Gambit defeat NAVI to go 3-0 in ESL Pro League Group C

The world No.1 failed to take revenge on their CIS rival and suffered their second loss in the group stage.

Gambit came from behind to defeat Natus Vincere 2-1 and maintain their perfect start to ESL Pro League Season 13. NAVI, who were determined to take revenge on their CIS rival for the 2-0 defeat in the IEM Katowice quarter-finals a month ago, took the lead in the series with a hard-fought Dust2 victory, but their offensive frailties undermined them on Mirage and Overpass.

It was also a rare off day for Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev (0.91 Rating, 0.95 Impact), who had a 6-14 AWP kills record against Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov, 1-8 on the last map alone. After the series, the Ukrainian star attributed his poor performance to his current "terrible physical condition" and stated that he will try to recover for the team's final two group matches, against MIBR and TeamOne.

The series began with a keenly-contested first half on Dust2, Gambit's map choice. After going down 3-0, the IEM Katowice champions seized control of the game, but they were unable to win the half as NAVI kept their defence tight in the closing stage. The world No.1 came out of the break looking composed and, after winning the second round with nothing more than a Scout and some Desert Eagles, went on a dominant run to hit map point at 15-10. However, like many times before, they looked lost for ideas when things got tough, their grip on the game loosening as Gambit pushed for overtime after a winning streak that included a stunning quad kill by sh1ro.

Gambit beat NAVI once again

The first overtime could not determine a winner as both teams won two rounds on the defence, with Gambit letting two map points slip. In the end, it was a flawless CT side that separated the two teams and saw NAVI walk away with a victory that must have felt a little too close for comfort for Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov's troops.

NAVI's pick of Mirage raised many eyebrows in the scene, given the manner in which they had been dismantled by FURIA on Saturday on this map after a flying start. Today's game began in the exact same fashion as NAVI cruised to a 9-1 lead, but then it was pure torture. Gambit won five rounds without response - one of which thanks to a 1v2 outplay by sh1ro - to close out the half, and they shut out NAVI with a resolute defensive performance to keep their perfect record on Mirage in 2021.

NAVI made a bright start to Overpass on the CT side, picking up a 4-1 lead, but the rest of the half was controlled by Gambit, who went into the break up by one. The same old failings came back to haunt Boombl4's troops in the second half: their T side was largely ineffective and easily countered by their opponents, and a heroic 1v4 clutch from Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy when NAVI were already facing match point provided merely momentarily relief as the young CIS roster reigned supreme once again.

"When we played in IEM Katowice, we lost our first match, against EG," Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov said after the match. "We're trying not to lose any match in Pro League, we want to get out of the group in first place. And now, every team is preparing really well for us. It's different."

ESL Pro League Season 13Best of 3

Natus Vincere

Matchpage

1

2

21st March 2021

Gambit

22

Dust2

19

11

Mirage

16

11

Overpass

16

Natus Vincere	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Denis 'electroNic' SharipovelectroNic	76 - 64	+12	81.7	73.7%	1.16
Egor 'flamie' Vasilyevflamie	23 - 24	-1	66.4	65.9%	1.01
Kirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovBoombl4	60 - 65	-5	66.6	62.1%	0.95
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostylievs1mple	56 - 71	-15	70.3	64.2%	0.91
Ilya 'Perfecto' ZalutskiyPerfecto	49 - 68	-19	58.4	67.4%	0.82
Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiyb1t	29 - 41	-12	69.5	68.5%	0.81

Gambit	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Abay 'HObbit' KhassenovHObbit	79 - 61	+18	90.2	70.5%	1.28
Sergey 'Ax1Le' RykhtorovAx1Le	72 - 58	+14	85.2	71.6%	1.20
Dmitry 'sh1ro' Sokolovsh1ro	66 - 59	+7	75.1	70.5%	1.09
Vladislav 'nafany' Gorshkovnafany	69 - 71	-2	78.9	70.5%	1.06
Timofey 'interz' Yakushininterz	46 - 46	0	52.5	78.9%	0.96

Group C

TEAM

M

P

Gambit

3

9

FURIA

2

6

MIBR

2

3

Natus Vincere

3

3

Cloud9

2

0

TeamOne

2

0