NAVI round out strong debut event with Fall Final qualification

BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 wasn't just the debut of a new roster for the team, but also the ushering in of a new era for the Ukrainian organisation as a whole.

An organisation that has been home to a Ukrainian team since it's inception in 2009, the arrivals of Aleksib, jL, and iM meant that for the first time, NAVI wouldn't just be communicating in English, but also home to a European core.

A roster that will undoubtedly need time to reach it's potential, no one would have blamed them for failing to qualify for Fall Final at the first time of asking. However, with their win today against G2, they have done so and will now be featuring in the Royal Arena in Copenhagen come November.

NAVI start as they mean to go on

NAVI's opening game of the event was against an Astralis side that had also undergone changes prior to the event. A historic rivalry, it was the newly European squadron that drew first blood as both organisation's embarked on new eras.

A 2-1 victory, Astralis looked comfortable on the opening map of Ancient, but NAVI quickly turned things around on the second and third maps. A 23 kill showing from s1mple on Nuke and 25 from iM on Overpass were the difference makers, helping NAVI secure 16-6 and 16-12 wins respectively.

Their follow up game was set to be a much tougher test. A match up against BLAST Premier Spring Final winners Heroic, the best team in Denmark made sure to let NAVI know the level they would have to reach if they were to become true contenders again in the future.

cadiaN and jabbi dominated on Mirage as the Danes took the opening map 16-9. It was cadiaN's 25 kills that were the real story there though, especially contrasting against the comparatively poor 14 that s1mple could manage.

While cadiaN kept his strong performance going into the second map, it was stavn who stepped up in place of jabbi with a 28-18 statline in the 16-10 victory on Inferno to close out the series.

Photo: Michal Konkol

Group B's Consolidation Final would see NAVI pitted against BIG, a match in which iM would pick up 31 kills on an Ancient map that showed exactly why NAVI signed him. 16-11 there, it was followed by a much closer 16-14 win by NAVI to secure the series in two maps.

A result that booked NAVI a rematch against Heroic, they fared better in their second game against the beaten IEM Rio Major finalists.

Falling 2-1 in the second game against the Danes, NAVI would once again lose the opening map of Mirage, but would win out a close Inferno game 16-14. A strong team performance from NAVI, it was an excellent display of the firepower this new lineup possesses.

Sadly for NAVI, they wouldn't be able to convert their map win momentum into a win on the third, and an 11-4 T side Nuke from Heroic proved to be too much of a mountain for NAVI to climb as they lost the map 16-12.

With G2 narrowly avoiding a scare in the opening round of their Gauntlet bracket, NAVI would have to face off against the IEM Katowice winners for their spot at Fall Final. Another tough test for the new team, they more than rose to the occasion.

The strongest performance yet by s1mple at Fall Groups, the Undertaker racked up 54 kills as NAVI mopped up G2 inside two maps. Two close games that both ended 16-14, it's a testament to the chemistry the NAVI lineup has already built up that they could go on to defeat a team like G2 who didn't make changes in the off-season.