{"id":27182,"date":"2025-07-08T14:09:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T14:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/?p=27182"},"modified":"2025-07-09T07:25:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T07:25:37","slug":"jl-departs-natus-vincere-cs2-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/jl-departs-natus-vincere-cs2-roster\/","title":{"rendered":"jL Steps Down from NAVI CS2 Lineup, makazze Promoted from NAVI Junior"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>jL\u2019s Departure Confirmed<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Justinas <strong>&#8216;jL&#8217; <\/strong>Lekavicius is stepping back from competitive <strong>CS2 <\/strong>and will be placed on the bench of <strong>Natus Vincere<\/strong>, as announced by the Ukrainian organization on Tuesday. Drin <strong>&#8216;makazze&#8217; <\/strong>Shaqiri, who has recently been elevated from the academy team, <strong>NAVI Junior<\/strong>, will take his place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/news\/cs-2\/natus-vincere-promotes-makazze-to-main-roster\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/news\/cs-2\/natus-vincere-promotes-makazze-to-main-roster\/\">Read more about Natus Vincere promoting makazze.<\/a><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>In a video posted to his <a href=\"http:\/\/youtube.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"youtube.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube <\/a>channel,  <strong>&#8216;jL&#8217;<\/strong> addressed the move and explained his decision to step back from competitive <strong>CS2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"I Am BENCHED And This Is Why\" width=\"788\" height=\"443\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4tHQJ6C6_jA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>makazze Steps Into the Spotlight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Drin <strong>\u2018makazze\u2019 <\/strong>Shaqiri, an emerging talent from <strong>NAVI\u2019s Junior<\/strong> program, is now taking center stage. After making a mark in the <strong>NAVI Junior <\/strong>squad, he will have his inaugural opportunity on the main stage. His promotion highlights <strong>NAVI\u2019s <\/strong>ongoing commitment to fostering local talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/news\/cs-2\/natus-vincere-promotes-makazze-to-main-roster\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/news\/cs-2\/natus-vincere-promotes-makazze-to-main-roster\/\">Read more about Natus Vincere promoting makazze.<\/a><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>The updated <strong>NAVI <\/strong>lineup, now featuring <strong>\u2018makazze\u2019<\/strong>, will be tested at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/tour\/cs\/cologne\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/tour\/cs\/cologne\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IEM Cologne<\/a><\/strong> later this month\u2014his debut at a top-tier event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NAVI\u2019s Struggles in 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8216;jL&#8217; <\/strong>joined <strong>Natus Vincere <\/strong>during the summer of 2023 when the team transitioned to an English communication system, becoming part of the lineup alongside Aleksi <strong>&#8216;Aleksib&#8217; <\/strong>Virolainen and Mihai <strong>&#8216;\u2060iM\u2060&#8217; <\/strong>Ivan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Lithuanian performed at an unprecedented level in 2024, contributing to <strong>NAVI&#8217;s<\/strong> victory in four championships, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/liquipedia.net\/counterstrike\/PGL\/2024\/Copenhagen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>PGL Major Copenhagen<\/strong><\/a>, where he earned an <strong>MVP <\/strong>medal. He was recognized as the fifth-best player of 2024 and received the Closer of the Year award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, <strong>Natus Vincere<\/strong> experienced an unsatisfactory first season in 2025 where they struggled to compete for titles. While they consistently progressed to the playoffs, they only succeeded in reaching the semi-finals on two occasions, at <a href=\"https:\/\/liquipedia.net\/counterstrike\/BLAST\/Bounty\/2025\/Spring\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>BLAST Bounty<\/strong><\/a> and<strong> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/liquipedia.net\/counterstrike\/Intel_Extreme_Masters\/2025\/Katowice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IEM Katowice<\/strong><\/a>. Additionally, <strong>&#8216;jL&#8217; <\/strong>was unable to replicate his previous success from 2024, with a LAN<strong> rating of 1.06<\/strong>, a drop from his<strong> 1.13 rating<\/strong> last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s Next for NAVI at IEM Cologne?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The updated <strong>Natus Vincere <\/strong>team is set to make its debut later this month at <strong>IEM Cologne<\/strong>. Their journey will kick off in Stage 2, which is scheduled to commence on <strong>July 26<\/strong>. With  <strong>\u2018makazze\u2019<\/strong> stepping into a high-pressure environment and <strong>&#8216;jL&#8217; <\/strong>now on the bench, all eyes are on how <strong>NAVI <\/strong>will perform against elite opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Natus Vincere Statement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Update on the NAVI CS2 roster. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/26QwtAnidt\">pic.twitter.com\/26QwtAnidt<\/a><\/p>&mdash; NAVI (@natusvincere) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/natusvincere\/status\/1942554262208405670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July 8, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Natus Vincere roster is as follows:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Aleksi <strong>&#8216;Aleksib\u2060&#8217; <\/strong>Virolainen<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mihai <strong>&#8216;\u2060iM\u2060&#8217; <\/strong>Ivan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Valeriy <strong>&#8216;b1t\u2060&#8217; <\/strong>Vakhovskiy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ihor <strong>&#8216;w0nderful\u2060&#8217; <\/strong>Zhdanov<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drin <strong>&#8216;makazze\u2060&#8217; <\/strong>Shaqiri<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Andrey <strong>&#8216;\u2060B1ad3\u2060&#8217; <\/strong>Gorodenskiy (coach)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Justinas <strong>&#8216;\u2060jL\u2060&#8217; <\/strong>Lekavicius (benched)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Keep up with our coverage for more insights on the latest esports news and updates.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>jL\u2019s Departure Confirmed Justinas &#8216;jL&#8217; Lekavicius is stepping back from competitive CS2 and will be placed on the bench of Natus Vincere, as announced by the Ukrainian organization on Tuesday. Drin &#8216;makazze&#8217; Shaqiri, who has recently been elevated from the academy team, NAVI Junior, will take his place. Read more about Natus Vincere promoting makazze.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":27185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5,11],"class_list":{"0":"post-27182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cs-2","8":"tag-cs2","9":"tag-cs2-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27182"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27192,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27182\/revisions\/27192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}