NAVI book Blast Spring Final berth with a 2-1 win over Complexity

Natus Vincere advanced to the BLAST Premier Spring Final after taking down Complexity in the second round of the Blast Premier Spring Groups Knockout stage. 

The Ukrainian powerhouse secure a 2-0 victory against Complexity after a comfortable display on Anubis (16-14), conceding a hard-fought defeat on Inferno (11-16), before answering back with a more composed showing on Overpass (16-14). 

Complexity were only a few rounds away from victory when the score was 12-8 in the deciding map thanks to several crucial rounds secured by Michael ‘Grim’ Wince. However, despite Grim’a valiant efforts, they were unable to overcome NAVI in the final moments as the Ukrainian team rallied in the subsequent rounds to conclude the map 16-14.

With this victory, the Ukrainian team are the fourth team to secure their berth at the Spring Final, joining Team Vitality, FaZe Clan, and G2 Esports in the $450,000 USD event, which is scheduled to take place in Washington. BIG, meanwhile, finish their run through the Blast Premier Spring Groups in 7th-9th place, missing out on a spot in the Spring Finals.

Match Summary

Complexity took the lead early in the series on Anubis, securing an 8-7 edge moving into the second half. NAVI, however, were not going to go down easily and went on their own run to win the map 16-14. The score remained close between the two teams in the second map as well until Grim stepped up for Complexity on Inferno, putting on an incredible individual showing to help his team stage a comeback. 

The second half of Inferno was completely dominated by Complexity as the North American team conceded just four rounds before taking home the victory and settling the score 1-1. The 22-year-old Grim racked up a total of 30 kills on Inferno with a 112 ADR and a 1.64 HLTV rating. 

On the third and decisive map Overpass, the first half began with a back-and-forth. The two teams put everything on the line, trading rounds until Complexity won five in a row to take the lead 9-6. However, despite facing inevitable defeat, NAVI managed to stay alive thanks to Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. With 31 kills and 107.1 ADR, the CS:GO phenomenon put on a spectacular performance once again, which enabled the squad to win eight straight rounds.

The star rifler of NAVI helped the team to transform the 8-14 deficit into a remarkable 16-14 victory.  It seemed like Complexity would cruise to a finish line as they took a massive lead in the deciding map, but they capitulated in the second half, squandering their chance at victory. 

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