Nigma Galaxy, NAVI Javelins cruise undefeated through first day at ESL Impact League Finals

Nigma Galaxy moved past the first day of play with just nine rounds lost.

ESL Impact League Season 3 Finals has officially started and the action from day one culminated with two teams cementing their place as favorites to take home the $50,000 cash prize. Nigma Galaxy and NAVI Javelins both advanced from the opening fixtures undefeated, securing their place in the knockout stage in Dallas.

The Reinis "⁠hyskeee⁠" Grīnbergs-coached team was in particularly good form on Friday as they cruised past Shimmer and 9 Pandas Fearless without much trouble and only conceded a total of nine rounds across the two best-of-one matches. The 2022 women's team of the year and champions of ESL Impact Katowice quickly solidified their position at the top after a dominant performance on the first day.

tory was at the front of Nigma Galaxy's undefeated day one campaign

Nigma Galaxy's Victoria "⁠tory⁠" Kazieva and Katarína "⁠Kat⁠" Vašková were the team's best performers on the day as they led the line over their initial encounters with 1.57 and 1.54 average ratings, respectively. Romanian star Ana "⁠ANa⁠" Dumbravă had a relatively slow start as the AWPer struggled to match her usual level of impact, only recording a 1.08 score in the opening BO1s — compared to an average 1.25 LAN rating in 2023.

NAVI Javelins' Wiktoria "⁠vicu⁠" Janicka was among the highest-scoring individuals on the day as the Polish sniper powered her team to an opening 16-6 win over HSG fe before acting as the difference-maker in a close 16-14 match against B4 fe. The 20-year-old is currently averaging a 1.49 rating 2.0 and a 1.61 Impact rating, only trailing behind Kat in the second category.

On the opposite end of the table, Shimmer left the Texas tournament in last place following their defeat to Nigma Galaxy and a 0-2 loss to regional rivals from FlyQuest RED. The American squad was the only one able to slow down Mounira "⁠GooseBreeder⁠" Dobie and company during the online season, but failed to replicate their success offline.

The current group standings going into Day two are:

Group A

TEAM

M

P

NAVI Javelins

2

6

B4 fe

2

3

Black Dragons fe

1

0

HSG fe

1

0

Group B

TEAM

M

P

Nigma Galaxy

2

6

FlyQuest RED

2

3

9 Pandas Fearless

2

3

Shimmer

2

0

The second day of play will see five teams fight for tournament survival with only two spots in the knockout stage available. Olga "⁠Olga⁠" Rodrigues and company will have to win two best-of-three fixtures to advance from Group A, starting off against Black Dragons fe while the winner will be matched against B4 fe for qualification.

FlyQuest RED need one win against 9 Pandas Fearless to advance, a difficult task as the North Americas have a 1-3 map record against the Russian team in 2023. Svetlana "⁠f6tal⁠" Shidlovskaia's team has already defeated FlyQuest RED at this event, but will have to do it again in a best-of-three in order to advance.

Date	Matches
ESL Impact League Season 3 Finals
03/06/2023	HSG fe 17:00 Black Dragons fe	Match
03/06/2023	9 Pandas Fearless 19:40 FlyQuest RED	Match
03/06/2023	B4 fe 22:40 Black Dragons fe	Match