Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen reflected on Natus Vincere’s performance following their recent tournament win at StarLadder StarSeries Fall

Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen reflected on Natus Vincere’s performance following their recent tournament win at StarLadder StarSeries Fall, admitting that the expectations placed on the team were too high after makazze’s promising debut at IEM Cologne. 

Coming off a strong top-four finish in Cologne with newcomer Drin “makazze” Shaqiri, NAVI had slipped into a pattern of early exits in several tournaments, including matches lost to 3DMAX and M80.  The victory in StarSeries Fall—with NAVI dropping only one map throughout—was seen as an important moment for rebuilding confidence. 

Aleksib commented that while the team was pleased with how they are changing direction, there is still work to be done, especially against top-tier opponents. “This is the first stepping stone.” 

He also spoke about the pressure the squad felt, particularly after their initial match in the tournament against 9INE. Despite being overwhelming favorites, NAVI were dominated in the first map—something Aleksib attributed to nerves and the weight of expectations. But he said that, once they got past that shaky start, the team managed to shed much of the pressure and play more confidently as a cohesive unit. 

Regarding makazze’s role, Aleksib acknowledged that although his debut in Cologne was very good, the team essentially overestimated how far they were at that point. They were hampered by online matches, limited opportunities for debriefing together in person, and expectations that exceeded their current cohesion. 

Additional Related Quotes & Context

• In a previous interview, Aleksib praised makazze for “resilience” during his stage debut at IEM Cologne, especially during their series versus The MongolZ. makazze had a rough start, but recovered on Inferno and Ancient to key effect. 

  “At first he wasn’t smiling, but then I looked to my left and he was smiling, and I knew he was back in the game.” 

• makazze himself has commented on joining NAVI’s main roster: when asked about wearing the tag and adapting to his new teammates, he said it “means a lot … now I just have to show what I’m made of.” He mentioned already building chemistry with Aleksib and iM during their bootcamp. 

• On replacing jL in NAVI’s main roster, makazze said the transition was expected. He had been confident that sooner or later he would be part of the main team. 

• From iM (Mihai “iM” Ivan), after NAVI’s opening game in StarLadder StarSeries Fall (against 9INE), there were comments on lacking confidence. He said:

  “We need some confidence back.” 
  And reflecting on the first map:
  “Every first game or first map, we kinda struggle … We were doing the things we said in the freezetime, but then maybe something changed … we didn’t react properly.”