NAVI’s in-game leader Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen shared his thoughts after their tough quarter-final victory at IEM Cologne 2025. The win against The MongolZ was especially memorable for the resilience shown by their young teammate Drin “makazze” Shaqiri.
The match on Inferno was a rollercoaster, with NAVI clawing back from a 4-10 deficit and eventually winning in triple overtime. Aleksib pointed out how important makazze’s recovery was after a rough start. “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,” Aleksib said. “I felt like he had control on the CT side, and once we joined Ancient, he was lights out.” Wow, that kind of turnaround on stage must have been intense!
makazze’s ability to bounce back under pressure was crucial for NAVI, especially considering this was his stage debut. Aleksib acknowledged the nerves that come with playing live in front of a crowd and the challenges of warming up and waiting for the match to start. “It’s hard as a young guy to go onto the stage,” he said.
Looking ahead, NAVI will face Spirit in the semi-finals. Aleksib noted that Spirit is undergoing some changes, with the addition of 17-year-old Ivan “zweih” Gogin possibly causing some shakiness. “They’ve been a kryptonite for us for a long period of time, but we’re gonna do our best and work as hard as we can this evening and tomorrow morning, go out there and show no fear,” Aleksib shared. Can NAVI finally overcome their nemesis? Fingers crossed!
The confidence within NAVI is palpable, especially after their dominant CT side on Ancient where every teammate seemed to be hitting their shots. Aleksib highlighted a key round where b1t made a clutch double kill that seemed to seal their momentum. “I just felt like my whole team was firing on all cylinders, it’s hard to lose now,” he said.
Check out the recent HLTV interview below for more insights from Aleksib about the victory and the upcoming Spirit clash:
What do you think about makazze’s performance and NAVI’s chances against Spirit? Let me know in the comments below!
