{"id":365028,"date":"2026-03-06T16:33:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T16:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/?p=365028"},"modified":"2026-03-06T16:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T16:33:58","slug":"navi-beat-monte-epl-season-23-stage-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/navi-beat-monte-epl-season-23-stage-2","title":{"rendered":"makazze leads NAVI comeback over Monte in EPL Season 23 Stage 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natus Vincere began their ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2 campaign with a hard-fought 2\u20131 victory over Monte, overcoming an early setback to secure their first win of the Swiss stage. After dropping the opening map Dust2, NAVI responded with dominant performances on Inferno and Mirage, with Drin \u2018makazze\u2019 Shaqiri delivering a standout series to lead the team to victory. For Monte, the defeat ends a promising run of form and drops them to 0\u20131 in Stage 2.<\/p>\n

Dust2 \u2014 Monte strike first (13\u20134)<\/h3>\n

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The series started strongly for Monte on their map pick, Dust2. From the opening rounds, Monte controlled the pace of the game. Their aggressive mid control and confident A-site executes repeatedly caught NAVI off guard, forcing the Ukrainian squad into uncomfortable defensive positions.<\/p>\n

Players like Rainwaker and afro consistently found opening duels, allowing Monte to build an early economic advantage. NAVI struggled to stabilize their defense and never managed to recover momentum. Monte closed the map comfortably 13\u20134, putting themselves one map away from victory.<\/p>\n\n

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\n MATYS stars as G2 eliminate Ninjas in Pyjamas to reach EPL Season 23 Stage 2<\/a>\n \n
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Mar 05<\/div>\n News<\/a> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Inferno \u2014 NAVI respond decisively (13\u20131)<\/h3>\n

If Dust2 was one-sided for Monte, Inferno was the complete opposite. NAVI came out with a completely different approach \u2014 aggressive map control, faster executes, and much stronger trading. Monte were repeatedly shut down before they could even establish their default.<\/p>\n

makazze and w0nderful dominated the server, winning duels across the map and preventing Monte from building any economy. The result was one of the most dominant maps of Stage 2 so far, with NAVI crushing their opponents 13\u20131 to tie the series.<\/p>\n

Mirage \u2014 NAVI close the series (13\u201311)<\/h3>\n

The decider on Mirage delivered a far more balanced contest. Both teams traded rounds throughout the map, with Monte showing resilience after the crushing Inferno loss. Bymas and Rainwaker stepped up to keep the game competitive, while NAVI relied on coordinated executes and strong mid-round calling from Aleksib.<\/p>\n

The turning point came in the late rounds when NAVI managed to string together crucial defensive holds to break Monte\u2019s economy. With momentum finally on their side, NAVI closed Mirage 13\u201311, securing the 2\u20131 series victory.<\/p>\n

Match statistics<\/h3>\n

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Player of the Match \u2014 Drin \u201cmakazze\u201d Shaqiri<\/h3>\n

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Across three maps:<\/p>\n