Natus Vincere have advanced to their first grand final of a major tournament since the last decider - in the ESL Pro League Season 18 semifinals, the squad defeated Monte 2-0. Last time, back in the majors, Volodymyr "Woro2k" Veletniuk`s squad took the upper hand in this matchup.
On both maps, Anubis and Mirage, Monte won the first half for defense, but on offense the team didn't offer enough ideas to shut down their opponents. However, the charged NAVI factor came into play here, pulling out minority situations including 1v3 and 2v5.
Even though Woro2k became MVP according to the rating, it is more logical to give this title to Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy with 43 kills and two clutch wins.
Highlights
1v2 by s1mple
.@s1mpleO has switched ON 🔥#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/f93rr84U7E
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 30, 2023
Ace by sdy
An ACE from @somedieyoungCS against NAVI 👏#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/AMtg2MhqdD
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 30, 2023
Ace by Aleksib
Starting with only a pistol, @AleksibCSGO answers back with an ACE 🤩#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/Koh8YhI3Bt
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 30, 2023
1v3 clutch by b1t.
DETECTIVE @b1tcs WITH A 1v3 CLUTCH 💥#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/zbY82CeWzU
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 30, 2023
Monte finished in 3-4th place - the players will take home $50,000 in prize money. As for NAVI, they will be preparing for tomorrow's bo5 final against the winner of the ENCE - MOUZ semi-final.
ESL Pro League Season 18 takes place from August 30 to October 1 in Malta. Teams play for a prize pool of $850 thousand. The champion will also get slots to BLAST Premier: World Final 2023 and IEM Katowice 2024. You can follow the schedule and results of the tournament at the link.
Header image: Twitter @ESLCS
Comments