SL i-league Season 7: loss to Vici

A bitter loss at the start

 NAVI.GG.BET started the run at SL i-league Season 7 with a series against  Vici Gaming. The series ended 1:2, as we drop the first match.

Inferno — Natus Vincere [3:16] Vici Gaming 

The first game started off with a pistol round victory for  NAVI. We didn't capitalize on it, though, as  Vici claimed 3 straight in a row, taking a quite significant lead.  NAVI somewhat recuperated with 2 rounds in a row, tying the score to 3:3. Unfortunately, we failed to reclaim the lead, as  Vici went for a very big streak — 6 in a row. We had to call a tactical after the score hit 9:3.  Vici finally hit 10 points, and moved ahead. The half ended 3:12.

The second half started with  Vici going for B from banana.  NAVI didn't really come online still, once coming close with a clutch. The game went to 3:15, and  Vici closed the game right away — 3:16.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
Edward	9-15	-6	61.1	0.80
s1mple	12-16	-4	67.2	0.76
flamie	9-16	-7	46.4	0.59
Zeus	6-16	-10	58.5	0.48
electronic	4-17	-13	39.8	0.45

Train — Natus Vincere [16:6] Vici Gaming

The second game was on our map pick.  NAVI opened the game with a pistol round, and followed it up. The score hit 3:0, as Vici were trying to play fast, but  NAVI were ready to give a warm reception. We seemed to recuperate from the slumber of Inferno — electronic scored a triple. The score eventually git 6:0, and  NAVI were still in a very comfortable position, but Vici managed to plant the bomb and defend it, as we only saved the AWP — 6:1.  Vici claimed the next one as well, and that hurt our economy quite bad. Another round loss spelled economic trouble — we had to go for pistols.

Despite that, we managed to hold off  Vici until the timer ran out. Another point put us at 8, which was enough to secure the half. The game was incredibly close still, as rounds were becoming incredibly clutch. With a 4-2 retake situation in the 14th round,  NAVI broke into the double-digit territory. The half ended with 11:4 for  NAVI.

The second half kicked off with a pistol round win for  Vici, and another one right after. However,  NAVI didn't let the opponent get too much elbow roomб and we stepped up. 4 rounds in a row pushed us to the match point at 15:6, as  Vici weren't quite able to find any response. A 2v4 situation ended with a confident show from  NAVI — the series goes to the decider.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	27-10	+17	96.2	1.72
electronic	23-11	+12	106.5	1.67
Zeus	14-9	+5	84.0	1.26
Edward	15-13	+2	82.0	1.25
flamie	13-12	+1	64.0	1.09

Nuke — Natus Vincere [16:7] Vici Gaming

The final map kicked off with 2 in a row for NAVI — pistol and the following one. Unfortunately,  Vici managed to turn the game around soon.  NAVI were playing quite straightforward, and  Vici were able to punish us for it. They caught up to us, and then got a quite big advantage. The 9th round saw a very close situation —  Zeus killed 3 and went to get the bomb, but the last opponent standing was there to kill him and deny the round.

The score hit 2:7. However, a round taken by  NAVI really upset the CT economy. Unfortunately, it only took 3 rounds for  Vici to recuperate and get 8 points, which secured them the half at the very least. Till the end of the half  NAVI didn't get a single round — slow rounds really weren't working out for us. The half ends 5:10.

The second half saw  NAVI try their best to close the gap. The pistol round went our way, as well as the next one. However,  Vici surprised us with a B plant, and we had to save, like in the following round.  Vici had a superior strategy, which allowed them to really make the gap big. This gap eventually became 7, when  Vici got to the match point. Despite our best efforts, it didn't work out for us, as  Vici win the series 2:1.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	23-15	+8	99.6	1.50
Edward	16-14	+2	63.7	0.93
Zeus	11-14	-3	50.1	0.92
electronic	12-18	-6	66.7	0.89
flamie	8-16	-8	57.7	0.74

Overall match stats

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
s1mple	62-41	+21	88.8	1.34
electronic	39-46	-7	72.4	1.00
Edward	40-42	-2	69.2	0.99
Zeus	31-39	-8	64.3	0.89
flamie	30-44	-14	56.5	0.81