NaVi and FaZe Clan qualify for ESL Pro League S18 playoffs

The emotions of the ESL Pro League S18 in its Group C continue, and after two days of action and a lot of excitement, we have NaVi and FaZe Clan as the group’s first qualifiers for the tournament playoffs.

There is no doubt that, unlike Groups A and B, in Group C, everything went smoothly, as the table was set for FaZe and NaVi to seal their tickets to the playoffs very comfortably. On the other hand, Apeks and Fnatic fell into the Mid Bracket and will have to fight for the third playoff spot in Group C.

Although they were not Tier 1 teams, NaVi got two great victories that can help them gain the necessary confidence since it is no secret that this new lineup lacks some spark. On the other hand, FaZe struggled a bit against Fnatic, but they ended up completing a reverse sweep to seal their qualification.

Let’s look at what happened in NaVi and FaZe Clan’s matches on the second day of ESL Pro League S18 Group C.

NaVi crush Apeks by 2-0

NaVi takes a big step in this ESL Pro League S18 to become the first playoff qualifier in Group C after an excellent 2-0 victory over Apeks. There is no doubt that NaVi has a great team with pieces chosen practically with tweezers, and it seems that they already have the formula that will lead them on the road to victory.

It all started in Anubis, the map pick of Apeks, where NaVi began to give a small sample of their power and level of play in the first half as they managed to take a comfortable 10-5 victory. Finally, at the change of sides, NaVi’s defense prevented 6 of the 8 attacks of Apeks to take the victory by 16-7.

Then, in the second map, Inferno, things remained the same as in Anubis. In the first half, NaVi again gave an offensive masterclass and got a partial victory by 11-4 on their side T. However, everything went much better at the change of sides, as the Ukrainian squad needed only 6 rounds to seal their victory by 16-5 and, of course, their qualification to the EPL S18 playoffs.

Domination from @natusvincere as they take down @apeksgg 2-0, securing a spot in the upper bracket final of Group C!

16-7 Anubis
16-5 Inferno#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/3HfZ3mM2wj

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 14, 2023

FaZe Clan apply a reverse sweep against Fnatic.

The other match for the ESL Pro League S18 playoffs qualification left us with an excellent victory over FaZe Clan by 2-1. In addition, it is worth noting that FaZe had to apply a reverse sweep in this series to win. As a result, FaZe’s international squad continues at their highest level and are ready to fight for the crown in this tournament.

It all started in Ancient Fnatic’s map pick; we observed two opposite sides in this match. In the first half, FaZe was able to win 8 rounds on their CT side to secure a tight 8-7 partial victory. However, at the change of sides, Fnatic woke up and implemented a solid defense to win 9 of the 13 rounds played and thus take the victory by 16-12.

Then, the teams moved to FaZe’s map pick, Inferno, where we enjoyed again a very balanced and intense match. However, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken and Robin “ropz” Kool took it upon themselves to level the series 1-1 by leading FaZe to a 16-14 victory. In the first half of this map, Fnatic started winning by 8-7 on their T side. Then, at the change of sides, we enjoyed a back-and-forth match that ended after 15 rounds, with a close 16-14 victory for the FaZe Clan guys.

Nuke

Finally, FaZe Clan completed the reverse sweep in Nuke, where they went through the steamroller with Fnatic as they pleased. In the first half, FaZe delivered a big blow on the table by the hand of Håvard “rain” Nygaard to take the partial victory by 13-2. Then, at the change of sides, Fnatic’s defense couldn’t do anything with FaZe’s attacks, and they conceded by 3-16.

Domination from @FaZeClan on the final map to close out the series 2-1 over @FNATIC 💪

12-16 Ancient
16-14 Inferno
16-3 Nuke#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/6Yl2LnMLhG

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 14, 2023

Header: ESL