NAVI will play G2 tomorrow for their last chance at reaching the playoffs of the IEM Cologne Major.
After an incredible close decider, Falcons came out on top over NAVI to reach the playoffs of the Major with a 3-1 record. After the match, Finn ‘karrigan‘ Andersen talked about his new teammate, who gave Falcons the win on Anubis.
TeSeS is the biggest hater of himself. I talked to him and I told him he has to be flexible. He has to run, he has to close, he has to hold angles.
In this series, NAVI had all the chances to close out, but they failed to keep control of Anubis on the CT-side.
Falcons had a flying start on Dust2
The series to decide who of these two top teams would qualify for playoffs started on Dust2, Falcons’ pick.
While Falcons came in firing on all cylinders, NAVI came in below their usual level. Despite starting many rounds with a man advantage, NAVI would lose them against Falcons’ individuals taking charge.
René ‘TeSeS’ Madsen had a highlight round in a 3v5, lurking through the smoke and killing three unaware NAVI players defending A.
Falcons’ starts were all firing, capitalizing on NAVI’s slow start, getting to a 9-3 half. From there, Falcons closed out flawlessly.
Only Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy showed resistance, a theme that continued on map 2.
NAVI bounced back on Mirage
Falcons started Mirage in scary form once again, winning the pistol round and getting to an early lead. They seemed in control on the CT-side, having a 6-3 lead.
That Round 10 proved to be crucial, as NAVI managed to win it, capitalizing on Maxim ‘kyousuke‘ Lukin’s overpeek to grind it out. From there, NAVI got to 6-6.
NAVI’s CT-side was dominant, never really at risk except for one round loss early in the half. They quickly bounced back, and went on a streak to close out 13-6.
NAVI’s defense was powered by b1t, playing awfully composed in high-pressure situations. On the Falcons side, kyousuke was lethal, providing 22 kills in a map they would lose.
NAVI gained control of Anubis
Falcons came into Anubis CT-side, the weaker side on paper, with a crucial pistol round win. They also converted the next rounds, going up 4-0.
NAVI’s first round came in a 1vs2 from Ihor ‘w0nderful’ Zhdanov, who capitalized on another kyousuke mistake. NAVI got a second afterwards thanks to Drin ‘makazze’ Shaqiri winning a 1vs1.
Falcons responded with one, but NAVI took over afterwards. They picked apart Falcons, as they were never sure where the attack would come. NAVI efficiently made it to a 7-5 half.
NAVI took the pistol round, thanks to b1t still in a starring role, closing out a close 3vs3 with clean headshots. NAVI won the conversion, before Falcons got weapons out.
Falcons managed to win the first gun round in close fashion, but NAVI took the next convincingly, thanks to proactive plays keeping Falcons uncomfortable.
Falcons mount comeback with unstoppable TeSeS
Falcons got a round back, and the flood gates opened. They managed to get to a 9-11 scoreline, and TeSeS came through the B-main smoke with a double kill to bring back a 3vs5 situation.
From there, Falcons took advantage of TeSeS’s dominance on B. Shockingly, Falcons were the first to reach series point, getting to 12-11.
There, NAVI grinded out a round with a compromised buy, getting to overtime, but there was no stopping TeSeS.
In the first round of overtime, TeSeS found another double entry to help secure the round. In the next one, he found a 4k in a post-plant to shut down NAVI.
NAVI tied it up again
NAVI found the last round of the CT half, staying alive in the series. Then, huge shots from w0nderful found the equalizing round, getting to 14-14.
Falcons won the next thanks to a last second defuse from Ilya ‘m0NESY‘ Osipov, who came online in the final stages. Then w0nderful won a 1vs2 clutch to keep NAVI in it.
Falcons completed the comeback
In the final stages, Falcons managed two CT rounds to take a firm lead. With that, NAVI could not come back.
Player of the match: TeSeS
While Ilya ‘mONESY’ Osipov was a consistet force and Ihor ‘w0nderful’ Zhdanov was incredibly clutch, without Rene ‘TeSeS’ Madsen, Falcons would simply not have won this match. His dominance over the B-site decided the outcome of this map in the final stages.
With 6 opening kills, 31 kills and 9 multikills, TeSeS was the key behind Falcons’ victory on the decider.
Matchups for tomorrow
The matchday tomorrow will close out the IEM Cologne Major group stage, deciding the final three playoff spots. One of either G2 or NAVI will not be in the LANxess Arena.
Matches:
