ESL Pro League S8: a draw with G2

Both teams win a map

NAVI.GG.BET fought with G2 in a dual Bo1 series at ESL Pro League S8. The teams split the maps: G2 won the Inferno, while NAVI claimed Overpass.

Inferno - Natus Vincere [0:1] G2

The first game unraveled on Inferno. NAVI were off to a good start, claiming a 3 round lead right away. G2 came online in the fourth round, scoring the first point of the game. That first point, though, went a long way, as G2 managed to capitalize on that round, which not only allowed them to tie the game, but convert them into a sizeable lead, with 5:3 on the scoreboard quite soon.

NAVI tried to retaliate, but the 1 round we did manage to take didn't really make the situation a lot easier, as G2 continued to move forth. They barely reached the 8-point threshold required to win the half, but from then onwards, for the remaining 3 rounds, NAVI snatched the initiative away, catching up to the opponent, and making the half end at the minimal difference - 7:8.

The second half saw a dominant start from NAVI, as we caught up to the opponent straight in the pistols round, and broke ahead. The 18th round was one of the rare ones to have all 10 players alive, with a successfully detonated bomb. The 3-round streak of NAVI was interrupted by G2, as they took 3 of their own, denying us the plant twice in a row, which hit our economy. NAVI still managed to take 1 point, but G2 didn't allow us to convert that into a good series.

Thrice more  NAVI weren't able to plant the bomb, running out of time. Due to that, the loss bonuses were not really kicking in, and the economy didn't allow us to take a convincing round to convert. Unfortunately, the situation lasted till the very end of the map, as G2 picked up Inferno with the score 16:11.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	29-14	+15	96.8	1.62
electronic	15-15	0	68.0	0.95
Edward	16-19	-3	66.6	0.88
flamie	7-14	-7	45.4	0.73
Zeus	9-17	-8	41.9	0.72

Overpass - Natus Vincere [1:1] G2

The second game had G2 take the pistol with a retake and defuse, while the next round went our way. Trades came in for both teams, but NAVI were the ones to convert the 1 round into a back-to-back series. We broke ahead, claiming a rather convincing lead - 5:2. G2, however, were able to string together 2 defuses in a row, getting some money for themselves. Even though they were just 1 round away from catching up,  NAVI were able to retaliate, and maintain the advantage.

Occasional rounds for G2 were not enough to secure a reliable lead, as NAVI eventually claimed 8 points, securing the half at least.  electroNic managed to sneak behind the opponent, destroying 2 straight away, as the retake became an incredibly difficult challenge for the last man standing. The half finally concluded with 10:5 on the scoreboard.

The second half started with an entry frag on  s1mple, as he didn't expect the opponent this far out. The force buy didn't help us either, as G2 continued the streak. They got to 8 points before NAVI finally came online in the second half, as the saves from the previous rounds enabled us to get good guns and utility.  3 rounds our way restored our lead to a quite comfortable level. Teams traded a couple of rounds, but we got a better end of the trade economically. NAVI hit 15:9, and G2 had to force, which didn't help them - we take the map 16:9, splitting the series. 

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
electronic	29-14	+15	125.2	1.72
s1mple	24-10	+14	87.7	1.66
Edward	21-13	+8	79.6	1.50
Zeus	15-15	0	68.4	1.02
flamie	13-16	-3	57.4	1.02