[LIVE] NAVI bounce back and take the early lead on Overpass PlatoBlockchain Data Intelligence. Vertical Search. Ai.

[LIVE] NAVI bounce back and take the early lead on Overpass

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17:35 : Natus Vincere hit straight back with a hero AK purchase, take early lead

Europe FaZe 1-3 Ukraine Natus Vincere

Natus Vincere bounce back immediately via a 3k from Aleksandr “⁠s1mple⁠” Kostyliev‘s hero AK on B, and the CIS squad are in business.

Things get scary for Denis “⁠electroNic⁠” Sharipov and co. in the following round, as Helvijs “⁠broky⁠” Saukants grabs a multi-kill with his M4A1-S, but Natus Vincere just get the round over the line at A.

Natus Vincere clean up the following eco to take control early.


17:30 : Map two gets underway with a FaZe pistol victory

Europe FaZe 1-0 Ukraine Natus Vincere

Håvard “⁠rain⁠” Nygaard takes an early frag in middle before FaZe stop the B execute with ease.


17:22 : Overpass up next as Natus Vincere look to bounce back

Series score: Europe FaZe 1-0 Ukraine Natus Vincere

The analysts on the desk were not sure about the Overpass from Natus Vincere, with Janko “⁠YNk⁠” Paunović stating it is “not a NAVI pick” and Mathieu “⁠Maniac⁠” Quiquerez opining that rain on the CT side will be vital for FaZe.

Can Natus Vincere get back into the series at the first time of asking?


17:09 : Map one Inferno goes to FaZe as they take early advantage in the grand final

Europe FaZe 16-13 Ukraine Natus Vincere

Finn “⁠karrigan⁠” Andersen picks up a 3k at banana to stop Natus Vincere in their tracks and earn his team their 15th round.

Early banana aggression nets a 2k for electroNic and keeps Natus Vincere alive, but a late B execute in the next falls as karrigan and rain hold effectively to take map one 16-13.


17:01 : FaZe take control late in the game

Europe FaZe 14-12 Ukraine Natus Vincere

FaZe crush a partial-buy and karrigan gives a cheeky look and point to the camera, starting to work the crowd. Natus Vincere take their first time-out.

A one-for-one at banana gives Natus Vincere a 4v4 in the following, they trade into a 2v2 at the A site, before rain grabs a 2k on the retake to tie the scores.

broky sprays down four from behind on a flank of banana in the next round, giving FaZe the lead, and they clean up following eco to get to 14.


16:53 : The game continues to be a back-and-forth affair

Europe FaZe 10-12 Ukraine Natus Vincere

FaZe get a better buy despite losing the previous round but they can’t complete a 4v4 retake on the B site, even after getting the opening kill.

The European squad take an eco on the chin, and broky and Russel “⁠Twistzz⁠” Van Dulken hold well on the A site in the following round to put s1mple in a 1v2 he doesn’t manage to win.

An important round for FaZe to win, and they solidify that victory with another to put Natus Vincere on a bad buy.


16:45 : The game stays close early in the second half

Europe FaZe 8-10 Ukraine Natus Vincere

FaZe lose two early in the second-half pistol, but somehow recover and stop the attack towards A to start their defence with a win.

Natus Vincere take a bit of a Kévin “⁠Ex6TenZ⁠” Droolans-style timeout by hanging out near their spawn on the resulting eco, and an early entry on rain at banana allows a successful A-hit to come through for the CIS squad on their first buy.


16:35 : The lead goes to Natus Vincere for the first time as the first half draws to a close

Europe FaZe 6-9 Ukraine Natus Vincere

The guns are back out for both teams, and FaZe‘s heavy emphasis on short continues; they trade into a 3v3, but leave the bomb at spawn which ruins the round. It seems FaZe may be trying to target Viktor “⁠sdy⁠” Orudzhev.

A half-buy comes next for FaZe and back to A they go, but a well-timed rotation from s1mple shuts everything down.

Both teams have a full-buy for the final round, broky punishes Natus Vincere‘s early banana aggression, but a full B execute is thwarted by Ilya “⁠Perfecto⁠” Zalutskiy from the flowers boost.

Advantage Natus Vincere.


16:28 : Natus Vincere tie the game

Europe FaZe 6-6 Ukraine Natus Vincere

FaZe get back on the horse, winning with another A take through short, Robin “⁠ropz⁠” Kool closing with some clean headshots.

Natus Vincere buy again and answer right back, stopping a very similar A-short hit and putting FaZe back on a bad purchase, which they duly deal with.


16:22 : Natus Vincere close the deficit

Europe FaZe 5-4 Ukraine Natus Vincere

Natus Vincere clean up an eco and from there begin to stabilise their defence. FaZe take an early timeout after taking a few losses.

s1mple seems in good form, which the CIS giants will need if they want to win this game.


16:17 : Natus Vincere get on the board

Europe FaZe 5-1 Ukraine Natus Vincere

Natus Vincere can’t complete a B retake in a 3v3 on the first gun round, but they do ensure everyone on FaZe dies and save themselves an AWP on s1mple.

This allows a decent buy in the next, but once again FaZe trade themselves into a 3v3, this time on A, and they repel another retake attempt.

The resulting half-buy from Natus Vincere sees a huge play from s1mple‘s deagle net them an unlikely round.

Game on.


16:10 : FaZe take early lead

Europe FaZe 3-0 Ukraine Natus Vincere

FaZe survive a couple of scary moments to convert to 3-0, a s1mple 2k with a p250 grabs Natus Vincere a couple of free guns for their first full buy.


16:06 : Inferno begins, the grand final is live!

Europe FaZe 1-0 Ukraine Natus Vincere

Inferno is the first battleground here in Germany, and a huge Twistzz triple kill with the glock starts the FaZe offence off right, despite attempted heroics from Valeriy “⁠b1t⁠” Vakhovskiy on the retake.


15:45 : The veto is in

We have the maps for our best-of-five final, with YNk shocked at the fact Natus Vincere took Overpass as their first pick.

Who do we think this veto favours?

1. FaZe ban Dust2
2. NAVI ban Vertigo
3. FaZe pick Inferno (Map one)
4. NAVI pick Overpass (Map two)
5. FaZe pick Ancient (Map three)
6. NAVI pick Mirage (Map four)
7. Nuke was left over (Map five)


15:25 : Who leads the race for the HLTV x BitSkins MVP medal?

Unsurprisingly, it is s1mple who leads the way in the MVP race, with a staggering 1.34 rating thus far at the event and a monstrous 1.43 impact rating.

It will take a huge performance from one of the FaZe stars to clinch the MVP medal, with ropz best placed to do so after an excellent showing against Movistar Riders yesterday.


15:19 : The show is now LIVE

The pre-show for the final is now live, tune in to the stream embedded at the top of this post to get yourself ready for a barn-storming game.

Pay attention to this live post for an update on the HLTVxBitSkins MVP race shortly.


15:00 : The show starts in just under 20 minutes

Grab your refreshments and get comfortable, because the build up to the last grand final of the season starts in just under 20 minutes.

Read on for a quick preview of the final match of the season, where there is more than just a trophy up for grabs.


Cologne so far

IEM Cologne 2022 plays host to the final event of the season, the last moment for teams to prove their worth heading into the summer player break. We have already had plenty of shocks and surprises, highly-touted names like Cloud9 and ENCE suffering early upsets whilst underdogs like MOUZ and Liquid made playoff runs and Movistar Riders and Astralis grabbed themselves unlikely top-four finishes.

Cologne has delivered fascinating storylines so far

The grand-final matchup we find ourselves awaiting was far more predictable. The two teams that have shown the highest ceiling so far this year, competed for the PGL Major Antwerp title and are currently battling it out for the top spot in the world rankings, FaZe and Natus Vincere, are set to do battle for the last trophy on offer for the first half of 2022, in a matchup Perfecto and karrigan themselves have stated will decide the best team in the world.

[LIVE] NAVI bounce back and take the early lead on Overpass PlatoBlockchain Data Intelligence. Vertical Search. Ai.

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Perfecto: “This tournament will decide who the number one team is”

The two titans came into Cologne in differing fortunes, FaZe having just recovered from a shaky patch of form to reach the final of the online Roobet Cup, and conversely Natus Vincere having just produced their best performances of the season to clinch the BLAST Premier Spring Final title, but both have been at their imperious best in Germany. There have been no series losses for either squad, and in the case of FaZe not a single map has gone against them thus far.

FaZe have spread the fragging across their numerous stars, with ropz and broky stepping it up in the playoff series against Movistar Riders, whereas Natus Vincere have been driven by the ever-reliable s1mple. Both teams have done their best work on the CT side, where they sport the highest win percentages of the event by far, almost 10% ahead of their nearest rivals.

So who will fulfil their destiny in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike and confirm their status as the number-one team in the world heading into the player break? Tune in to this live post for updates on the end-of-season spectacle.

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