ESL Pro League S7 EU: victory vs Fnatic

A tough, but deserved win!

Yet another match at ESL Pro League S7 EU saw NAVI.GG.BET face off against Fnatic in a dual Bo1. The first map ended with the overtime victory for NAVI, while the second saw a 16:13 victory by us again!

Game 1 - Natus Vincere [1:0] Fnatic

The first game of the series started off with a rather heavy disadvantage. Fnatic took the lead right away, snatching pistols and several subsequent ones. The streak was becoming alarmingly big, as even the max loss bonus did not do much to amend the situation. Only on the 7th round did NAVI manage to snatch one point, starting the journey up the scoreboard. Unfortunately, that did not get us out of the underdog position, as when we got 5 points, Fnatic went on another streak until the end of the round - 5:10.

The second half, however, was a lot different. With alternating success, the teams were trading rounds. Despite the first pistols going the way of the opponent, NAVI decided to make their way back into the game. And indeed, we went on a few streaks, interrupted by occasional rounds of fnatic. Ultimately, neither team was able to finish the game in the regular time, getting into the overtime.

The game remained incredibly close. It wasn't until the 3rd overtime that the game was ultimately decided. Both teams traded rather evenly, with neither being able to claim the lead right away. However, in the end, it is NAVI who claims the map victory!

Game 2 - Natus Vincere [2:0] Fnatic

The second game started, yet again, with the victory of Fnatic. The second round, though, went the way of NAVI, but the next one did not work out for our opponent, allowing us to establish a good lead. At 3:1, Fnatic managed to catch us off-guard, but they did not manage to make much out of this round, as the next one reset them right away.

Another 3-round streak was interrupted by a lost 1v1, and the history repeated itself - another reset destroyed their economy. In the end, NAVI was the first one to break the 8-round threshold. From that point onwards, the game never stabilized, as the teams traded rounds. The first half ended with a 9:6.

The second half saw the first pistol round victory of this series for NAVI, but we did not manage to capitalize on this. Fnatic claimed 4 in a row to tie the game 10:10. We did not want to allow the opponent to gain an advantage and the next 3 rounds went our way, while after that, Fnatic tied the game; with no plant coming in, it hurt our economy even more.

The advantage was maintained at the minimal level. Round 28 saw a very upset economy of Fnatic, allowing us to reach the match point - 15:13, and the map at 16:13. We take both games and the points for ourselves!