NAVI have announced the promotion of academy standout Drin “⁠makazze⁠” Shaqiri to their main Counter-Strike roster.

The 18-year-old rifler is widely considered one of the most promising prospects in the game, having delivered exceptional performances for NAVI Junior over the past year.

While the organization has not confirmed who makazze will replace in the starting lineup, rumours suggest that both Mihai “iM” Ivan and Justinas “jL” Lekavičius may be on their way out.

Howeever, no official roster details have been disclosed by NAVI as of yet.

A tough season prompts change

The decision to bring makazze into the main team comes after a disasappointing season for Andrij “B1ad3” Ghorodensjkyj and his NAVI squad.

The Major winners from Copenhagen have struggled massively making deep runs at tournaments and have also failed to deliver the same high consistency, which they showed last year.

After their exit at the Austin Major, both b1ad3 and Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen left no secret that changes most likely were inevitable going into the second season of the year.

In the statement on X, NAVI furthermore explained that they have made the four remaining NAVI Junior players, excluding makazze, available for transfer.