ESL Pro League S8 Finals: victory vs Sharks

Natus Vincere takes a clean victory

NAVI.GG.BET fought with Sharks in a Bo3 at ESL Pro League S8 Finals Group B lower bracket semifinals. Both maps went very well for us, as the Bo3 goes the way of NAVI 2:0.

Nuke - Natus Vincere [16:9] Sharks

The first game started off very well for NAVI - s1mple got a 4k in the first round, which allowed him to go straight for AK in the next round. The series went uninterrupted for 5 rounds straight, as NAVI climbed all the way to 5:1 - Sharks didn't manage to turn any round in their favor. With the max loss bonus allowing them to get good guns, the opponents snatched 3 rounds away from NAVI, as the score hit 5:3.

Nonetheless, Sharks didn't manage to convert those 2 rounds into anything more significant just yet. The teams started trading a lot more often - NAVI had a decent bank thanks to some kills, and that allowed us to maintain the lead. Despite our best efforts, though, we only got a 1-round difference by the end of the half - NAVI close out the first half of Nuke with an 8:7 score.

The second half was a lot more one-sided. NAVI got the pistol and the following round, but Sharks got the third round of the half, coming on board with their first point. NAVI promptly destroyed the opponent's economy, as we won the following round, converting it successfully into a 4-round series - the scoreboard was at 14:8.

Sharks tried to bounce back into the game with a round taken, but we did not want to allow the possibility of such an upset, so we gathered ourselves and reset the finances of Sharks for the last round of the half. With the economy almost broken, the opponents had not much to show for the final round, as the map is taken by NAVI 16:9.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
electronic	26-10	+16	105.1	1.82
s1mple	21-13	+8	82.6	1.32
Edward	13-11	+2	66.0	1.10
flamie	14-15	-1	63.2	1.06
Zeus	15-14	+1	68.0	1.01

Dust2 - Natus Vincere [16:3] Sharks

The second game saw NAVI take the pistols again, and we went on ahead, crushing the eco from Sharks and leaving them with little money. NAVI converted those rounds into a very decent lead. Only during the 7th round did Sharks manage to plant the bomb and defend it, as Zeus decided to save his AUG for the next round - 6:1 on the board.

The next round had Edward hold the bomb site by himself, scoring a 2k and effectively denying the time to plant - Sharks' economy got ruined. The half continued in a very one-sided fashion - NAVI eventually cracked double-digit barrier, while Sharks still only scored 1. The round ended with a 14:1 score, with 5 AWPs for the last round.

The pistol round of the second half saw a 3v3 clutch, as Sharks were the ones to take it and the next one, as we had to eco. The first buy round, though, was taken by NAVI convincingly - 15:3 on Dust2. It didn't take NAVI long to close out the series, with Sharks getting dismantled.  Natus Vincere takes the series 2:0. moving forth.

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
flamie	24-8	+16	121.4	2.06
Zeus	18-9	+9	101.2	1.61
electronic	18-7	+11	88.5	1.57
s1mple	13-6	+7	63.9	1.39
Edward	14-10	+4	88.0	1.25

Overall match stats

Natus Vincere

Player	Kill/Death	+/-	ADR	Rating
electronic	44-17	+27	98.0	1.69
flamie	38-23	+15	88.3	1.47
s1mple	34-19	+15	74.5	1.33
Zeus	33-23	+10	82.3	1.27
Edward	27-21	+6	75.5	1.15