NAVI demolished NIP to secure a playoffs spot at IEM Cologne 2022

Natus Vincere thrashed Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0 to become the first team to qualify for the playoffs of the IEM Cologne 2022. NAVI’s star players, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and Viktor “sdy” Orudzhev put on an incredible performance, crushing NIP 16:3 on Overpass and 16:7 on Nuke.

NAVI secured the first IEM Cologne Playoffs spot after a lopsided victory over the Swedish team. With another successful CS:GO event on the way, the team shows no signs of slowing down after winning the 2022 BLAST Premier: Spring Finals event.

NAVI vs. NIP

The defending champions went ruthless from the first second, completely demolishing NIP in ten consecutive rounds. While NIP tried really hard to stop the bloodshed, they couldn’t match NAVI’s firepower and synergy. NAVI kept destroying NIP round after round as they made desperate attempts to regain control of the game.

S1mple executed a magnificent one-vs-three clutch, stylishly reversing a two-vs-five situation in NAVI’s favor. The magnificent performance of sdy and s1mple helped the team gain a gigantic 13:2 lead, which NIP was unable to equalize. In the second half, NAVI secured three more rounds with ease to end the match with a 16:3 score. S1mple totally outperformed NIP on Overpass, recording the most kills, damage, and AWP kills throughout the game. He recorded a remarkable K/D/A of 22/6/3 with an average damage of 116.3 per round.

With high expectations of mounting a comeback, NIP entered the second map Nuke, but NAVI quickly put those aspirations to rest by jumping out to an early 5:1 lead. Hampus “hampus” Poser, the standout player for NIP, came to the team’s aid and won three straight games. Before they could tie the game, NAVI unleashed a fierce counterattack in response, thwarting NIP’s strategy for a comeback. NAVI had an 8:7 advantage going into the second half of the game. However, this ultimately proved to be the end of NIP’s struggle as Denis “electroNic” Sharipov and sdy completely dominated the rest of the game, posting K/D/As of 24/13/6  and 23/15/5, respectively. The duo appeared unstoppable, crushing NIP for eight rounds in a row to win the map and the series. 

Upcoming matchups

NAVI moved to the third round of the upper bracket, where they will take on Movistar Riders, thanks to this resounding victory. Even though the team have already qualified for the playoffs, a victory over Movistar can guarantee them a berth in the semifinals. On the other hand, NIP will continue their journey in the lower bracket and play G2 in their subsequent game.

Header: ESL