Na´Vi beat SK twice to win ESWC

Natus Vincere came from behind to beat SK Gaming 2-1 and win the 2010 edition of the Electronic Sports World Cup.

The Swedish side got off to a great start on de_dust2, winning the pistol round with a well-timed attack on bombsite A, and then the following two rounds. However, they started to struggle to break down Na'Vi's defence, which provided the Ukrainians with the opportunity to turn the score around. The rest of the first half went both ways, as team practically took turns in winning rounds rounds, with the scoreboard showing 8-7 in favour of SK at the interval.

In the second half, SK began the better yet again as they won the pistol round. A purchasing attempt from Na´Vi in the second round almost paid dividends, but SK's strong defense denied the Ukrainians. Na`Vi finally managed to put their name on the scoreboard in the fourth round, but SK claimed two rounds right after to become very close to the win. Na´Vi proved they were still in the game and grabbed the next three rounds, but from that point on out it was all SK as the Swedes managed a 16-11 victory.

On de_train, a flying start from Na´Vi saw the Ukrainians win the opening eight rounds, with Yegor "markeloff" Markelov picking up his second ace in the match. SK then managed to make it 8-3, much to the delight of the fans in the venue, but such recovery proved to be short-lived, as Na´Vi went all the way to make it 12-3.

Now on the offensive side, Na´Vi came out very strongly once again and won the first three rounds to become just one round away from victory. SK Gaming still tried to come back into the game, but it was too little, too late, as Na´Vi nailed down a 16-5 triumph.

Next up was de_inferno, where Na´Vi started out the brighter and made it 3-0. SK then tried to respond, but they always found breaking through Na´Vi's defense an uphill task. Inspired by Sergey "starix" Ischuk and Markelov, the Ukrainians found themselves up by a staggering nine rounds at the break.

In the second session, SK Gaming found a lifeline when they won the first two rounds, but that was all the Swedes could do, as Na´Vi grabbed the next three rounds to win the map 16-4 and the 2010 ESWC finals.

ESWC 2010Best of 0

Natus Vincere

Matchpage

2

1

4th July 2010

SK Gaming

2

Best of 3

1

ESWC 2010 final standings:

1. Natus Vincere - $36,000
2. SK Gaming - $18,000
3. mTw - $9,000
4. Frag eXecutors - $4,100
5-8. FireGamers - $1,600
5-8. fnatic - $1,600
5-8. BURNING! - $1,600
5-8. compLexity - $1,600

During the match, we reached a spectator peak of 21,564, something we had not seen in a long time, for which we would like to thank you, users, for all the support shown for our service.