GG.BET ICE Challenge: the first defeat
A very intense series, and a tough defeat.
NAVI.GG.BET played against 
Heroic.GG.BET in a Bo3 series at GG.BET ICE Challenge. The intense series was full of clutches and comebacks, but in the end, we drop the opening matches, scoring 1:2.
Overpass - Natus Vincere [16:8] Heroic
The first game started with the victory for Heroic in the first 2 rounds; NAVI retaliated but didn't manage to set up a solid series. It took us 3 more rounds to establish a good economy, and then we finally went on a streak, claiming 3 in a row. This brought us closer to Heroic, who were sitting at 5 points at that point. Fortunately, NAVI seemed to recover from the initial slumber at the start, only allowing Heroic to take 2 rounds — we ran out of time once. Overall, the half ended with a very close score — 8:7 our way due to the initial headstart.
The second half saw Heroic equalize the score right away, but NAVI didn't let them run away with the lead again. We seized the initiative right from the opponent — the force buy paid off, and we were able to move ahead, Heroic were repeatedly running out of money, while we enjoyed a solid bank. The dominating performance earned us a match point right after the eco for Heroic. They lost 2 through smoke straight away — Zeus scored a triple kill, concluding the map 16:8.
| Player | Kill/Death | +/- | ADR | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 s1mple |
30-11 | +19 | 105.0 | 1.77 |
 electronic |
18-14 | +4 | 89.3 | 1.28 |
| Edward |
17-14 | +3 | 78.2 | 1.25 |
| flamie |
14-16 | -2 | 70.0 | 1.03 |
| Zeus |
12-16 | -4 | 71.6 | 1.02 |
Natus VincereNuke - Natus Vincere [4:16] Heroic
The first half started off with 2 victories the way of Heroic; we tried to surprise the opponent with 3 AK-47, but it didn't work out at all, and we had to eco for the 4th round. The game went on, but the situation wasn't looking up. Heroic went all the way to 8 before NAVI managed to score 1. Unfortunately, 1 round wasn't enough, as Heroic reset us right back. The force buy paid off — NAVI planted the bomb and defended it, coming close to ruining the CT economy, but failing to do so. The 13th round saw a close play, as s1mple almost had an ace clutch, but friberg denied it. The first half ended with 4:11.
The second half was just as dominant from the opponent as the first half. NAVI were trying all the possible options, but it wasn't quite working out for us. Heroic were inching closer towards the natch point, and we had to wait for some economy to kick in. Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to happen, as Heroic claimed the match point very soon, closing the map at 4:16 — we didn't get a single round done in the half.
| Player | Kill/Death | +/- | ADR | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| flamie |
20-18 | +2 | 90.8 | 1.23 |
| s1mple |
17-16 | +1 | 89.6 | 1.08 |
| electroniс |
9-18 | -9 | 53.1 | 0.59 |
| Edward |
9-19 | -10 | 60.5 | 0.53 |
| Zeus |
2-17 | -15 | 33.0 | 0.42 |
Inferno - Natus Vincere [13:16] Heroic
The decider map saw Heroic take the first round again, following it up with the second. Still, we had the possibility to buy. NAVI only managed to come online in the fourth round, defending the plant well. Unfortunately, we didn't capitalize on it still, as NAVI failed to take the next one. Heroic seized the opportunity, taking 5 in a row. Their economy looked very stable, while NAVI struggled. Eventually, Heroic claimed the 10th round while we were still on 2. Till the end of the half, we didn't manage to do anything —2:13.
The second half saw NAVI take the first round, and capitalize on that. The lead of Heroic was quite significant, so we wouldn't have much to work with if we lost a round. NAVI started hitting the shots - 
electronic scored a 4k. The game went on, and the difference between NAVI and Heroic was becoming smaller. The fact we were losing only 1 player per round at most, generally, was very beneficial for our economy. Eventually, the board hit 13:13, but Heroic denied us the lead, getting 13:14, and then 13:15. For the last round, Heroic went through the banana, and manage to clear out 3 NAVI players on the bombsite, planting and defending - 13:16.
| Player | Kill/Death | +/- | ADR | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| s1mple |
29-19 | +10 | 102.9 | 1.44 |
| Edward |
23-17 | +6 | 84.1 | 1.31 |
| Zeus |
19-18 | +1 | 63.0 | 1.00 |
| flamie |
13-18 | -5 | 54.9 | 0.86 |
| electronic |
12-21 | -9 | 57.1 | 0.77 |
Overall match stats
| Player | Kill/Death | +/- | ADR | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| s1mple |
76-46 | +30 | 99.9 | 1.45 |
| Edward |
49-50 | -1 | 75.7 | 1.07 |
| flamie |
47-52 | -5 | 69.7 | 1.00 |
| electronic |
39-53 | -14 | 66.6 | 0.86 |
| Zeus |
33-51 | -18 | 66.0 | 0.83 |
