NAVI beat GamerLegion to enter 2-2 pool in Shanghai

The reigning Major champions are one win away from reaching the playoffs.

Natus Vincere have booked a spot in the 2-2 pool of the Shanghai Major’s Elimination Stage thanks to a 2-0 victory over GamerLegion. It wasn’t the best of performances by the reigning Major champions, but they managed to pick themselves up after yesterday’s thrashing at the hands of Spirit and secure a win in a series where their T side proved to be overwhelming.

Mihai “⁠iM⁠” Ivan, who has been NAVI’s best player in Shanghai, played a key role in the Nuke victory, while Valeriy “⁠b1t⁠” Vakhovskiy came alive on Mirage. But it was another rough showing from Justinas “⁠jL⁠” Lekavicius, who is averaging a 0.83 rating at the Major, leaving fans to wonder whether the Lithuanian will be able to rediscover his best form in this tournament as the team prepares for Sunday’s crucial match.

Natus Vincere entered the series looking to prove a point and took a stranglehold on Nuke early on, carving out a 7-2 lead on the CT side. But some of those gun rounds had been very close, and when GamerLegion won a 2v4 situation thanks to a trio of AWP frags by Henrich “⁠sl3nd⁠” Hevesi, they immediately put NAVI on the back foot.

GamerLegion kept the pressure up after half-time and won the pistol round to bring the deficit down to a solitary round. However, NAVI responded immediately on a force-buy, and iM made sure his team stayed in control with a decisive 1v1 in the subsequent round. The rest of the game was a one-way street as NAVI picked GamerLegion’s defense apart for a quick 13-6 win.

Erik “⁠ztr⁠” Gustafsson’s troops seemed unfazed by the loss as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead on the T side of Mirage, with sl3nd once again raising eyebrows as he pulled off a vital 1v2 clutch on B. With the game starting to spiral out of control, Andrey “⁠B1ad3⁠” Gorodenskiy called a timeout to regroup, and the move instantly paid off as NAVI controlled the rest of the half.

Now playing on the CT side, GamerLegion retook the lead with a solid pistol round, but it wouldn’t last: NAVI gained the upper hand once they had guns to work with and tamed their opponents with their suffocating offense, going on a 7-1 run to book their spot in the fifth round of the Swiss stage.