Natus Vincere (NAVI) of Ukraine etched their name in the esports history books on Sunday – overcoming G2 to win the Esports World Cup Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) competition.
Live from Boulevard Riyadh City, global audiences and another capacity crowd inside the SEF Arena enjoyed an exhilarating battle as the two teams faced off in an all-European showdown – the first-ever in an Esports World Cup Grand Final.
With both registering impressive performances and eliminating some CS2 heavyweights en route to the Grand Final, the stage was set for a classic to close out Week 3 of the Esports World Cup. And after a highly anticipated build-up, the occasion did not disappoint – meeting the expectations of fans and the global esports community.
With the $400,000 first prize and vital EWC Club Championship points at stake, Navi came from behind to win the Best-of-3 Grand Final 2-1 and clinch the CS2 title.
Reflecting on their victory at the Esports World Cup, iM of NAVI said: “It feels amazing to win – we took this tournament seriously. We had high expectations from the start and we kept the same standards throughout. To win the tournament is a great feeling – for me individually and for us as a team – because it shows that the hard work we’ve been putting in is paying off. G2 played some very good CS2 tonight. They provided a type of test we’d not experienced this week until the Grand Final. But we came back and we’re delighted.”
For NAVI, winning CS2 capped off an unforgettable week in Riyadh. Since the 15-team $1 million tournament began on Wednesday, the Ukranian club beat FURIA 2-0 in the opening stage before overcoming FaZe Clan 2-0 and MOUZ 2-1 in quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.
The NAVI line-up consists of: b1t (Valerij Vakhovsjkyj, Ukraine); Aleksib (Aleksi Virolainen, Finland); jL (Justinas Lekavicius, Lithuania); iM (Mihai Ivan, Romania); w0nderful (Ihor Zhandov, Ukraine).
When asked about the reasons behind their consistent form and brilliant performances, jL added: “We showed a mental edge over our opponents. We went behind in matches this week but showed resilience and came back every time. This is a credit to the psychology of this team. We’ve also been in great form over the last six months. Winning here this week shows that we’re doing things right – both between tournaments and when we’re out there competing.”
The Esports World Cup is the pinnacle of professional esports – running from July 3 – August 25 with 22 tournaments across 21 titles throughout its eight-week duration. Week 4 begins on Tuesday (July 23) with three tournaments taking place daily up until next Sunday (July 28).
For more information on scheduling and results, please visit the Esports World Cup website.
COMMENTS