IEM Katowice 2018 EU Qualifiers: To the lower bracket
A close and intense game.
The next game of 
NAVI.GG.BET at IEM Katowice 2018 EU Closed qualifiers was against a Kazakhstani team 
Gambit. The unbelievably close series ended with the 2-1 victory for Gambit.
Natus Vincere
Gambit
Game 1 - Natus Vincere [0:1] Gambit
The first game of the series started off with the pistol round going the way of Gambit, and they snatched another one before we got a couple rounds on board, getting to 2:2, but the opponent reclaimed the lead, yet their economy was slowly deteriorating, as they kept losing weapons and players, allowing NAVI to get to 6:5. The game was a very unstable one, with both teams doing their best to catch out the opponent. The incredibly close first half ended with 7:8.
The second half kicked off with a victory on the pistol round, and we capitalized on it to claim 3 rounds in a row, but the Gambit caught up, as our economy was slowly going down. The game, though, was unbelievably close. Natus Vincere had a rough time getting the money back on track, but the defuse on round 24 allowed us to get some back, but still far from getting the lead. The match point came quite soon, at 12:15, and we did not manage to deny it, as NAVI lose the first game 12:16.
Game 2 - Natus Vincere [1:1] Gambit
The second game of the series kicked off with the pistol round taken by Gambit, but then the tables have completely turned - we went on a streak, and gained a massive advantage. Still, the opponents were trying their best to take at least something, but NAVI were quite consistent. The second point was taken only on round 9, as s1mple got unlucky in 1v1 clutch, but we did not let them gain any advantage, as we reset them right after. The snowball kept rolling, as we claimed the first half 12:3.
The pistol round saw a careful play by NAVI, but Gambit managed to defuse the bomb, and capitalized on it to claim 2 more in a row. We finally got the first point after 4 rounds, but the reset followed soon. We did not seem to be able to get a single point for quite a while. The game was as close as ever, as both teams wanted to secure the points, until Gambit made the score even, 13:13, and got a 1-point advantage. It was then that NAVI got the second and third point on the scoreboard, getting to the match point, which got denied - we went into the overtime.
The first overtime round was taken by NAVI, while the next 2 were claimed by Gambit, and the first half of the OT 1 was taken by them. Next couple of rounds were won by us rather confidently, getting the score to 18:17, but we did not manage to close but the game, getting to OT 2. The game kept going back and forth, but we established an advantage and only needed 1 to win, yet Gambit took 1 point. The game went on, though, as we finally managed to take 1 round to secure the win! 1-1, as we go to map 3.
Game 3 - Natus Vincere [1:2] Gambit
The final game of the series started off with a domination by Gambit, as they got 5 rounds in a row, the situation looking very dire for NAVI. Nonetheless, the disadvantage did not discourage us, as we got ourselves together and came back into the half, winning it 9:6 - a great and disciplined game from NAVI secured us an advantage coming into the second half.
The second half pistol went our way, as AdreN was left alone near a bombsite, but had no bomb and no way to clutch the round. Gambit did not seem to be able to get a point in the second half until the fourth round. Our economy was still very good, even though we lost a couple of rounds. But as we went forth into the half, the opponent started slowly catching up to us, as we had to eco very soon. Despite, we finally managed to claim 13th point, and the economy on their side was not in the best condition, yet slowly Gambit caught up and got to the match point - 14:15, and then the game - 14:16, as NAVI drop to loser bracket.
