Natus Vincere eliminated The MongolZ from ESL Pro League, booking a playoff spot with a 2-0 win in Stockholm. Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren’s side had been world number one for two weeks after three straight grand finals, but looked short of sharpness across the matches.
The match opened on Nuke, where The MongolZ bounced back from a 13-3 loss in the first map by staying at the PCs between maps and racing to a 6-1 lead on their next outing. Natus Vincere then ran nine rounds in a row to lead 10-6. Even after The MongolZ pulled off a dramatic 2v5 and a 1v2 from Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold to force overtime, Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen’s side closed the map 16-12.
“We need to do more practice,” Sodbayar “Techno” Munkhbold said after the match when speaking to Freya Spiers, and The MongolZ will have a week to prepare before their next event at Thunderpick. Confidence looked restored for Natus Vincere after a rough patch that included losses to Falcons and 3DMAX. Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov described Nuke as simple to play on his side after a 15-5 first half, saying he was surprised by how comfortable he felt with the AWP.
Natus Vincere’s run to the playoffs follows a top-four finish in Cologne and a win at StarSeries Fall, results that demonstrate the team can translate confidence into Tier 1 events when form returns. Share your thoughts on The MongolZ’s preparation and NAVI’s performance, especially how practice time and scheduling affected the match. Please follow us on X, Bluesky and subscribe on YouTube.
