NaVi advance to the Grand Finals with 2-0 victory

The IEM Fall CIS event is coming to a close and whilst every qualifying spot to the major event has already been found there is still a Grand Final to be played tomorrow. The first team to advance to the Grand Final was Gambit and the second was to be found between NaVi and Virtus.pro. Despite being a close and intense two maps it was NaVi to close out the Bo3-series with a 2-0 victory. The victory means that NaVi will face Gambit in tomorrow’s Grand Final.

The first map was the pick of Virtus.pro and meant that the Bo3-series would start on Inferno. The map of Inferno has come to be one of, if not the strongest map in Virtus.pro’s arsenal. This showed from early on as it was Virtus.pro’s slow and methodical T-side to gain an advantage going into the second half at the scoreline of 10-5. However, NaVi’s T-side proved to be just as potent, and with a great start to the second half, they managed to catch up with Virtus.pro. Ultimately the map went to overtime, as very little separated the two in regulation time. Overtime was just as intense, however, NaVi proved slightly stronger in the end. At the scoreline of 19-16, it was “s1mple” and company to take home Inferno.

The second map of the series was to be played on Mirage and was, of course, the map pick of NaVi. The CIS giants of NaVi rarely get to play Mirage as it is often vetoed by their opponents. The reason for this showed once the second map of the series got underway. A strong T-sided NaVi performance proved difficult for the Virtus.pro boys to handle and NaVi could walk away to halftime at the scoreline of 10-5. The second half brought more intense battles across the map, however, it was clear that NaVi had a slight edge over their opponents. Despite a valid attempt from Virtus.pro, they would have to see themselves bested at the scoreline 16-12.

Highlight of the BO3-series

NaVi – Virtus.pro (2-0) | IEM Fall CIS (Semi-final)

19-16 (Inferno) | B1T – 1.40 Rating / 31-17 K-D / 83.2 ADR

16-12 (Mirage) | YEKINDAR  – 1.75 Rating / 29-21 K-D / 112.9 ADR

MVP:  Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev | 1.25 Rating / 52-37 K-D / 86.6 ADR