FURIA defeated Natus Vincere for the first time in CSGO history. The two amazing comebacks on Mirage and Nuke highlighted the resilience and determination of the South American players.
CS:GO fans were in for a treat yesterday as FURIA pulled off an improbable upset against the world’s best team, Natus Vincere. It was the first time in CS:GO history that FURIA took down the mighty Na’Vi.
FURIA faced off Natus Vincere as the underdogs in their Group C match. What followed was a rollercoaster ride of emotions for fans and win probability for either team. Here’s a rundown of the Group C match and FURIA’s first victory over Natus Vincere.
FURIA defeats Natus Vincere for the first time in history
The ESL Pro League Season 13 uses a round-robin format within each of its four groups. All teams play every other member once and the top-placed team earns its spot in the play-ins.
Natus Vincere is the best CS:GO team in the world. With players like S1mple and Flamie putting up big numbers, Na’Vi’s rank is a culmination of consistent results and high skill.
The three maps in this match were as follows:
- FURIA picked Mirage.
- Na’Vi picked Nuke.
- The third map was Overpass.
Mirage and Nuke were also the first two maps in the IEM Katowice match between the same two teams. Na’Vi won that series 2-0 after a dominating 60-kills performance by S1mple. In fact, Na’Vi has always won 2-0 versus FURIA over the past two years. This is exactly why FURIA’s victory over Na’Vi at ESL Pro League Season 13 is so impressive.
FURIA chose the T-side first on both maps, a strange decision, especially on Nuke. Nuke is a heavily CT-sided map and teams generally prefer to build up rounds with a CT start.
It’s based on our history of playing Na’Vi. I think when we start CT we struggle with rounds a lot. We have trouble chaining rounds together. When we play CT side second, we feel there is way less pressure. We don't feel like we have to secure too many rounds, but instead we just have to win the game in the best way we can. It is a mental thing for us.
arT in the post-match interview.
Mirage - FURIA come back from 2-10
Kscerato had an impressive performance on Mirage finishing with 29 kills and a 105.3 ADR. On the Na’Vi side, S1mple did not turn up in his usual manner. While he still topped the scoreboard for Na’Vi, the team barely scraped through in terms of firepower.
FURIA did not have a good start on Mirage. Na’Vi stringed together rounds to end with a 10-2 score by the 12th round. However, despite the massive lead, Na’Vi did not do enough to end the game. Na’Vi’s T-side was non-existent for CS:GO viewers. The team failed to win a single round on its T-side and ended the map with a 10-16 loss. FURIA won fourteen consecutive rounds to win the first map.
Nuke - The story repeats; another comeback
Nuke is traditionally a CT-sided map and given a choice, teams prefer to choose the CT side first. But FURIA chose the T-side as arT feels they feel less pressure when playing on the T-side first.
True to its nature, Nuke started strong for Na’Vi on the CT side. But FURIA’s players stepped up when required. arT, Yuurih and KSCERATO had impressive performances on the CT side.
A big reason for Na’Vi’s lack of rounds on the T-side is the team’s inability to read FURIA’s positioning and playstyle. This is the first time that FURIA defeated Na’Vi in CS:GO history and the team looks to be on the right track to crack into the top ten ranks of HLTV.
After this victory, arT is fairly confident that FURIA would now be able to win the group. He believes the team is in the driver’s seat having won against Natus Vincere.
Group C of the ESL Pro League is currently underway with three matches everyday. FURIA will face MIBR, Cloud9 and Gambit in its next few matches.
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