Natus Vincere is just one step away from their sixth consecutive final after a convincing win over Virtus.pro. The team secured a victory against VP, earning a spot in the IEM Rio 2024 semifinals.

Pre-Match Details

NAVI had the upper hand even before the match started, as the map selection was in their favor. Virtus.pro's choice of the Inferno map proved unsuccessful for the team, as they had played it only three times in the last three months. Meanwhile, NAVI approached the match with impressive winning records on Ancient and Mirage.

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Match Details

The first map, Inferno, began with Virtus.pro winning the pistol round, but NAVI quickly responded. Two kills by iM with a Five-Seven in the second round changed the course of the game, and NAVI finished the first half with a confident score of 9-3. In the final round, iM again stood out, winning a 1v3 and securing the victory for his team with a score of 13-4.

The second map, Ancient, started in favor of Virtus.pro, who won another pistol round and led 4-0. However, Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius brought NAVI back into the game by winning a 1v2, and the first half ended with a score of 7-5 in favor of Virtus.pro. The second pistol round went to NAVI, allowing them to reach a match point after several key plays by jL. Despite difficulties in closing the map, NAVI still claimed victory with a score of 13-11.

Best Player

Respect for NAVI

After the match, as noticed by fans, NAVI did not shake hands with their opponents for the first time, which immediately stirred excitement within the community. This was the first time they had done so since the start of the war in Ukraine, which further delighted NAVI fans.

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What's Next?

After their victory, NAVI advances to the tournament's semifinals, where they will face HEROIC. HEROIC managed to place first in Group B by defeating Vitality. A loss could break their streak of reaching the IEM Rio final for two consecutive years.