ESL Pro League S8: a draw with AGO

An intense show of CS!

NAVI.GG.BET played a Bo2 series against  AGO at ESL Pro League Season 8 on Train and Mirage. The teams split the maps - Train was taken by AGO, while  NAVI claimed Mirage.

Train - Natus Vincere [7:16] AGO

The first game unraveled on Train. Pistol round went the way of the Polish team, and so did the next one. NAVI managed to snatch the third one, but unfortunately, didn't convert it. The victory of AGO in the next round reset us right back, so we had to eco for a round. Slowly but surely, AGO was taking over the half, while NAVI struggled to come back online, as our pushes were stopped dead in the tracks. As AGO climbed up to their 7th point, NAVI went for a good buy and denied the opponent that 8th point for now.

NAVI had a good chance to come back into the game, but all we got was a couple of rounds. Soon, AGO got their 8th point on board, at least securing the half. NAVI got lost yet again, as the utility use left a lot to be desired. The deaths of all players left a lot to be desired for us in terms of the economy, as we had to rebuy constantly. AGO reached 10 points, but from there onwards, NAVI took the initiative into their own hands. It was still far from a confident lead, but the half ended with 5:10.

The second pistol was in our favor, as electroNic managed to deny the bomb plant, and NAVI converted that into another round. The third round saw investments from both teams, and it ended in a clutch, but we had no time to defuse, as AGO pick up the 11th point. Two more their way secured them 13, and our financial situation wasn't improving much. The opponents were coming dangerously close to the match point, so NAVI bought up to try and deny that chance. The lack of defuse kits, unfortunately, played a cruel trick, as Edward wasn't able to defuse on time. It only took 1 round to finish the map - NAVI drop Train.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	22-15	+7	81.3	1.31
electronic	15-16	-1	70.6	0.91
flamie	14-22	-8	75.2	0.90
Edward	10-19	-9	57.5	0.74
Zeus	9-18	-9	48.5	0.54

mirage - Natus Vincere [16:8] AGO

The second map kicked off with a pistol round the way of AGO, as the retake wasn't possible in a 2v4. The next round, though, saw  Zeus throw a great HE into the entirety of the Terrorists, dealing massive damage - the round goes our way. A play by AGO didn't work out for them too well, with  Edward lining up a nice shot. The game was going very smoothly for NAVI, as we claimed 5 points. The 7th round, though, was taken by AGO despite a decent beginning for us.

They converted it into 1 more point, but NAVI took over the initiative. Ultimately, NAVI secured at least the half with 8 points, and didn't seem to stop.  AGO were getting some rounds as well, but we went too far ahead for them to catch up in the foreseeable future. The last round of the half sealed the deal, as NAVI take the half 11:4.

The opening round was taken by AGO, as s1mple was left in a 1v2. The plants for NAVI maintained decent economy despite the losses, so the third round had us come online in the second half. AGO stacked on the A, but NAVI chose to go B, and the round was ours again. As we got to 14 points, AGO contested us again, as the score hit 14:7. The next round followed the suit, but the 23rd round saw  s1mple take 1v2 bomb defense clutch, as we hit the match point, and 1 round later, the game was ours. NAVI win on Mirage.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
electronic	26-11	+15	106.4	1.61
flamie	22-14	+8	87.9	1.34
s1mple	20-12	+8	80.5	1.34
Edward	15-13	+2	62.8	1.16
Zeus	13-17	-4	88.8	1.09