Questions were asked before NAVI embarked on its qualification journey towards IEM Rio. A disappointing start to the second half of the season has set the spotlight on the new in-game leader Denis “electroNic” Sharipov. Is the Russian IGL good enough to lead NAVI to success?
A best-of-one match against Illuminar would not give any final answers, but the NAVI roster came up looking motivated to set the bar high for the opening match at the EU RMR tournament in Malta. On Dust2 they left no doubt about the skill difference between the two teams. In-game leader Denis “electroNic” Sharipov went completely nuts in the first half clocking in 27 kills during the initial 15 rounds. Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev followed through by not dying at all in the first half to underline the dominance of NAVI.
A 12-3 lead was improved after another stellar round from electroNic who was getting near 200 ADR! at the start of the second half. The only interesting stat during the match was to keep track of the kills of electroNic. The IGL finished with 41 kills, in what has got to be his career best map!
NAVI – Illuminar 1-0 | IEM Road to Rio RMR (Group B)
(Dust2) 16-5 | {cflag:RU} Denis “electroNic” Sharipov – 3.07 Rating / 41-10 K-D / 179.4 ADR
