Starting their CS:GO IEM Rio Major campaign off a little shaky, NAVI has finally stabilized. After a long and drawn-out Legends Stage, the CIS squad has claimed the penultimate spot at the Champions Stage. NAVI’s journey saw them play Liquid, Bad News Eagles, Cloud9, and Vitality before squaring off against BIG. Finding themselves in the 2-2 bracket, both teams were fighting for their tournament life today. However, the experience of S1mple and NAVI triumphed today with a comfortable win.
Read on for all the details as to how this best-of-three played out.
Also read: MOUZ send ENCE packing on the last day of the CS:GO IEM Rio Major Legends Stage
NAVI takes the longest road to qualify for the CS:GO IEM Rio Major Champions Stage
The moment @natusvincere made it to the #IEM Rio Champions Stage in the Jeunesse Arena! 😍🇺🇦🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/BusWGqjYHQ
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) November 8, 2022
Map summary:
- Mirage (NAVI’s pick): 16-12 to NAVI
- Dust 2 (BIG’s pick): 16-11 to NAVI
- Nuke (Decider): Not required, series decided 2-0.
Starting off on Mirage, BIG got off to a strong start, going up seven rounds to NAVI’s two. However, a few good calls from Electronic saw NAVI claw back six rounds by the end of the half. Switching over the CT side, NAVI seemed to find their groove, regularly reading BIG’s plays and locking them out of bomb sites. With 27 kills by the end of the map, S1mple managed to close Mirage out for NAVI with a 16-12 scoreline.
Moving on to Dust 2, BIG was looking poised to turn the tides. However, starting off on the CT side, NAVI proved to be impenetrable, roaring to a 5-0 start. Tabsen made a few good calls to make for a respectable half at 8-7 in BIG’s favor. Moving to the T side that NAVI seems to be more comfortable on, they seemed to unlock an extra gear. Rifler Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy posted 22 frags to carry NAVI over the line with a 16-11 scoreline.
Unfortunately for BIG, the German squad will be going home empty-handed. However, it is important to note that they played an impressive tournament with a stand-in. With Gob b behind them, BIG Clan may return stronger than ever.
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