Offered NAVI’s IGL Role After Boombl4’s Departure

Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy, recently appointed in-game leader (IGL) of Virtus.pro, disclosed that when Natus Vincere (NAVI) parted ways with Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov, coach Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy had considered Perfecto as one of the options for the IGL role. Perfecto said that back then he was “a bit raw as a player” and not yet ready, but that the offer itself showed B1ad3 had faith in him. 

What This Means and Perfecto’s Current Role

Perfecto has now officially taken over as Virtus.pro’s IGL, following the benching of Denis “electroNic” Sharipov. 

Virtus.pro described the decision to appoint Perfecto as unanimous and based on his experience, game understanding, and leadership qualities, despite his limited history in leading roles. 

He noted that the biggest challenge in stepping into the leadership role is balancing his own in-game performance with overseeing the team’s strategy and flow: monitoring the map, giving direction, and still doing his individual job. 

Related Context: NAVI, Boombl4, and Role Experiments

Some background to understand why this conversation with Perfecto makes sense:

• When Boombl4 was removed from NAVI’s active roster, there was speculation about who would replace his in-game leading responsibilities. Perfecto now confirms he was one candidate for that role. 

• NAVI has experimented with Denis “electroNic” Sharipov in the IGL role in the past. For example, in ESL Pro League Season 13, B1ad3 tried having electronic lead on certain maps (Mirage and Overpass). However, after some poor results, they reverted back to Boombl4 as the permanent IGL. 

• In 2023, during Perfecto’s time with Cloud9, there was another IGL shift: Perfecto confirmed that Abay “HObbit” Khassenov became the team’s primary caller. Perfecto said electroNic wanted “to go back to the beast, the old electroNic,” highlighting that electronic prefers being a star rifler rather than carrying full leadership duties.