Na`Vi take down fnatic in Atlanta

Natus Vincere have defeated fnatic in the Group B opener at ELEAGUE Premier 2018 with a 2-1 series win (16-13 on Mirage, 11-16 on Inferno, and 16-8 on Train).

Natus Vincere and fnatic kicked off the Group B action on Mirage, with William "⁠draken⁠" Sundin coming up big in a 1vs1 against Ioann "⁠Edward⁠" Sukhariev, claiming the T pistol for his team with a quad kill. The Swedish side then secured the subsequent anti-ecos, before adding two more to their slated 5-0 lead.

In the sixth round, Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko and his men finally secured their first of the half after taking control of mid, with Edward then securing the team's second in a row with vengeance over draken in a 1vs1. Natus Vincere added three more to even things out at 5-5, but a lopsided round from Na`Vi granted fnatic their sixth of the half. Unfortunately for the Swedes, the remainder of the half was all about the Ukrainian side, who won four in a row to claim the 9-6 score at halftime.

The second half saw Natus Vincere continue their dominance in the second pistol, with Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev and Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov putting in most of the work. fnatic swiftly held the line to secure the following eco and remained keen on their retakes to add three more to tie the score (10-10). fnatic continued their streak with two more, but Natus Vincere finally broke that run to earn their second of the half.

With little economy, the Swedes managed to obtain their 13th by the skin of their teeth, but Natus Vincere swung right back on their T-side winning two in a row to even the scoreline at 13-13, before picking up the remaining three rounds to secure the 16-13 map victory and the series lead.

The series then moved on to Natus Vincere's map pick, Inferno, which saw the Ukrainian side secure the T pistol and the following anti-ecos for a clean 3-0 start. fnatic were able to stop the streak with a close defuse to win their first, which enabled the Swedes to rally back, winning three in a row (4-3). Natus Vincere then pulled it back to equalize the score (4-4) and pressed on with three more to make it 7-4.

fnatic then snapped and picked two more, before draken got the ace with Big Green to even the score (7-7), but in the end, Natus Vincere would claim the 8-7 half. fnatic came out in the second half on a mission and won the first four rounds, before a smooth retake on B from Natus Vincere earned them their first of the half (9-11). fnatic didn't back down and kept their composure to stamp three more on the board, but a firm hold on A kept Zeus and co. alive.

Na`Vi went on to claim their second in a row, but a half buy from fnatic was enough to reach map point, eventually sending the series to Train.

The decider kicked off with flamie tapping down three with the USP-S to earn the pistol, but fnatic quickly struck back to even the score. The Swedes went on to add three on the board until a timeout called by Natus Vincere in the fifth round earned them their second of the half (2-4), eventually setting the team up to win four straight. fnatic managed to get back in the picture in the remainder of the half, after snapping the streak to settle with an 8-7 scoreline.

The second half saw Natus Vincere come out swinging on the T-side, giving fnatic little to no room, running out 16-8 victors with a near-flawless T side.