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CS2
May 3, 2026 | Alexander Saraff

NAVI and Vitality to face off in BLAST grand final

#1 and #2 in the world will face off in the BLAST Rivals final, a dream final for CS2 fans. Or so it seems, until you look at the history.

#1 and #2 in the world will face off in the BLAST Rivals final, a dream final for CS2 fans. Or so it seems, until you look at the history.

Vitality and NAVI had comfortable runs to the grand final of BLAST Rivals Fort Worth. The number one and two in the world, it’s a dream final for CS2 fans, until you look at the history.

NAVI is arguably the second best team of 2026. They are ranked second both by Valve and HLTV. They are the only team besides Vitality and PARIVISION to win a Tier 1 event this year.

That being said, the gap between them and Vitality is disheartening. They are on an 11-map losing streak against Vitality, going back to August 2024. This NAVI core has yet to beat Vitality.

Win conditions for NAVI: they need makazze and w0nderful

NAVI’s academy promotion from 2025, makazze, is bearing massive fruit one year later. He is averaging a 1.22 rating, while playing like a mini-donk.

He attempts about 30% of opening kills, while winning about 52% of the time. It is safe to say that NAVI will need makazze to have a chance.

Of course, they will need Vitality to not be on their best day. Last time,Vitality crushed NAVI on their pick of MIrage 13-4, with ZywOo dropping 30 kills in only 17 rounds.

NAVI’s closest call against Vitality came at the Budapest Major, where they lost 11-13 in two maps. There, w0nderful popped off, outdoing ZywOo as far as rating.

This has been w0nderful’s best tournament this year, but he struggles against Vitality under the bright lights. Can he turn the corner here and get his first career MVP in the process?

Author

Alexander Saraff

Read more about me

I'm an aspiring journalist in the world of esports. I first got into MOBAs watching SMITE in 2015, and got hooked on CS from the MLG Columbus Major.

My goal as a journalist in this space is to tell the esports stories that will live on in history, and give insight into the stories behind the scenes when they're relevant.

Besides that, I have a bachelor's in philosophy and have an interest in German thinkers from the 18th-19th century.

Read more about me