ESL Pro League S8: victory vs Ninjas in Pyjamas

An incredible Mirage and close Inferno

The second dual Bo1 for  NAVI.GG.BET at ESL Pro League S8 regular season was the match against  Ninjas in Pyjamas. An incredible comeback on Mirage, and a close game on Inferno, result in  NAVI taking both maps - 16:13 and 16:11 respectively.

Mirage - Natus Vincere [1:0] Ninjas in Pyjamas

The pistol round on de_mirage started off not very well for NAVI - we lost the first 3 rounds, and the first gun round didn't salvage the situation either. We were trying to establish a good economy, not trying to go for the retakes and choosing to save instead. Round 6 saw  s1mple left in a 1v1, but there was no time to defuse the bomb, as NiP went forth uninterrupted as of yet. Right next round, though, NAVI managed to come online for the first time, with  electroNic scoring a triple. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to solidify that, as we got reset right after.

After another series of rounds, NiP claimed the 8th round, securing the half. It was not looking up for NAVI still - despite coming close a few times, we failed to secure a round all the way till the end of the half. In the concluding rounds of the half, NAVI managed to claim 2 rounds, bringing the score to 3:12.

The second half kicked off a completely different story - after winning pistols, NAVI claimed 2 consecutive rounds. We established a good streak, as soon enough, we were sitting at 5 round series. Only after 6 rounds our way, NiP managed to take the first round of the second half. Still, their massive advantage was an ever-present threat. We didn't allow the opponent to transform that round into a significant momentum. Eventually, we broke the double digits.

Finally, NAVI managed to turn the tides - not only we tied the game, but we broke ahead, claiming 14:13. Ultimately, we were the first to reach the match point at 15:13, as we needed the final push to close the map convincingly. The round boiled down to 2v1, and  flamie was the one to defend the bomb - an astonishing comeback on the T side of Mirage secures us 16:13 score.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
electroNic	29-15	+14	106.3	1.65
s1mple	29-14	+15	86.2	1.53
flamie	22-17	+5	81.2	1.27
Edward	19-15	+4	64.7	1.14
Zeus	12-21	-9	53.7	0.73

Inferno - Natus Vincere [1:0] Ninjas in Pyjamas

The second map was off to a decent start - pistols our way gave NAVI a good money boost. The third round would have been a great wrap-up for the early phase, but that one went the way of NiP. Teams traded rounds, as we tied 3:3. Our 4th round was nearly sabotaged by the sole opponent, but in the end, we managed to close it out well. The next few rounds, though, left our economy in a rather tough position, but NAVI didn't let the opponent get too far away, as the game tied at 6:6.

Towards the end of the half, NAVI decided to go on the offensive, attempting to secure at least a minimal lead. The strategy paid off quite well for us, as NAVI brought the game to 7:7. The final round saw 1 opponent remaining against the majority of our team, which allowed us to secure the half 8:7. There was still a lot of work to do in the second half, but the minimal lead was ours.

NAVI took the second pistols quite confidently, transitioning into the next one. Yet again, we failed to secure 3 in a row, as NiP claimed 2 points of their own. Our economy was still fairly decent, but not enough for a full-fledged buy. Both teams made it into the double digits by 21th round, and the trades continued. The economy was quite a hot issue for both teams at that point. NiP were left in a 4v2 situation, but our 2 guys still managed to clutch it - that was a harsh reset.

That reset allowed NAVI to break ahead once again, further breaking the economy of the opponent. We were chasing the opponents, trying to make them lose as many weapons as possible. Yet again, we went on the full offensive, and yet again, it paid off. 5 rounds in a row put us at 15 points, and we were just a point away from closing the map. The last round quickly resulted in a 5v1, and sure enough, we secure the map 16:11.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
electroNic	21-16	+5	98.3	1.34
s1mple	19-10	+9	64.9	1.33
Edward	20-15	+5	80.1	1.22
flamie	21-17	+4	73.2	1.18
Zeus	19-19	0	78.3	1.03