NaVi Make History with Flawless PGL Major Stockholm Win

The Greatest Player of All Time, S1mple, has finally lifted a Major trophy leading NaVi to a flawless victory at PGL Stockholm 2021. The only Organization to attend every major has finally secured the championship, defeating G2 in a close 2-0 game. This final was exactly why everyone called the PGL Stockholm Major NaVi's Major before it even began. They were not only the biggest favorites coming into the major, but it seemed impossible to deny them this achievement. And G2 found that out the hard way.

In the veto, G2 knew they were a huge underdog and needed a cheeky pick to remotely be in contention. They pulled out the pick of Ancient, perhaps hoping to replicate Astralis' Vertigo pick against Liquid at the last Major. Sadly for them, "The Undertaker" does not get affected by maps. S1mple had an absolute scorcher, putting up 32 kills in the game and absolutely demolishing G2.

Throughout the game, G2 had times where they took the lead, but the relentless nature of S1mple's game made it seem like NaVi was never on the back foot. And when G2 came close, miraculous plays from NaVi's stars kept them in the lead, like this 1v2 from B1t.

And let me remind you, that B1t is 18 years old, is playing his first-ever arena event, and was still in the top 5 players in the whole event. In the end, with a lack of any superstar-level performance on the side of G2, S1mple powered NaVi to a map win, making the game look all but over as we went into NaVi's crown jewel of Nuke.

If you thought losing their own map pick was heartbreaking, prepare yourself for Nuke. NaVi's throne of dominance, Nuke has been a crucial part of their victories over any team not called Gambit. This time, however, they were tested to their very limit. With a miraculous game from Jackz and strong showings from NiKo and Hunter, G2 was dangerous on Nuke. After giving NaVi almost no way into the game, they ended the half with a 10-5 lead.

They continued their strong form picking up the pistol round, before falling to NaVi's force buy. Heroics from Niko and Hunter put them on a 13-7 lead but NaVi kept grinding at them before G2 finally secured match point at 15-10. Nevertheless, NaVi didn't throw in the towel and kept on fighting for overtime in the PGL Stockholm Major Grand Finals.

The 28th round was the stuff of NiKo's nightmare. In an eco round 2v2, NiKo managed to slip the net and got himself into Heaven. After spotting S1mple on the hut, NiKo readied his Deagle for an easy kill, but S1mple releasing his crouch key on the perfect timing meant NiKo whiffed the shot and NaVi pulled the game into Overtime.

From there it seemed that the whole universe was ready to crown NaVi champions as, despite G2's solid attempts, NaVi secured match point in both overtimes and eventually snatched the map from G2's grip.

The sheer dominance of this major is unrivaled by even the Astralis Majors of the past. Not only did NaVi repeat Astralis' Flawless playoffs, but they also went a step further by not dropping a map in the entire event, winning the event with a 10-0 map record. This run will go down as one of the best of all time and the major where Counter-Strike Ascended to new heights.

S1mple took the HLTV MVP award for this major, with an absolutely unprecedented, 1.47 rating. This was the strongest individual showing at any major in History, and who better to do it than S1mple. The Ukrainian legend has finally achieved his dream of winning the biggest trophy in CS:GO. And he showed up on every single map that NaVi played, and became the only player in history to be both the Major MVP and the highest-rated player in the event.

For the rest of NaVi, this is the rosetta stone of their era-to-be. If they continue this stunning display of dominance they will cement their era and go down in history as one of the best to ever do it. They are already the only organization to win all 4 of the big achievements. Those being:

Now all that remains is for them to take hold of destiny with both hands and lock in themselves as the 5th team ever to have an era. B1t and electronic are the perfect wingmen to S1mple, both stellar riflers, one doesn't get affected by pressure, the other gets better under pressure. With a star trio like this, and with the Support structure of Boombl4, Perfecto, and Blad3, there is no reason for the NaVi train to stop and I expect them to become the next dynastic team.

That was our coverage of the PGL Major Stockholm. As the CS world enters the Post Major shuffle, we'll be covering every roster change. Stay tuned to esports.gg for the coverage of the Roster Mania, and check out our report on one of the rosters being built to challenge NaVi.