makazze on lifting a trophy: “It’s not tier-one, but at least it gives me confidence”

makazze on lifting a trophy: “It’s not tier-one, but at least it gives me confidence”

Drin “makazze” Shaqiri recently spoke to HLTV after Natus Vincere’s opening win in ESL Pro League Season 22, reflecting on how their earlier StarLadder StarSeries Fall title — though not at the tier-one level — has helped boost his confidence. 

NAVI had secured a 2–0 victory over Aurora, including a comeback win on Dust2. Speaking about the momentum, makazze said:

“It means, for us, a lot. We won StarLadder — it was not a tier-one tournament I would say, but it gave us a bit of confidence for sure… I am happy.” 

About that specific Dust2 comeback, he recalled:

“To be honest I knew that we were gonna come back. When I did the ace on the pistol round on T side, I knew that maybe we were not gonna win, but at least we were gonna come back. In the end we closed the win.” 

He also reflected on what the trophy means for him personally:

“Even though it's not tier-one I just joined NAVI two months ago, so it means something that I achieved it. It’s not tier-one but at least it gives me confidence as a player individually.” 

On integrating into the NAVI main roster (after time in NAVI Junior), makazze admitted it hasn’t been seamless:

“I’m still not very used to it, I still need some time I would say, but at least I’m playing good for this game.” 

He acknowledged the gap between academy and top-level play:

“It’s just tier-one, you need to get used to it, it’s a big difference for sure.” 

When asked about expectations for the tournament, he remained cautiously optimistic:

“Maybe playoffs or semi-final, or to win. For sure it is to win, but for me it’s playoffs. What’s gonna happen after playoffs, for me, is going to be fine.” 

Related context & voices around NAVI’s recent moves

Promotion from the academy

makazze was promoted from NAVI Junior to the main squad in late June 2025.  He had drawn attention previously for his strong performances in the academy ranks. 

In a past interview, makazze looked back on his days in the junior ranks:

“In NAVI Junior, I didn’t play smart CS. It’s a big step for me.” 

He also noted that the transition in style and expectations was challenging:

“I need to step up, for sure, in the playoffs and the next tournaments… we haven’t had a lot of time to practice.” 

Coaching perspective: B1ad3 on makazze and NAVI’s roadmap

NAVI’s head coach, Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy, has publicly commented on makazze’s potential. In an HLTV interview, he remarked:

“The important [thing] is that we cannot compare him to other players from the top tier. He will be for sure lower in a lot of aspects, knowledge, experience, protocols of our system, obviously… if you analyze him like this, he is kinda incredible, showing really good potential for me.” 

Speaking more broadly about the team’s ambitions, B1ad3 said that for now, NAVI should not be judged by trophies but by progress:

“We are in the process of building something… We don’t focus now on trophies at all. You can clearly see that we cannot win them.” 

He added that the upcoming Budapest Major will be a true litmus test for the new roster’s future:

“The Major will be our exam.” 

Teammate view: Aleksib on the confidence boost

Captain Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen, in a post-tournament interview, emphasized the psychological value of the StarLadder win:

“I think this tournament we really treated each other as teammates and had fun together, which is important.”
“Having a trophy for makazze is very important for me and I think for him as well, it’s always nice.” 

He also reflected on their performance in the event:

“We always had those individual rounds … that switched the momentum. Like b1t had a very nice highlight on Inferno … that’s something that’s very nice to have as a team for your confidence.”