GG.BET ICE London Challenge: victory over Heroic

The revenge is ours!

The consolidation final at GG.BET ICE London Challenge saw NAVI.GG.BET fight against Heroic GG.BET in a Bo3 series. The maps were full of unexpected turns and clutches, but in the end, NAVI take revenge with a perfect 2:0 to advance further!

Train - Natus Vincere [16:8] Heroic

The first map started with NAVI taking the pistol round, and proceeding to build up the economy, dominating the opponents. The second and the third round went our way, as Heroic were unable to get anything done. However, for the sixth round, the opponents purchased good weapons and managed to score their first point in the half, and by that point, we were already 5:1 up. We ran out of time to plant the bomb but still had some money to by, denying Heroic the chance to go on a streak just yet. Unfortunately, Heroic managed to get some economy their way, and denied us the plant the second time in a row. For 7 rounds straight, we couldn't do much, giving up round after round, and only scoring the point during the 15th, bringing the half to 7:8.

The second half, though, was NAVI show from start to finish. All the way from the pistols, we dominated the map, not giving the opponent a single point all the way till the end. There were some clutches and close moments, but overall, Heroic fell short of taking a single point in the second half, and we close the map 16:8.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	25-9	+16	99.7	1.77
electronic	20-10	+10	82.2	1.43
flamie	18-19	-1	94.9	1.26
Edward	15-13	+2	54.2	0.95
Zeus	9-15	-6	43.2	0.72

Mirage - Natus Vincere [19:16] Heroic

The second map started with a plant coming through for NAVI in the first map, and almost no losses. The following one had Heroic nade 2 our players down, but even with the disadvantage, we managed to plant and defend. We had a good streak, taking an 4:0 lead, but 1 round by Heroic with good guns left us with almost empty pockets. We chose to force, then eco, allowing Heroic to catch up even more; the opponent ultimately hit 4:4. NAVI denied Heroic the opportunity to move forth — s1mple scored 3k in a 1v4 scenario, hurting the economy of Heroic very badly. Down the road, this forced Heroic to go for an eco, and we capitalized on it.

The game went on, and NAVI created a solid economy for themselves, losing very few players, so most of our devices stayed with us. Teams traded 4-round series, so by the 12th round, we were in an 8:4 lead, securing the half. As the game inched closer to the conclusion of the half, the teams traded rounds, and the half ended 9:6 our way.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
flamie	31-22	+9	90.5	1.37
s1mple	30-21	+9	88.5	1.27
Edward	25-23	+2	77.4	1.08
electronic	22-22	0	66.2	0.99
Zeus	17-25	-8	62.9	0.71

The first round of the second half had Heroic plant and defend the bomb, which allowed them to get a headstart into the half. They eventually hit 9:9 and decided to force, but as NAVI managed to take it away, Heroic had less money for the next. Still, the opponent was ready to fight, tying the ga,e and even scoring the lead, as flamie ran out of time to defuse, and they hit a series again. Only the 25th round had NAVI score another point in a 1v1 clutch with electronic and mertz. Heroic attempted a reset, but failed to do so — they still had money, but they decided to go for a partial buy, stocking up in the 28th. That didn't help them, though, as NAVI pulled through 2 more rounds, scoring the first match point, but Heroic managed to bring the game into the overtime.

The first half of the overtime was NAVI show all the way. We claimed all the rounds of the first half, and only needed to take a little more to secure the map. The second half started with the victory of Heroic — we dealt only 2 damage to them, while losing all. Still, we had enough money to buy again, and finally put a stop to this map — NAVI take the map 19:16, advancing to the grand finals!

Overall match stats

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	55-30	+25	93.1	1.47
flamie	49-41	+8	92.3	1.31
electronic	42-32	+10	72.7	1.17
Edward	40-36	+4	67.9	1.03
Zeus	26-40	-14	54.9	0.71