We spoke with the new NAVI player, Kaori, about his journey to the legendary organization, the performance results at ESL One Bangkok 2024, and plans for the future. We also learned how NAVI is preparing for the qualifiers for PGL Wallachia S3, which opponents they see as the main contenders for victory in 2025, and what changes in the Dota 2 meta Kaori would like to see in the new patch.

Now you are a player for NAVI, one of the most famous and iconic organizations in the world. Did you root for NAVI when you were a child? What would you wish young Ukrainian players in 2025?

I would recommend Ukrainian players to just play a lot, analyze their games, try to understand what other professional players are doing, and incorporate it into their gameplay.

This year, you've been in quite a few teams and now you're with NAVI. How would you rate your performance in 2024, what worked, what didn't, and would you give yourself a grade?

This year, I didn't play much; for most of the year, I wasn't on a team, played only a few tournaments, and placed sixth or last. Overall, this year wasn't great for me; hopefully, the next will be better.

After parting with Aurora, you joined PUCKCHAMP and later were signed by NAVI. Can you tell us how the team was assembled and who initiated the roster creation?

From my side, PUCKCHAMP's manager contacted me and invited me to play the qualifiers. Players were selected along the way; initially, we played with other players from Asia and so on. But it turned out that we played with this roster and won the qualifiers.

How was your adaptation to the team, is it still ongoing? Does the language barrier affect your game?

I've been in many English-speaking teams, so it's not a problem for me. For other players, everything is more or less fine, so the language barrier is definitely not an issue. But we still need time to build a structure within the team, as we currently resemble pub players more than a cohesive team.

Which teams do you see as your main rivals in 2025? Or, on the contrary, are there any teams that you look up to?

I think it will just be some top teams, for example, Falcons, Liquid, etc. I think Gaimin Gladiators can start playing well; basically, any tier 1 team. Who do I look up to? I just watch for some interesting moments for myself, mostly probably from Falcons, but a little from everyone.

Your first tournament under the NAVI tag was ESL One Bangkok 2024. Describe how the preparation for the tournament went, the impressions of meeting your teammates at LAN, and of course, the result—what worked and what didn't, and why?

I think we just didn't understand the meta at the tournament from the beginning. We lost the first group matches against not very strong teams; we lost to the weakest teams on the first day. Later, we started playing better, but the matches were against Falcons, who have been playing together for a long time and played better as a team than we did.

NAVI jr is gaining momentum. Recently, Zayac said that the team's ambitions are the highest for next year. Do you see them as not only friends but also rivals?

Yes, they are good players with a high rating. I think they can play well. From what I know, they play well in qualifiers. But when it comes to official matches, they somehow don't perform as well, so they need more experience with official matches, and everything will work out for them.

When the previous NAVI roster was active, many fans were surprised by the rather strange and illogical drafts. How does your team approach them, and how is it discussed? Overall, what do you think didn't work out with the previous roster?

I didn't really follow the previous NAVI roster, but it seems to me that drafting is a complex thing that requires experience; playing against strong teams in tournaments, LANs, to develop an understanding of how to approach different situations better. So it's also experience—I try to share my experience gained in previous teams with our NAVI coach.

What can we expect from you and NAVI in 2025? What's the team's goal for the next season, and what is needed to achieve it?

My goal is primarily to win. I think that should be everyone's goal, and then we'll see how it goes. The team's goal is, of course, to win, to qualify for tournaments, and to place well. We could even win the next tournament if we play well.

Your first tournament in the new year will be the qualifier for PGL Wallachia S3. What are your goals for this tournament, and how will you prepare and focus? Will you have a bootcamp?

The minimum goal is to pass the qualifiers. But that's not a very satisfactory result, of course. We won't have a bootcamp because it takes a lot of time to get there, so the team decided to play the qualifiers from home. We'll play a lot, analyze our games, and play matchups. Overall, like all top teams do.

Let's step away a bit from NAVI and tournament topics. How do you find the current meta? What changes would you like to see in the new patch?

The meta is generally fine. Dota is a fairly balanced game overall. Many things can be changed—some heroes buffed and others nerfed. Personally, I don't really like the summoner meta. I prefer heroes for fighting, like Axe, Magnus, etc.

Which 3 heroes would you recommend? For instance, which ones do you pick most often?

I'll suggest heroes for supports; first would be Chen, he's just OP. For me, it's Phoenix, I think it's a strong hero, easy to win with. The third one would be Pugna.

Which team do you think is the strongest in 2024 and why?

I think Falcons. They play consistently and show good results. They've been playing together for a long time, and you can clearly see their improvement as a team.

Is there any player who has particularly impressed or stood out to you this year?

Well, let it be Cr1t-. He plays well.