Heroic defeat NAVI to qualify for Group B Final

The Danes are now one victory away from the Fall Final held in Copenhagen.

HEROIC were a cut above Natus Vincere in their BLAST Fall Groups upper bracket semi-final series. The Danes, who took the series in two maps, are showing impressive form at the event on home soil as one of the rare teams that made no changes during the off-season.

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For Natus Vincere, the number-one ranked team in the world proved to be too much of a challenge. While they did show some promising individual signs and looked solid on both offensive halves, their CT setups were unable to handle HEROIC's dynamic style. The Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen-led team is now awaiting their next opponent in the consolidation final, where they will face the winner of Astralis vs. BIG.

Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan's performances will also be a cause for concern for Natus Vincere. The Romanian rifler spoke about his integration into his new team, stating that it is impossible to put up the same numbers as he did in GamerLegion due to his new teammates taking up much more space. While he certainly has time on his side, his performances against Astralis (0.99) and HEROIC (0.68) are below the high standards he set at the Paris Major.

Natus Vincere picked Mirage in the series and won the opening pistol, only for HEROIC to answer back with some crisp Deagle shots. Following four consecutive rounds won by HEROIC, Natus Vincere turned the tables with a force-buy of their own, as Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy showcased his precision by securing two headshots on the B site. The teams remained close for the next few before HEROIC took control of the economy to finish three rounds ahead at the switch.

The Danes edged further ahead by winning the second pistol round and extended their lead to six, with NAVI on a full buy in the next. The European combine won two consecutive rounds by the skin of their teeth, but the lack of practice was apparent as their CT side lacked cohesion. HEROIC's B rush put them back in control, and they closed out the map 16-9 to move the series on to their pick of Inferno.

Natus Vincere went up 2-0 after converting the pistol, but that was as good as it got for the international squad. Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund's hero AK-47 netted HEROIC their first round that spiraled into a seven-round streak, with Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller's 1vs3 clutch a cherry on top of an impressive sequence by the Danes. Frustration began to build up for Natus Vincere which showed in their play, looking increasingly outmaneuvered by HEROIC, who ran away to an 11-4 half.

HEROIC comfortably closed out the map, 16-10, winning the five rounds required to continue their Fall Groups crusade. A single best-of-three victory stands between them and a Fall Finals spot, as they await their Group B final match on Thursday.