Heroic sweep NAVI to earn IEM Katowice grand final berth

HEROIC secured their second Big Event grand final appearance in three months after taking down Natus Vincere in confident fashion.

HEROIC became the first team to earn their place in the IEM Katowice grand final after getting the better of Natus Vincere in a two-map series, sending the Ukrainian-majority roster home following 16-8 wins on both Inferno and Mirage.

Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller and company now advance to the grand final in Poland, where they will face off against the eventual winner of the other semi-final bout between Liquid and G2 on Sunday at 16:00 . The result also marks HEROIC's second grand final appearance in three months. The Danish quintet progressed to the title decider at the BLAST Premier Fall Final in November, going on to win the event on home soil to earn their organization its first-ever Big Event trophy, with their second now within touching distance.

HEROIC were in control all series long, pulling off flanking maneuvers and in-your-face plays round after round to keep Natus Vincere at bay and ensure that the Danes' victory was more or less inevitable, with cadiaN pointing towards the brotherly nature of the squad as a key reason for their overwhelming victory.

"We are very close indeed, we make sure the camaraderie is something that's a very important piece to the cake that we're trying build in this team," the Danish sniper said in a post-match interview on stage. "That's why we're making a lot of social activities outside of playing as well. You can see people are thriving, they want to have a good time, and it's perfect."

The action between the two teams kicked off on Natus Vincere's punish pick of Inferno, a map that HEROIC had only been able to muster a modest 38% win rate on over the past three months. The Danes instantly appeared comfortable despite the odds being skewed against them, however, recovering after a second-round fumble to Natus Vincere's pistols to jump out to a 5-1 lead on the CT-side. It took double kills from Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov and Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy in the eighth round for the Ukrainians to halt the onslaught and get back on the board, a round that proved pivotal in kick-starting Natus Vincere's recovery; the squad conceded just three more rounds from this point on to reduce the deficit to a more manageable 6-9 scoreline at the side swap.

HEROIC came out of the gates swinging to start the second half, extending their lead to 12-6 and inching ever closer to stealing away map one thanks to consistent round-on-round impact from Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard, who posted six kills over the initial three rounds. The Danes refused to relinquish their control over Natus Vincere for the remainder of the map, putting up a thorough and well-executed T-side in their march towards victory. electroNic's men added a couple of rounds to their tally when sporting low-investment buys, but were otherwise outclassed for the vast majority of the half to gift HEROIC a commanding 16-8 start to the semi-final.

A tag-team shutdown of the B site from b1t and Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy in the pistol round christened Mirage, but HEROIC were quick to answer back with a force buy in the second round to shift the momentum back into their favor en route to a 5-1 opening lead. The map descended into a chaotic and scrappy affair from here on out, but the Danes kept their heads above water round after round. Natus Vincere showcased proficiency in grabbing the opening pick time and time again, but faltered in converting these 5vs4 advantages as HEROIC pulled ahead in late-round scenarios to lock in a one-sided first-half victory, 11-4.

HEROIC doubled down once on the defense. The Danish outfit conceded three on the bounce in response to an initial two-round spree, but continued to hound their foes with well-timed flanks and gamble stacks to keep Natus Vincere's finances honest. Further noose-tightening plays enabled HEROIC to reach map and series point and, despite Natus Vincere pulling a round out of their hat in round 23, there was little the Ukrainians could do to prevent cadiaN's men from closing things out at the next available opportunity, 16-8.