It’s yet another NAVI vs G2 esports Grand Finals. Who do you have for the win?
The CIS derby semifinals at the PGL Stockholm Major saw NAVI square off with Gambit. The battle was between NAVI, the favorites, the winners of the Intel Grand Slam and the team with three of the world's best players on its roster; and Gambit, the underdogs, but a strong contender in their own right.
Map Veto
- Gambit removed Nuke.
- Natus Vincere removed Vertigo.
- Gambit picked Overpass.
- Natus Vincere picked Mirage.
- Natus Vincere removed Inferno.
- Gambit removed Ancient.
NAVI dominate Gambit on Overpass
NAVI came into this match as the favorites, they are the favorites to win the entire tournament. Rightfully so, since they have some of the world’s best players and have a very deep map pool as well.
Overpass was Gambit’s map pick. It is a map where they have dominated opponents partly due to their CT aggression. However, the team did not play as well against NAVI as their CIS counterparts won several duels and managed to come out on top of individual battles.
This time around, it wasn’t even B1t who has put up a fantastic showing at the Major so far. S1mple and electronic stepped up in a big way for NAVI to dominate on the CT side.
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With a 1.57 rating and 23 kills, S1mple slashed through the Gambit performance. Over on the Gambit side, with 21 kills, Hobbit led his teammates. But he did not receive a similar level of support and the team only managed eight rounds. Now despite losing 8-16, Gambit showed some elements of excellence and maybe they could pull something out on Mirage, which is the second map of the series.
Neither team has played Mirage in this tournament so far.
NAVI Bring out the Guns
While neither team had played Mirage at the Major before this match, NAVI were the clear favorites right from the get-go. The team had a dominant 12-3 CT half, an astounding feature considering this was the Major semifinals. They won the map 16-3, further cementing their dominance in the CIS region.
NAVI will now face G2 esports in the Grand Finals of the PGL Stockholm Major. This will be the first Major victory for either S1mple or NiKo, two of the best players in the world.
The PGL Stockholm Major is the first Major in nearly two years and has a $2 million prize pool. The tournament has already surpassed all peak viewership records and is only set to reach new heights as we get closer to the Grand Finals.
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