History repeats itself as NAVI had the Turkish core in the EPL grand final dead to rights, from teamplay to clutches.
“I’m really proud of this win,” B1ad3 said after the match, despite there being no Vitality at EPL. “It’s been a long time since we won a trophy.”
NAVI took on Aurora in the grand final of ESL Pro League Season 23, and NAVI had the upper hand throughout. Aurora had streaks of momentum and control, but all cut off by w0nderful’s 8 clutches or a lack of cohesion.
Both teams happy to be there
Neither team was initially expected to make the final, with the two favorites, MOUZ and Spirit on either side of the bracket.
Since underdogs in Astralis and FUT took care of Spirit and MOUZ respectively, NAVI and Aurora had an easier run to the grand final.
Rematch of EPL S20 Finals
This matchup was a partial rematch of the EPL Season 20 grand final, with the same eight of the ten players participating. In that one, NAVI clutched out a difficult win over challengers in Aurora.
That time, NAVI was on their way to being the team of 2024, and the Turkish team, called Eternal Fire then, was just an outside challenger.
This time, circumstances were different, but history repeated itself. The star of NAVI, makazze, held serve in this final with a strong performance. But it was w0nderful turning up massively that allowed NAVI to win EPL.
Aurora fumbles an anti-eco 4v3 and loses Mirage
On NAVI’s pick of Mirage, they got to a flying start. They were fully in control, with w0nderful popping off, but Aurora had a real chance to steal the map.
Aurora managed to get to a 7-9 socreline, and had a 4v3 on T side against a lone MP9 on A site. NAVI couldn’t believe their luck, as iM picked up a 2k with no trade, and the others closed out. That massive fumble closed the map in advance.
Aurora won no rounds afterwards on Mirage and lost 7-13.
Aurora barely win Anubis 13-11 after w0nderful clutch
After having a comfortable lead on Anubis, Aurora almost fumbled their home map.
Aurora got to start on the T side and got 8 rounds, and quickly got up to double digits with a team-wide dominant performance.
For NAVI, they had no real chance to take the victory, until w0nderful won another crucial 1v3 that gave them the late lead. The Ukrainian took advantage of a messy post-plant and gave a chance for NAVI to take the map.
At 11-11, Aurora held strong to win their map, despite w0nderful’s 25-kill slaughter on the map.
NAVI win comprehensively on Nuke after another w0nderful clutch
NAVI and Aurora went head to head on the third map, Nuke.
NAVI started on T side, and picked up some straightforward rounds with fundamentals and trading. The game seemed to be in their control, when Aurora bounced back with a huge eco win in Round 7.
Both soulfly and woxic were superb, getting 14 kills each on the CT-side. It could have gotten away from NAVI in the first half, but another clean 1v2 clutch from w0nderful gave them at least a 5-7 half.
On the second half, Aurora had a miracle round with Wicadia winning a 1v1 in the end, but even that was not enough. NAVI’s defense was impenetrable and everyone contributed to a comfortable win.
Makazze shuts down Aurora
NAVI got off to a flying start on Dust2, getting up 4-0 right off the bat.
Aurora started coming back, and the contest was still in the air.
In the final round of the half, Aurora was poised to steal an eco round but makazze made magic happen. He won a 1v4 to brutally steal a half in 8-4 fashion.
The young prospect was confirmed as a star here, taking the DHL MVP in addition to the EPL trophy.
The last rounds were dicey as Aurora rallied late, but it was too little too late. It was w0nderful, Aurora’s nightmare, to win another 1v1 clutch to win the series 3-1.
Mental struggles bite Aurora again
I knew we had to win Dust2 and Inferno, but after Nuke, we were mentally shut down, MAJ3R said after the loss.
For XANTARES, this was a nightmare series. He never recovered from the defeat on Nuke, getting only 12 kills in the last two maps of the series. He continues to flounder under the highest pressure in a team that consistently crumbles.
MAJ3R added that this felt like déjà vu for him, losing his second final of EPL to NAVI, but this time it did not get as close.
