Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

NAts

Ayaz Akhmetshin, better known as nAts, is a Russian professional Valorant player currently playing for Team Liquid.

Last revised
Jul 9, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
528 w
Citations
14
Source
Wikipedia ↗
nAts
Current team
TeamTeam Liquid
GameValorant
Personal information
BornAyaz Akhmetshin
(2002-07-01) July 1, 2002
Kazan, Tatarstan
Career information
Playing career2020–present
Team history
2020FishkaVTom
2020–2022Gambit Esports
2022M3 Champions
2022–presentTeam Liquid

Ayaz Akhmetshin (born 1 July, 2002), better known as nAts, is a Russian professional Valorant player currently playing for Team Liquid.

Early life

Ayaz Akhmetshin was born on 1 July 2002 in Kazan, Tatarstan.12 He played tennis as a child. Akhmetshin originally aspired to be a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, but it did not work out.34

Career

As a part of the original roster of Gambit Esports, which he joined in 2020, Akhmetshin won the 2021 Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 3 Masters and was the runner up for the 2021 Valorant Champions.5 At the same time, he was pursuing a degree in law at Kazan Federal University.67 In 2022, because of the sanctions by Riot Games against Russian organizations due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Akhmetshin played independently as a part of the M3 Champions but did not qualify in any masters events and lost the Last Chance Qualifiers. Gambit released their entire roster in August,8 leading to him signing with Team Liquid in November.9

Akhmetshin was unable to attend part of the 2025 Valorant Champions Tour: Toronto Masters with Team Liquid due to visa issues.101112

Personal life

Akhmetshin is known for carrying a stuffed panda with him during matches.13 He named it after his girlfriend and has said it gives him a sense of confidence in competition.6

References

References

  1. Reddy, Tanmaiy (24 October 2021). "Gambit nAts is diagnosed with Covid". The SportsRush. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  2. Garst, Aron (4 May 2023). "Hometown Heroes: Redgar and Nats". teamliquid.com. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  3. Bonnie, Qu (8 December 2022). "nAts and Redgar's unlikely journey to Liquid". teamliquid.com. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  4. Boukneter, Mehdi (23 August 2025). "Liquid Nats: "I had been playing games since I was a kid, but by the time I was 14 I already wanted to become a professional"". sheepesports.com. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  5. "Gambit nAts on being a target at VALORANT Champions: "They were trying to destroy my game style"". esports.gg. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  6. Tan, Amanda "Tania Mae" (7 December 2021). "How Gambit Esports nAts juggles school, relationship, and an esports career | ONE Esports". www.oneesports.gg. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  7. Tan, Amanda "Tania Mae" (19 July 2023). "Team Liquid nAts reveals his greatest challenge this year | ONE Esports". www.oneesports.gg. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  8. Zalamea, Nigel (5 October 2022). "Team Liquid look to overhaul their roster with nAts, Redgar | ONE Esports". www.oneesports.gg. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  9. Koh, Wanzi (14 November 2022). "Team Liquid add nAts, Redgar, and Sayf to Valorant roster | ONE Esports". www.oneesports.gg. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  10. Maas, Lea (29 May 2025). "Liquid nAts faces Visa issues prior to VALORANT Masters Toronto". Esports Insider. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  11. Via, David (29 May 2025). "Team Liquid's IGL nAts currently unable to travel to Toronto due to visa issues". SiegeGG. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  12. Stewart, Jack (30 May 2025). "Team Liquid nAts could miss Valorant Masters Toronto". Esports News UK. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  13. Marsh, Jack (7 December 2021). "VALORANT Player Of The Year: How nAts Reinvented The Game". GCRecon. Retrieved 12 September 2025.