NAVI are through to the Semi-Finals.
NAVI came into 2024 as a team defined by what was missing. Across all conversations, s1mple was the dominant topic. But their win at PGL Major Copenhagen and their subsequent trophies at the Esports World Cup and ESL Pro League Season 20 have truly put the team at the top of the CS pyramid. Following their victory over G2 that guarantees them a Top 4 finish at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, Esports.gg talked to NAVI's Aleksib. Here's what the In-Game Leader had to say.
"It felt like they were gonna fully dominate the game." - NAVI Aleksib on Dust2
Talking about the match itself, Aleksib discussed how G2 looked dominant early on Dust2, but a CT comeback and pistol wins allowed NAVI to bounce back into the game. On Ancient, the Finnish leader felt that the team missed a couple of little details that allowed G2 to start a comeback.
Esports.gg: You guys were up 12-3, and G2 started to pull things back. Was there ever a concern that it might go into Overtime? Or were you pretty comfortable the whole time?
NAVI Aleksib: To be honest, towards the end, when we were buying on the last round, it started to feel like we were struggling a bit. Maybe choking a bit because we also weren't necessarily on the same page on all of the rounds. We missed a couple of little details on some of the rounds. So we kinda gave them the room to start the comeback.
But at the end of the day, it was individual brilliance that brought us over the line. And that's what you need sometimes. Who knows if they could've made it to OT or not? I feel like the last two rounds on the T side, when we had a lead of 9-1, those two rounds mattered a lot. If we got 10-2 or 11-1, I don't think they had a chance to make a comeback at all. Sometimes, CS is like this.
Esports.gg: Looking back to Dust2, it was looking really tight. But on the T side, you pulled off a bit of a masterclass to beat them on their own map pick. Your reads were on point in most rounds. Did you anti-strat them, or was that just playing your own game?
NAVI Aleksib: I think both. I just feel like they started owning us. We had like two or maybe one round on the board. And it felt like we weren't there at all. It felt like they were gonna fully dominate the game. But after getting a couple of rounds on the CT side, it brought us back into the game.
We won the pistol, and we started to understand that we could make it happen. I think the round from w0nderful, where he kills four guys in the after plant on A, after that round, we understood that we were now in control.
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"[Vitality] are playing the best CS on the scene along with us."
Looking at the event as a whole, Aleksib considers NAVI and Vitality to be the favorites and looks forward to a rematch against them. With a day's break till their next match, the team will get it's chance to prepare for their games and fix their mistakes.
Esports.gg: At this event, you guys are looking incredible, one of the scariest teams to face. Do you think you are the favorite to win? Are you feeling that pressure now?
NAVI Aleksib: I don't think we feel any pressure, but I think we are favorites to make a deep run and make it to the finals. People also want us to have a rematch against Vitality. I know our guys also want a rematch against them because the game is going to be spicy. They beat us last time, and we managed to win EPL, but still, they are playing the best CS on the scene along with us. So it will be a good game.
Esports.gg: You have advanced now directly to the semi-finals. How much can a day off improve your preparation? What is it like to be able to have a rest and maybe review things and get prepared for the matches that are coming up later in the event?
NAVI Aleksib: I think it's going to matter a lot because we still haven't had any time to do that since EPL. We only had time to prepare for our opponents, but we couldn't really go through all of our mistakes in EPL and these games. It's going to be hard work now to go through the games and make sure we're ready for the semis.
NAVI will face the winner of FaZe vs Liquid in the Semi-Finals of the BLAST Premier Fall Finals. Could this be another win for CS' best team?
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest CS2 news and interviews live from Copenhagen.
