NAVI dominate Gambit to earn PGL Major Stockholm grand final berth

Gambit's youngsters are sent home after an uncharacteristically quiet day at the office.

Natus Vincere have earned their rightful spot in the grand final of the Major after a statement 2-0 sweep of Gambit. It will be the organization's fourth Major final appearance in CS:GO and the third for their Ukrainian superstar Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev, one where they will have the opportunity to make history as they are currently in position to take the Major title without dropping a single map en route. The CIS squad is set to face G2 on Sunday at 19:00 , where s1mple and Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač will both be gunning for their first Major crowns as they enter the match in peak form.

It was not a close contest in the semi-final as Natus Vincere did not take their foot off the gas for a single moment throughout the series, making every CT side an impenetrable fortress and walking into every bombsite with ease on the offense. s1mple was of course at the center of attention with 50 frags across the two maps, ending the series with a 1.87 rating and posting his best individual map performance at a Major to date, ending Mirage at the top of the board with a 2.26 rating.

The long-awaited offline CIS derby got started on Overpass with Gambit unable to make an impact on the offensive half against Natus Vincere despite winning the opening pistol. Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov's squad only registered five rounds on the T side as they were constantly denied entry on the A bombsite by Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov.

A 1v3 clutch in the second pistol from Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov was just the consolation prize as Natus Vincere wasted no time in stopping Gambit's nine-game winning streak on Overpass, closing the map 16-8. s1mple and Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov ruined the youngsters' CT side as they both played to their usual standards of excellence.

There was no stopping for Natus Vincere as they entered Mirage with the same level of determination. Starting on the CT side, they had no issues in preventing Gambit from taking either bombsite, speedrunning their way to a 12-3 half that saw very little positives for nafany's boys. Meanwhile, Russian IGL Boombl4 relished in the occasion with some moments of magic throughout the half.

Gambit fared no better after switching sides as Natus Vincere took the second pistol round before quickly punching their ticket to the grand final, closing Mirage 16-3 and the series 2-0.