NAVI has edged out Eternal Fire to win ESL Pro League Season 20 as they retain their place as the best team in the world. As teams prepare for the Major, NAVI will walk into the tournament as favorites, and winning the EPL in this fashion was a display of their dominance against the best of the best.
Map Veto
Natus Vincere banned Vertigo
Eternal Fire banned Mirage
Natus Vincere picked Nuke
Eternal Fire picked Anubis
Natus Vincere banned Ancient
Eternal Fire banned Inferno
Dust2 was left over
Game 1: Nuke (Pick: NAVI, Win: Eternal Fire, Final Score: 13-8)
Winning the pistol round, Eternal Fire got a hot start on NAVI’s map pick before conceding 3 rounds. Having lost to G2 the day before, NAVI’s had to open up their playbook a lot more than they would have liked which caused Eternal Fire to come in with a strong game plan. The Turkish side managed to shut down NAVI on 7 occasions only letting 5 rounds slip.
Winning the second pistol put Eternal Fire in prime position to put away NAVI on the first map and they did. The pistol prompted a streak of 4 rounds that took the score to 11-5. Despite a valiant attempt at a comeback by NAVI, Eternal Fire did not let them take it too close as they only let 3 rounds slip on their offense, winning the map with a 13-8 scoreline. With 19 kills and 1.53 IR, woxic has found form in the Grand Finals which translates to trouble for NAVI.
Game 2: Anubis (Pick: Eternal Fire, Win: NAVI, Final Score: 13-11)
NAVI kicked off Anubis on the right foot with a pistol-round win on the map’s T-side. A failed force buy from Eternal Fire enabled NAVI to get an early 3-0 lead before the former could grab the first buy-round of the game. However, Eternal Fire failed to maintain their momentum as NAVI managed to secure three consecutive rounds to extend their lead to 6-1. Eternal Fire could grab the last few rounds, ending the first half closely trailing behind NAVI with a 5-7 score.
NAVI took the second pistol-round of Anubis and converted the follow-up anti-eco to get a 9-5 lead over their opposition. However, Eternal Fire came out on top in the buy-round and gave themselves a fighting chance. Grabbing the next few rounds in a row, EF managed to equalize the score 9-9 before NAVI had the chance to retaliate. The teams then traded a couple of rounds back and forth as NAVI regained their composure and closed out the game with a score of 13-11.
Mihai “iM” Ivan put up an impressive performance and reigned at the top of the leaderboard with 30 kills and 12 deaths.
Game 3: Ancient (Pick: NAVI, Win: NAVI, Final Score: 13-11)
Anubis put NAVI back on track as they found their form in Ancient despite EF’s best attempts that kept the game closer than either team would have liked. Having traded rounds for the entirety of the first half, NAVI edged out a narrow lead winning the half with a 7-5 scoreline.
Winning the pistol round in the second half, NAVI extended their lead further to 10-5. Eternal Fire on their offense focused heavily on mid which proved to be the source of most of the rounds they managed on the T side which eventually led to the score getting dangerously close but NAVI pulled their socks up and closed the match with only two rounds separating them. NAVI won the map 13-11 with JL dropping 24 kills with a 1.54 IR.
Game 4: Inferno (Pick: Eternal Fire, Win: Eternal Fire, Final Score: 13-4)
Eternal Fire took control early on the T-side of Inferno, winning the pistol round and shutting down NAVI’s force-buy to establish a 4-0 lead. NAVI managed to secure their first round in the fifth but struggled to build momentum. The teams traded a few rounds, but Eternal Fire maintained their dominance, closing the half with a commanding 8-4 lead.
Eternal Fire found themselves in a comfortable spot after taking the second pistol round of Inferno as well. A force buy from NAVI almost managed to shut EF down in its tracks, but a post-plant clutch from woxic denied them the round. Eternal Fire didn’t have much trouble closing out the rest of the half, as they ended the game with a solid 13-4 score, forcing a game five.
Woxic took the top spot in the Inferno leaderboard with a 17/6 KD.
Game 5: Dust 2 (Win: NAVI, Final Score: 13-10)
Despite losing the pistol round, NAVI managed to keep up with Eternal Fire who boats a stellar record in Dust 2. Trading rounds back and forth saw NAVI run away with a two-round lead before moving to the final half of this best of 5 series.
Winning the second pistol round saw NAVI win the pistol round and two more off the back of it. Just when they seemed to be running away with the series, Eternal Fire managed to pull a few rounds back which made the game competitive. With only 3 rounds away, NAVI lost a few more rounds but managed to reach the finish line.
B1t stood out as the best player with 20 kills and 1.29 IR.
Eternal Fire has managed to emerge as a fascinating dark horse ahead of the major. The Turkish side has found its form on LAN after struggling to keep up with the top teams of the world.
