Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen put the same uncomfortable thought into words that most of NAVI’s fanbase has been carrying for months: the team can challenge anyone, the team is winning the matches it should — but until they beat Vitality, no trophy this season will feel fully earned. Speaking to HLTV after NAVI’s 2-0 win over FaZe in the BLAST Rivals 2026 upper-bracket semi-final, the Finnish IGL framed it bluntly: NAVI are ‘a step behind’ the world No. 1.
The FaZe series wasn’t quite as clean as the score
NAVI controlled Anubis, but Ancient got tense late. Aleksib said his team had studied FaZe’s restructured roster — including Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken’s new IGL role — and prepped for likely positional changes. FaZe still pushed back on Ancient, but once NAVI stabilised the economy and the CT side, the map was theirs.
Why Vitality is the only benchmark that matters right now
Vitality came into BLAST Rivals on a heater: IEM Rio winners with a 3-0 grand-final sweep of Spirit, four titles this season, the first team ever to win two ESL Grand Slams, and the $1 million Grand Slam prize in their pocket. They’re the dominant team of this era, and Aleksib’s message is that any silverware NAVI lift while ducking them would carry an asterisk.
The crack in the armour
Aleksib also pointed out that Vitality are not invincible. Falcons broke their 18-match winning streak in the IEM Rio Group A upper-bracket final. At BLAST Rivals, FUT — without lauNX — even ended Vitality’s 17-game Dust2 streak in a series Vitality needed three maps to survive. NAVI haven’t taken a map off Vitality in a while, but Aleksib insists the answer is more study, not less hope. The next time these two meet is the match the season has been building toward.
