G2 defeat NAVI to secure semi-final berth in Katowice

The European combine are now on a 17-map winstreak.

G2 continued their electric start to 2023 with a dominant 2-0 victory over Natus Vincere, a win which secures them a semi-final spot at IEM Katowice. Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen and company limited their opponents to single digits on both maps by winning Inferno 16-8 and Nuke 16-7, with the veto remaining the same as in both their previous battles during 2023.

The victory means that G2 are now within a chance to win their second S-tier event in a row after the BLAST World Final, with the European team no doubt becoming number-one favorites given their spectacular form. Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač cited the team's victory in Abu Dhabi as a contributor towards their form, stating that "Counter-Strike is a game of confidence, and we got loads of it after the World Final." G2 move straight to the Katowice semi-finals, where they will face the winner of the match between Liquid and Vitality on Saturday.

Natus Vincere are not eliminated from the tournament as they were already qualified for the playoffs before the game. Today's loss means they are set to face reigning Major champions Outsiders or underdogs Complexity in the quarter-finals.

G2 started their CT side by winning the pistol round and converting it to a quick 5-0 start. Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy found two kills with a saved AK-47 to net Natus Vincere their first, but they were unable to string more than one round together. The teams traded rounds in a back-and-forth that concluded with a 3-7 scoreline, as G2's economy was finally broken by the majority-Ukrainian side. Despite their unfavorable weaponry, G2 won the following round with a successful stack of the A site and ran away with the half, winning five in a row to finish 12-3 up. b1t was the only shining light of the NAVI offense with 14 kills, seven more than his closest teammate.

With their backs against the wall, Natus Vincere won a much-needed pistol round to begin their comeback attempt. Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov put up several multi-kill rounds to start their defense, as his team strung five in a row. G2 struggled to get going before an A rush with just pistols netted them their first, and the European combine got their swagger straight back. Three rounds in a row followed and G2 were soon on map point, and it was none other than Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov who got his team a 16-8 victory with a stylish quad-kill on the AWP.

Natus Vincere started Nuke with a pistol round win and took the lead for the first time in the series. That enabled them to get a hot 5-0 start, and they became one of the rare teams to stop the early-map G2 onslaught in recent times. It was only a matter of time before G2 would start posting rounds, and they did so with three in a row to reduce the deficit to two rounds and forced the Ukrainian side onto an eco.

Andrii "⁠npl⁠" Kukharskyi showed impressive decisionmaking when he won the eco for Natus Vincere with a 1vs2 clutch, snatching the momentum back in his side's favor. G2 fought straight back with one round before the European combine lost another eco round that put Natus Vincere 7-4 up. Finding themselves in a situation that tested their mental fortitude, G2 passed with flying colors by fighting back with a force buy win of their own. They won four in a row to end the half, going into their defense one round ahead.

The second half started with Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage and HooXi converting a 2vs4 situation on the pistol, beginning their offense on the right foot. G2 didn't relent and kept up streaking rounds, finishing the game with a flawless seven-round streak to close out 16-7. Their win now means Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and company have a ten-map winning streak on Nuke, not losing a single game on the map since adding HooXi and jks.