G2 beat NAVI to move on to DreamHack Masters Spring upper final

The French team will take on the winner of tonight's series between FaZe and BIG for the first spot in the grand final.

G2 are the first team through to the upper bracket final following a close two-map series against Natus Vincere. In a high octane match between the current two best teams in the world, NAVI were made to pay the price for a series of mistakes, especially on Mirage, where they let the game slip through their grasp after losing a handful of rounds that should have been theirs, one of which because of a poorly-placed smoke that didn't cover the bomb plant.

The French team, who had hit on Monday their highest ever ranking since October 2017, were in control for large stretches of Dust2 despite solid displays from NAVI's heavy-hitters, who tried to keep the team in the game, but to no avail. G2 will move on to Wednesday's upper bracket final, facing either BIG or FaZe, while Natus Vincere will fight for their tournament life against the winner of the elimination match between fnatic and MAD Lions.

G2 took down the world No.1 in just two maps

Starting out on the CT side on Mirage, NAVI enjoyed a lively start as they romped to a 4-0 lead with ease. Kenny "⁠kennyS⁠" Schrub then finally put G2 on the board with a trio of AWP kills to open up the A site, with Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković following that up with a 1v3 clutch in the next round. The French team's individual prowess and clutching ability proved the difference in the half as they picked up an 8-7 lead despite a poor showing from Audric "⁠JaCkz⁠" Jug, who had just two frags to his name.

NAVI came out of the break with real intent and chained four rounds together after another strong start. The CIS giants seemed to be in control of the game, but then a series of blunders, including two lost anti-ecos, led to a comeback from G2. The French team gradually took the upper hand and even hit map point at 15-13 before NAVI replied to force overtime.

The first set of extra rounds could not determine a winner as both teams won two rounds on the offense, with Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy keeping NAVI in it with a staggering 1v2 clutch on 4 HP and a key grenade in the final round. But there was no stopping G2 in the second overtime as the French team quickly put the game to bed after winning two rounds in either half.

François "⁠AmaNEk⁠" Delaunay opened up the action on Dust2 with a spectacular 1v2 clutch on A with the bomb planted. G2 enjoyed a dominant start to the game, cruising to a 6-2 lead, before their momentum was halted by a 1v3 clutch from Aleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev. The Ukrainian prodigy, who had looked off the pace on Mirage, continued racking up frags as NAVI equalised the score at 6-6, but another anti-eco blunder from the CIS team turned the game on its head as G2 ended the half up by three following a late run.

Denis "⁠electronic⁠" Sharipov came to NAVI's rescue in the second half with a quad-kill in the pistol round, with the team riding that momentum to a 10-9 lead. Their respite was only brief, however, as G2 then took control of proceedings, with JaCkz putting the game away with a 1v2 clutch on the A site.

DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 - EuropeBest of 3

G2

Matchpage

2

0

9th June 2020

Natus Vincere

22

Mirage

19

16

Dust2

12

G2	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Nemanja 'huNter-' KovačhuNter-	54 - 47	+7	90.9	1.26
Nemanja 'nexa' Isakovićnexa	51 - 51	0	84.7	1.08
François 'AmaNEk' DelaunayAmaNEk	44 - 41	+3	62.4	1.04
Audric 'JaCkz' JugJaCkz	44 - 50	-6	68.2	1.01
Kenny 'kennyS' SchrubkennyS	45 - 47	-2	66.3	0.95

Natus Vincere	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Denis 'electronic' Sharipovelectronic	59 - 47	+12	82.4	1.20
Ilya 'Perfecto' ZalutskiyPerfecto	47 - 49	-2	81.9	1.11
Egor 'flamie' Vasilyevflamie	49 - 50	-1	81.2	1.06
Aleksandr 's1mple' Kostylievs1mple	45 - 47	-2	70.3	0.98
Kirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovBoombl4	33 - 48	-15	59.2	0.80