Natus Vincere has won it’s second Counter-Strike Major in history, as the organization’s CS2 roster was led to victory in Copenhagen by Aleksib.
In recent CS history, there have been only a few in-game leaders who had as many doubters as the Finnish captain. But, in arguably his most important match of the career, where NAVI faced FaZe Clan in the PGL Copenhagen CS2 Major final, he delivered. His confident calls worked on Ancient and Inferno, which essentially turned out to be a 2-1 victory over the European rivals.
On the first map, Ancient, NAVI went toe-to-toe with FaZe for a moment. They gained momentum after winning some essential clutches, though, which led them to winning the map 13-9. Karrigan and his crew responded on Mirage, making it a one-sided affair, where they won 13-2. But, it was the other way around on Inferno, where FaZe secured only three rounds.
This was the second Major final for Aleksib, who first had the chance to secure the trophy at IEM Katowice 2019. Captaining Finnish ENCE back then, he was unable to lead his countrymen to victory against Astralis.
NAVI had numerous standout performances throughout the tournament, though, jL’s form in playoffs was award-worthy. In the final itself, he and b1t were on top of the scoreboard, with 46-29 and 51-34 KD ratios, respectively. NAVI’s sniper, w0nderful, was also on top of his game, which is exceptionally impressive given it was only his second Major.
Unfortunately for FaZe, especially for karrigan and rain, it’s another heartbreak on Inferno. The final in Copenhagen was the first one since ELEAGUE Boston CS:GO Major in 2018 to feature a full best-of-three series in the grand final. Back then, FaZe blew a 15-11 lead against Cloud9, eventually losing the third map, Inferno, and the series overall.