Shao

Andrey 'Shao' Kiprsky is the versatile backbone of Natus Vincere's Valorant roster, a flex player whose ability to perform at an elite level on virtually any agent makes him one of the most tactically valuable players in the game. His journey from the Gambit Esports roster — which dominated EMEA Valorant in 2021-2022 — through the transition to NaVi has seen Shao maintain his standing as one of the most consistent and impactful players in the region. What makes Shao exceptional is his agent pool depth: he can play initiators, sentinels, and controllers at an equally high level, giving his IGL the tactical flexibility to change compositions without sacrificing individual quality in any role. During Gambit's dominant EMEA run, Shao's performances on agents like Viper, Cypher, and Fade were consistently among the best in the world, demonstrating that his impact wasn't tied to any single agent but to a fundamental understanding of how to create value regardless of the toolkit he was given. His mechanical skill is often overshadowed by the flashier duelists on his roster, but Shao's first-duel statistics and clutch round conversions quietly rank among the best in EMEA, evidence of a player who combines tactical intelligence with genuine firepower. NaVi's Valorant project has leaned heavily on the core of former Gambit players, and Shao's consistency across multiple seasons and tactical evolutions has made him the most reliable constant in the roster's various iterations.