FACEIT Major 2018: starting with a defeat

A tough game

The first game at FACEIT Major 2018 for NAVI.GG.BET was against the Danish powerhouse Astralis on Inferno. The Bo1 ended with the victory of Astralis 16:14.

DE_Inferno - Natus Vincere [14:16] Astralis

The game started off quite favorably for  NAVI - the pistol round and the following 2 went the way of Terrorist forces. The first gun round turned the game around, as Astralis claimed 3 in return. The scores equalized, and the opponent even gained a small lead, but it didn't last long. We climbed back and traded a few rounds. A little later NAVI economy got quite bad, as we dropped a few points.

The eco round helped us a bit, as we managed to earn some money for better guns and take our 5th round. The half was still not lost, though - even if we lost all players during the 13th round, we delayed the round just enough to allow the bomb to explode. Astralis were coming close to be left with very little money. The second to last round saw NAVI take down 3 enemies quite fast while only losing 1 - the score hit the tie yet again. The half ended with 8:7 the way of NAVI.

The second half started off with Astralis taking the pistols with the bomb plant. They capitalized on the advantage, taking the second one before NAVI retaliated, and the score settled at 9:9. Astralis was the first to break into the double digits, while NAVI lagged behind on 9 points. The rounds were getting quite hard, as the money were not very good on our side.

We dropped 4 in a row, as Astralis went up 14:9. Round 23 had NAVI stall the game all the way to 20 secs, and the opponent had to retreat, as we finally passed the double digits. In the following round, Edward did a great job holding the Ts back, allowing NAVI to get another round. Those 2 rounds, though, didn't allow us to catch up, as the opponent took the 14th point, with the game becoming dangerously close. Fortunately, Astralis didn't manage to get to the match point thanks to a great round from NAVI - 12:14. Eventually, we hit 14 points, and the next round would be the deciding one. Astralis was the one to take it, and the following one, claiming the map 16:14.