Na'Vi take down Astralis in thriller

In the last game of the day at EPL, the CIS-squad Na'Vi took on the Danes of Astralis. The Danes were really hoping for a win as that would secure a place in the playoffs for them, while Na'Vi had already secured their spot by winning all of their previous matches. The match also so "boombl4" return to action after having been out due to covid.

The Bo3 started on Ancient, and even though it was Astralis’ pick, the Danes did not have a good time in the first half. Every time they were able to find a hole in the defense of Na’Vi, “s1mple” and “electroNic” patched it up with superhuman speed. “k0nfig” was able to do some crazy things from time to time, but that was the only bright spot for the Danes who went to halftime down 12-3.
The break did nothing to help Astralis, as Na’Vi put the pedal to the metal to drive it home in dominant fashion at 16-4.

The fighting continued on Nuke, and the map-pickers of Na’Vi got off to a crucial 4-0 lead on the T-side. It was such an important lead for the CIS-squad because when the Danes were able to get full rifles and utility, they put on a show. Eight rounds in a row put them in a very comfortable position, and it was evident that they were feeling more free and confident in their play. Na’Vi were able to snag two rounds towards the end, and the halftime score was 9-6
Astralis continued their beautiful showing in the second half after having lost yet another pistol round. Quickly they found map point at 15-9, but surprisingly “boombl4” and co. were able to bring it all the way back to overtime point. After five squandered map points, including three bomb plants, the Danes were finally able to seal the game at 16-14 and push the Bo3 to map three.

The deciding map of the series was Inferno, and after winning the knife round Astralis chose to start on the CT-side.
The Danes, brimming with confidence after taking away their opponents’ map pick, went on a game-changing 8-0 run to start the map. Na’Vi went on a mini streak of their own, but with several members struggling weren’t able to make too big of a dent in the Astralis stronghold, and the score at halftime read 11-4.
After switching sides Na’Vi did to Astralis, what was done to them, and went on an almost as long winstreak, and after nine rounds the game was tied at 12-12. Astralis struggled majorly to find rounds on their T-side, which has been a recurring theme for the Danes, and Na’Vi won Inferno at 16-13.

Highlight of the Bo3-series:

Astralis - Na'Vi 1-2 | ESL Pro League Season 15 (Group D)

4-16 (Ancient) | electroNic - 1.80 Rating / 20-8 K-D / 124.8 ADR

16-14 (Nuke) | blameF - 1.50 Rating / 32-18 K-D / 106.0 ADR

13-16 (Inferno) | s1mple - 1.62 Rating / 29-15 K-D / 106.9 ADR

MVP: Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev - 1.58 Rating / 81-39 K-D / 96.0 ADR