ESL Pro League S20 UPDATES: NAVI Beat Spirit in Quarter Finals

Counter-Strike 2 professional teams Natus Vincere and Spirit have had a long match history this year with Spirit dominating past matchups. A four loss streak would surely make any other team lose heart, but at the ESL Pro League S20—NaVi showed the world that the fire within their hearts has yet to diminish, this time, a different story emerged from the ashes after a very intense crossfire between the two teams.

We will provide an update here regarding the conclusion of the Season 20 quarter finals.

Outclassing Their Past Losses

On February 4, 2024, the two teams clashed at the IEM Katowice 2024 with a score of 2-1 in favor of Spirit. Deja vu seems to be the theme with their second meeting at the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 as Spirit clinched another 2-1 win. Third time’s the charm doesn’t seem to be the case for NaVi at the IEM Dallas 2024 as they got crushed yet again with a 0-2 score. At the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024, NaVi managed to drag the match a little longer showing their resilience against the team that some fans call “NaVi’s kryptonite”—this battle, however, concluded with yet another victory for Spirit with a 3-1 score.

At the ESL Pro League S20, Natus Vincere managed to dominate the rounds early on at Dust 2. Maintaining their lead with an impeccable teamplay, control seemed to favor NaVi as things kept getting better for them.

The highlight of the battle at Dusk 2 was the jaw dropping 3v1 clutch of jL at the 16th round—skillfully sniping donk first, then following it up with a shutdown on magixx. With 10 HP remaining, he engaged in a wild west-like showdown with chopper, in an exchange of shots, it was jL who was still miraculously standing with one hp left.

iM and b1t performed as a powerhouse that contributed a lot in that masterful teamplay. Despite SH1RO’s great performance with the AWP, Spirit tends to separate in many instances which causes them to get picked up in isolation. The battle at Dusk 2 ended with NaVi on a strong 13-5 lead as jL fired bullets engraved with SH1RO’s name on it.

A Mirage Lead Ending In Defeat

Like a mirage, Spirit seemed to be under an illusion of a comeback as they managed to secure a short time lead—this was cut short by NaVi as the match was brought to a neck to neck race of rounds.

In the end, NaVi put the final nail in the coffin as they concluded the battle at Mirage with a score of 13-9. NaVi advances to the semi-finals with a 2-0 sweep against their nemesis, securing a total of 26 out of 40 rounds. 

The MVP of The Game

High level strategic teamplay was the deciding factor at the ESL Pro League S20 NaVi vs Spirit. Still, there are some players that stood out from the rest. Here is an update regarding the top performing players.

Team Spirit’s SH1RO was undeniably their MVP—bringing in 31 kills against the formidable strategy of NaVi. Donk takes number two spot with 27 kills and a great performance on acquiring frags.

The winner, Natus Vincere really performed as a team in harmony—but more than that, iM and b1t performed excellently with 32 and 30 kills respectively. The MVP of the match, goes to jL with his extraordinary performance; a badass clutch and an end total of 47 kills

In an interview, jL said that: “We lost so many games against them and the games weren’t even close, so feels good to get a win back”. This really shows how important this victory is for the team, and now that they are a step closer to being champions, we look forward to how they perform at the semi-finals.

Conclusion

The ESL Pro League S20 has been an intense season so far, fans can’t wait for the next battles after every fiery match. NaVi came a long way this year, and although they had a very rough start as they lost so many previous tournaments, things seemed to finally be looking up for a change as they overcame the wall that is Team Spirit.

With this tournament nearing the final stages, we eagerly await the upcoming competition for a shot at the championship. The top 4 are set to face each other with MIBR facing off Eternal Fire, and NaVi locking in with G2/Liquid.

Will NaVi be able to maintain a strong stride towards becoming champions? Or will their dreams see its end through the lenses of G2/Liquid’s scopes. Who will be waiting on the other side, MIBR or Eternal Fire? We will answer these questions with the latest updates in the ESL Pro League S20, so be sure to look out for the next news!