Natus Vincere claimed victory at the ESL One New York Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament over Virtus.pro with its new star-studded lineup. The team came together and played to its infinite potential over a very stacked field of teams from around the world.
Only four teams could emerge out the five round Swiss format to represent the finals for the tournament. The four teams, Team Liquid, Natus Vincere, SK Gaming, and Virtus.pro, were considered in one way or another a candidate to advance to the top of the heap. In the list, two were considered the top-two best in the world (SK Gaming and Virtus.Pro) and two were underdog lineups with new additions. SK Gaming was the defending ESL One champion and came into the tournament with plenty of expectations on its shoulders.
In the end, Na'Vi ended up proving they are a force to be reckoned with.
Grand finals: Na'Vi against Virtus.Pro
The grand finals that few predicted pitted two exciting and equally-matched teams with very different narratives. VP was the old reliable team with a roster that's been together for two years with excellent and consistent results and Na'Vi, the team that added troubled superstar talent Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, was a team that needed to jell. Both teams have signature styles, with VP's ultra-aggressive nature and aim-reliant setups, earning the "plow" nickname, and Na'Vi's unorthodox and aggressive peeks due to world-class AWP'er Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács.
VP opened up the first map on Cobblestone with a signature plow victory. The team even added insult to injury by winning its share of clutch rounds regardless of the number deficit. When the dust settled, it was a 16-3 drubbing and a regroup moment for Na'Vi.
Na'Vi would return the favor with a dominating effort on train, 16-8, using a combination of superior aim and patient setups. Although VP was still known to be strong on train, Na'Vi outplayed and shot the opposition to make a rather difficult comeback effort after the thrashing on the first map. With the combination of s1mple, GuardiaN, and Denis "seized" Kostin, it was a three-headed monster that wreaked havoc.
The final map was befitting of the tournament quality because it was back-and-forth action with no clear favorite. Every lead was matched and every clutch round was equalized. On Na'Vi's side, it was s1mple and GuardiaN leading the way, while VP relied on a balanced attack behind Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski. In the end, Na'Vi took down VP in overtime for the nail-biting victory.