Monte created a real sensation by defeating Vitality in the quarterfinals of the ESL Pro League Season 18. Next, the team will face a tough opponent, as they will meet Natus Vincere in the semifinals. The teams will play their match very soon, on September 30.
Individual uniforms
NAVI started the history of their roster with not the best results, but after long training and preparation, the team was able to build up structure and synergy. This resulted in a confident performance in the group stage of the EPL S18. After a break for a week, NAVI began their journey to the playoffs of the tournament, where they defeated Eternal Fire. In four matches in Malta, the team did not lose a single map.
At the same time, none of the team demonstrates any outstanding play compared to the timetables. Everyone plays confidently and doesn't sag. However, there must be one best player. As expected, it was Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev. In the new season, the sniper has a score of 6.5, 0.75 kills per round and 0.6 deaths. S1mple is ranked eighth among players at A and S events over the past three months.
His main competitor with Monte will be Volodymyr "Woro2k" Veletniuk . The Ukrainian has slightly worse results, but his team has played more matches than NAVI. Monte has already played 22 maps at the EPL S18, losing eight of them. Despite this, Woro2k has a rating of 6.4, 0.73 kills per round, and 0.62 deaths.
Map pool
Teams are usually banned from Inferno (Monte) and Vertigo (NAVI). Next, Monte must choose their confident Anubis, on which they have won four matches in a row. Of course, this map is also convenient for NAVI, as they beat Apeks, FaZe, and Eternal Fire in Malta, so we should expect a serious fight.
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NAVI have two realistic options for the spade: Overpass, which they haven't played in almost two months and which is very weak in Monte, and Nuke, their usual choice, on which Monte broke a streak of 17 straight wins against Vitality. We have a feeling that the team will choose Overpass. The third map may be Mirage, which suits both sides.
Conclusion
The teams met each other only once, at BLAST.tv Major Paris 2023. Then Monte won with a score of 2:0 (Anubis 16:12 and Nuke 16:2). However, now the teams have changed their rosters and styles, and the match may go according to a completely different scenario.
We expect to see a full-fledged BO3 with close scores on each map. A victory in this match will allow the teams to reach the final of the last major CS:GO tournament and write their names in the history of the game forever. In addition, this meeting will be crucial for each team, which creates even more tension.
Cover image: Twitter ESLCS
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