Natus Vincere has revealed that 18-year-old academy talent Drin ‘makazze’ Shaqiri has been elevated to the main roster.
The Ukrainian organization has verified the reports regarding its search for a purchaser for the entire NAVI Junior roster, which features Dmytro ‘dem0n’ Myroshnychenko, Aulon ‘Krabeni’ Fazlija, Nikita ‘cmtry’ Samolyotov, Džiugas ‘dziugss’ Steponavičius, and coach András ‘coolio’ Fercsák.
Natus Vincere Announcement
Makazze’s advancement is not unexpected, especially since Natus Vincere has openly stated they were contemplating changes after experiencing a decline in performance, which led the 2024 Team of the Year to miss out on reaching any grand finals in the initial season of 2025.
A number of people have urged for makazze’s advancement following his emergence as NAVI Junior’s most promising talent during his two-year tenure with the team, where he has recorded an average rating of 1.19 over the past year, contributing to NAVI Junior’s rise to a top-30 position in Valve’s Regional Standings.
However, it was uncertain which player the team would substitute, even for Andrey ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskiy, who acknowledged after NAVI’s quarter-final exit at the BLAST.tv Austin Major that choosing the right roster would be challenging, as no single player could be held responsible for the team’s decline.
Check out our BLAST.tv Austin Major Recap.
Natus Vincere has not yet disclosed which player will be taken out from the main roster. makazze’s highly aggressive playstyle will demand more than a simple replacement in a team that splits opening and entrying responsibilities; however, he often occupies the same positions as Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan, particularly on the T side, where both players serve as the primary space-takers.
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