ESL Pro League S8: draw with North GG.BET

A draw with North

The second series for  NAVI.GG.BET was the dual Bo1 against  North GG.BET. The first map, Dust2, ended with a close score 16:14 the way of NAVI yet again, while Train was taken by  North in the overtime.

Dust2 - Natus Vincere [1:0] North

The first game took place on Dust2. NAVI didn't manage to secure the first pistol round and the subsequent one, hoping to take the third one. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, as North advanced forth with a 3:0 score. Finally, NAVI managed to come online, taking their first one, with the next one being a very close bomb plant into a subsequent 2v1 clutch. That gave us enough momentum and money to tie the game with the Danes, as both were sitting on 3 rounds.

8 rounds in  flamie was left in a 1v3 with 20 HP - no chance to clutch it out, as the tie sets in again. Teams were trading rounds back and forth, and we were lagging just 1 point behind - 5:6. However,  North were finding better ends of the trades, especially economically, as we had to re-invest in some rounds. Ultimately, North were the ones to claim 8 points and counting. For the final round in the half,  s1mple was left in a 1v3, and he executed it great, planting the bomb and defending it, as the half ends 6:9.

The second pistol round on Dust2 went the way of NAVI with a site retake and defuse, and the next round followed the suit. However, the buy round wasn't as good for us, as North planted and defended the bomb. That didn't get them far from us, though, as 2 more rounds our way allowed NAVI to take 10 points, tying the game for the time being.

The 23rd round had  flamie remain in a 1v3 position, and he almost managed to bring the round home, but the final repeek didn't quite work for him. next round was similar, but this time,  Edward came very close to clutching it out. Those 2 rounds hit our economy quite hard, as North tied the game 12:12. 4 weapons saved in a lost round allowed NAVI to have a very decent economy in the following round, tying the game yet again. Both teams had enough money to buy, but as we lost the round, we chose to eco. But even the eco didn't stop us, as s1mple stepped up, claiming 4 kills in the round. With that in the bag, we found the means to get decent money, as we solidified our presence on the map, and even got to the match point without much contest. Another incredibly close victory for NAVI, as we close the map 16:14.

Natus Vincere

Игрок	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	30-20	+10	99.0	1.46
flamie	31-15	+16	92.7	1.41
electronic	18-22	-4	73.4	0.99
Edward	16-19	-3	53.1	0.83
Zeus	8-25	-17	46.8	0.57

Train - Natus Vincere [0:1] North

The first pistol round saw flamie find 4 kills, and secure the round. We picked up another, but then North managed to get a nice buy and claim 2 rounds back, coming in with a full buy thanks to the plant. 5 rounds in  s1mple was able to distract the opponent long enough to deny the bomb plant. Unfortunately, the next round saw s1mple in a 1v3, and he chose to save the AWP. We chose to force buy, and  s1mple was left alone yet again, only this time, he had just enough time to dispose of the enemy and defuse the bomb right as it was about to explode.

That gave us an oppotrunity to take a couple more, but  North were not fooling around as well, taking some trades. 11 rounds in,  Zeus picked up an AWP, and pulled off a 1v1 clutch to defuse the bomb and give us the round. Neither team's economy was in top shape, but NAVI were the ones to take it and save both AWPs, taking 8th point. However, eco from North was successful, as we came close to a reset. Still, we had what it takes to increase the distance, closing out the first half with 9:6 on the board.

Pistol round of the second half was lost by NAVI, as we planted the bomb, but didn't manage to defend it. The second round followed the suit, but the buy round was claimed by NAVI. 21 round had flamie pull off a 1v2, with the defuse almost coming through. That hit the enemy economy quite hard, as NAVI enjoyed a rather good financial position, with plenty of bomb plants coming through.

Still, North amassed some money and bought, taking 2 subsequent rounds, 1 of them being NAVI out of time. Those 2 rounds, though, only delayed the inevitable match point, as NAVI claimed it right after those 2 lost rounds. We started out slow, but 2 players on popdog got killed off, and that weakened our map control. North started to climb back into the game, and we continued to save. It was hard to close out the game convincingly due to constant saves. As the opponent took the 14th round, we were 1 round away from either the victory or the OT - and OT it was.

The first round of the overtime was a bloodshed, as we only managed to kill 1 player of North; the next round saw almost the same story - 3 alive for the enemy. NAVI scored 0 points in the first half of the OT. The second half saw a bomb plant coming in from North - NAVI only had 2 players remaining, but it was enough to get the job done, with 16:18 on the board, and getting 1 more. However, the next round proved to be fatal for NAVI, as North managed to take the last point needed for the victory, with NAVI drawing in the overtime 17:19.

Natus Vincere

Игрок	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	28-20	+8	67.2	1.16
flamie	30-25	+5	83.4	1.14
Zeus	22-26	-4	71.3	0.91
electronic	11-28	-17	44.1	0.56
Edward	15-29	-14	47.3	0.55