NaVi failed to advance to IEM Sydney playoffs without s1mple

IEM Sydney 2023 is in full swing, and Counter-Strike Tier 1 teams are giving it their all to get the new era of CS2 off on the right foot. However, some organizations are not playing very well in the season.

One of these teams is NaVi, one of the most important squads in the CS2 competitive scene, who have not been able to unlock their full potential since the reorganization of their roster in the summer break of players.

In addition, there is also the fact that they had to play IEM Sydney, the first tournament in the CS2 era, with Andrij “B1ad3” Ghorodensjkyj as the fifth player. This is because Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev could not travel to Australia due to personal problems.

One way or another, it is undeniable that NaVi has a lot of problems to have that level they want and that we all expect them to arrive at any moment. However, there is some time for the team to continue to prepare and give their best in the upcoming events.

NaVi falls short at IEM Sydney 2023

Things didn’t start too well for NaVi at IEM Sydney, as just knowing that s1mple would not be traveling with the team was something that, without a doubt, compromised all plans. In addition, it is also fair to mention that B1ad3 had not played an official Counter-Strike match for over 6 years, so it was a long shot for NaVi.

How do you do, fellow young CS players? pic.twitter.com/FeHs3bpEdc

— NAVI (@natusvincere) October 15, 2023

However, the team was able to pull through in its first game against Apeks thanks to Justinas “jL” Lekavicius and Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen, who carried NaVi in this 13-9 victory and, above all, overshadowed B1ad3’s 4-16 K/D.

Then, in the Upper Bracket semifinals, NaVi came very close to upsetting the reigning ESL Pro League S18 champions, MOUZ. However, they lost 1-2 to continue their run in this tournament in the Lower Bracket.

FaZe Clan put an end to NaVi’s expectations

In the Lower Bracket semifinals, NaVi faced FaZe Clan in a long-awaited duel for the entire Counter-Strike community.

It all started in Overpass, FaZe Clan’s map pick, where NaVi didn’t have many chances to take the victory, as FaZe’s Håvard “rain” Nygaard is in a spectacular level of play. After 20 rounds, FaZe Clan won 13-7 to start the series well.

.@FaZeClan continue their journey through the lower bracket as they take Overpass 13-7 against @natusvincere!

Mirage is coming up next!#IEM pic.twitter.com/OJdWZ6AIGL

— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) October 17, 2023

On the second map, Mirage, things changed radically, as Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen, Mihai “iM” Ivan, and Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy woke up NaVi to take an excellent 13-4 victory and force the third map.

We’re going to a third map to decide to gets eliminated💀@natusvincere take down @FaZeClan on Mirage 13-4 😳

Inferno is the final map coming up next!#IEM pic.twitter.com/rv7nmchAuw

— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) October 17, 2023

Finally, in Inferno, FaZe Clan relied on Robin “ropz” Kool to return to winning ways and thus stay alive in the IEM Sydney 2023 after an excellent victory over the Ukrainian squad by 13-7.

#1 & #5 eliminated from #IEM Sydney by @FaZeClan 😳

They take down @natusvincere 2-1 to advance to the Group A lower bracket final! #IEM pic.twitter.com/WbGYkJiLEA

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) October 17, 2023

Header: ESL