NAVI reached their first Grand Finals after the PGL Copenhagen Major victory.
A dominating performance in the BLAST Premier Spring Finals semifinals saw NAVI advance to the event’s Grand Finals. Their first Grand Finals post the Major, NAVI are all set to try to win the event and secure a spot in the BLAST Premier World Finals later this year. Following their 2-0 victory over Virtus.pro, jL spoke with esports.gg on the team’s motivation to win the trophy and coming out of the post-Major dip.
Jl leads NAVI to victory
The semifinals against Virtus.Pro saw Virtus.Pro pick Anubis as the first map. Despite it being VP’s map of choice, NAVI completely dominated their opponents with an 11-0 start to the event. jL had a phenomenal performance in the series with 34 frags across two maps, towering over anyone else on the server.
When the two teams walked out onto the stage, there was one clear crowd favorite - NAVI. The UK fanbase was cheering for NAVI and it did not go unnoticed by the NAVI player. When asked about being the crowd-favorite for the series,
Even at the Major, we felt we were the favorites. [...] I appreciate people who chant a lot. As soon as we walked into the booth, there was a lot of cheer for NAVI, for me. It was just a great experience.
There’s more to CS than winning the Major
NAVI has not had the best of results post their PGL Copenhagen Major victory. Their results have been disappointing, but that is also because the team has set high expectations with their performance in the past. When asked about the team’s form, jL said he had himself to blame.
A lot of it depended on me. I lost a lot of motivation. I think I just didn't want to scrim. I just felt so far my head being down my ass.
But now, at BLAST Premier Spring Finals, the player is back in his element. With multiple tweets, all pointing to the team ‘being back’, jL wants to experience the thrill of winning again. This time, in front of the UK Crowd.
But now I am back, I want to play as best as I can. I want to play. I want to win as a team as much as we can and just keep improving because your career does not end with a Major.
There’s more to being a professional player than just winning the Major, said the 24-year-old.
However cool the Major sounds and the Major may be, you still have to work on yourself, you have to keep moving forward because your life doesn’t end here. Whatever delusion you have, like you’ll probably have another career, you suddenly probably won’t.
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"I just missed the game, I missed the nerves," said jL "When I played EPL and Dallas, I didn’t feel any pressure and nerves and it’s really got to me. Because I didn’t know what I was playing for, and now, I know what we are playing for, we’re playing for proving that the run was not a fluke even though it wasn't. I’m just happy in my mind, focussed on the game and I have a fire in me that wants to keep grinding, wants to keep competing and keep proving people wrong."
NAVI will face Team Spirit in the Grand Finals tomorrow. And this was his message to the OVO Wembley Arena fans for the finals.
Thank you guys. It’s been a pleasur. Smooooya! If they give me the microphone on stage I am going to chant this - SMOOOOOOOYA.
Whether they win the BLAST Premier Spring Finals or not, NAVI have already proven their critics wrong with this event. The team has reached the top two of the event and will face off against Team Spirit in the Grand Finals.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Counter-Strike news and updates.
Featured Image Credit: Stephanie Lindgren / BLAST Premier
