Aleksib: NAVI must beat Vitality to deserve trophies

Natus Vincere defeated FaZe 2-0 in the Group B upper-bracket semi-final on the opening day of BLAST Rivals in Fort Worth. In-game leader Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen said the squad must beat Vitality to make any trophy feel deserved.

NAVI prepared for FaZe by studying how the new lineup might use old positions and where players were likely to play on each map. The series opened on Anubis and closed on Ancient. Aleksib said their reads on both maps worked, but the Ancient T side produced sloppy rounds before NAVI regained control after stabilizing the economy. He noted that FaZe, with Twistzz calling strategies, had stronger rounds on Ancient than NAVI expected.

NAVI sits second in both the HLTV and VRS rankings. Aleksib said the team sees itself as a contender for grand finals at upcoming events: “I think that we definitely think that we’re contenders to reach the grand final in all of the remaining tournaments.” He added that NAVI believes it can match up with most teams: “We’re still a step behind Vitality, but we can put a match against anyone else.”

On the subject of Vitality, Aleksib described them as the benchmark for NAVI. He said other teams have recently challenged Vitality — Falcons beat them and FUT pushed them to close series — but NAVI has not had recent map wins over Vitality. “We would be happy to lift a trophy, but I don’t think any trophy without beating Vitality would be deserved, in a way,” he said. Aleksib called a win over Vitality “a goal achieved” and said victories against them at shared events would build momentum ahead of the Major.

Aleksib also spoke about rookie Drin ‘makazze’ Shaqiri, praising his work ethic and stage temperament. He described makazze as “fearless,” saying the rookie often raises his level in playoff matches and that his confidence lifts the team.

Looking ahead, Aleksib said NAVI will continue analyzing opponents and refining play with the aim of closing the gap to Vitality and reaching the top spot. He emphasized preparation and repeated practice as the path the team will follow in the lead-up to the Major.