ESL One Cologne 2018: victory over ENCE

A well-deserved victory!

NAVI.GG.BET played against ENCE in a match for the playoffs at ESL One Cologne 2018. The series was an incredibly tense one; in the end,  NAVI.GG.BET advance further into the event, winning the series 2:1!

Game 1 - Natus Vincere [0:1] ENCE

The pistol round and the subsequent one was taken by  ENCE, but the third one went our way after a decent purchase. We capitalized on that to take a round lead 3:2, yet the opponents retaliated right away. A few unsuccessful rounds allowed  ENCE to take the lead again, as they came to 7:3. However,  NAVI made a solid effort and went on a good streak, ultimately tying the half 7:7. We ended the half with a minimal advantage 8:7.

The first pistols round was taken by the opponent, yet  NAVI managed to take the next one. The teams traded rounds for a bit, as the gap between the teams remained tight for a little. Soon, though, the tides have turned, as  NAVI managed to adapt to fast rounds of  ENCE, and took a convincing advantage 13:9. The attackers did not give up, though, as  ENCE broke our streak, with an ace coming in from  allu.

 The advantage remained almost minimal, until  NAVI dropped a couple of crucial rounds, allowing the opponents to secure the match point - 14:15. Despite our best attempts, we had little grenades to contest the round - Dust 2 goes the way of Finnish team 16:14.

Game 2 - Natus Vincere [1:1] ENCE

The pistols round was taken by the opponents very smoothly by ENCE, which allowed them to get on a roll. Our economy wasn't too good during the first few rounds; as a result,  NAVI were down 0:5 before managing to claim the first one. We were getting a few kills here and there, yet they failed to transform into a significant lead for a while. Still, eventually, the experience took it toll, as we tied the game 6:6. Finally, NAVI reached 8 points; the last round saw s1mple left in a 1v1, which he took with confidence - the first half concluded with 9:6.

The second half saw NAVI pick up 5 in a row, taking a very good lead - 14:6. As we approached the match point,  ENCE put up quite a resistance, unwilling to give up the second map. 4 rounds in a row raised them up to double digits, as the game was becoming a lot more intense. Finally, a 2v1 clutch brought us another round, taking us to the match point - 15:11. 

The match point, though, was not realized immediately -  ENCE gathered their forces to deny several in a row, destroying our economy. The fatal mistake was the B rush from the Terrorists - the opponents fell one after another until the 3v1 - we did not let the map go into the overtime, taking the map 16:14 and bringing the series to the decider.

Game 3 - Natus Vincere [2:1] ENCE

The pistol round saw NAVI rush the opponent, and the strategy succeeded. A couple more points solidified our lead, but NAVI kept losing players, which prevented us from getting a solid economy. The first gun round was the first one taken by  ENCE, but NAVI took the subsequent one.

The rounds were very close, but we maintained the lead.  ENCE only got another round when we made it to the 8-round milestone. Thus far, the entire half was a series of 3-round streaks interrupted by single enemy points. However, as the half was coming to the conclusion,  ENCE started to take one after another - the half ended 9:6 our way.

The second half started with a pistol round going our way, which transformed into a good streak of rounds. The saving grace of ENCE was the planted bomb, which was giving their economy a boost. Still, NAVI felt quite comfortable on the map, and ENCE did not take a single round while we hit the match point - 15:6. The Terrorists took 1 round in an attempt to start the comeback, but it was not meant to happen - NAVI take the map 16:7, moving to the playoffs! 

OVERALL Match Stats