NA'VI eliminated from IEM Dallas 2024
Major champions, NA'VI, are thrown out of the competition following their loss in the lower bracket.
Heroic, with a standin, made quick work of the PGL Major Copenhagen winners, adding more salt to injury. NA'VI, with a surprisingly substandard display, couldn’t reach double digits on either maps.
Despite playing without their star AWPer, Abdulkhalik "degster" Gasanov, due to visa issues, Heroic have been a solid unit so far in Dallas. In fact, they stand with a strong likelihood of advancing to the playoffs.
Proud with their achievement, Rene "TeSeS" Madsen said that their goal is beyond the group stage, and even with a stand-in, everything is possible.
“We must have confidence and believe in it… We didn’t travel here just to play two games and go home, it would be a complete waste of time so we’re giving it everything we can and making the most out of it.” - TeSeS in the post match interview for ESL
This marks the second early exit from a tournament since their triumph in Copenhagen. Before this, NA'VI exited ESL Pro League Season 19 following their losses to Complexity and FaZe Clan. Certainly, Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen’s men will have a long talk after such a mediocre performance.
On the other hand, NAVI’s coach Andrij "B1ad3" Ghorodensjkyj believes that the problem is in the mid round adjustments.
“I think we’re struggling a lot in the mid round… Explosive rounds are kind of easy, but when we need to do mid-rounds and change direction, we're struggling a lot." - B1ad3
NAVI Go missing in action
Inside the server, Heroic started strong with four consecutive rounds on their T side. But NAVI’s response was quick as they made the first competitive at 7-5.
Despite winning the pistol round and the conversion, Aleksib struggled to penetrate through Heroic's defense, giving their opponents six rounds to close out the first map, Nuke.
On Mirage, NAVI showed a better face on T side, after tying the half at six rounds each. Yet, Heroic and Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski showed incredible grit and went on a 6-1 round streak to hit map point. By then, it was already too far gone to attempt a comeback.
Amidst the chaos, Justinas "jL" Lekavičius remains the biggest question mark with his performances steadily dropping since becoming the Major MVP. The Lithuanian star finished the event with a mere 0.65 ADR and 0.63 KPR, leaving his fans anxious.
NAVI’s next event will be BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024 which starts the 12th of June, giving them some time to rethink their game plan and show a better face in London.
Credit: PGL
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