NAVI claimed Group A’s final IEM Beijing playoff berth by beating Falcons 2-1 in the lower-bracket final. Falcons won the opening map, but NAVI answered on Inferno and closed the decider on Mirage after building a 12-0 lead on its T side. The result sends NAVI into the quarterfinals and ends Falcons’ run.
It was a rematch of NAVI’s 2-0 opening-day win over Falcons. Both teams reached the decider with 2-0 lower-bracket semifinal victories, Falcons over HEROIC and NAVI over B8. NAVI had fallen into the lower bracket after a 2-1 loss to FURIA.
kyousuke had led Falcons’ win over HEROIC with a 1.90 rating, a +7.08% swing and 114.7 ADR. His 2.17 Dust2 rating was his third-highest at a big LAN, according to match statistics. He then posted 130 ADR in the first half of the opener against NAVI, but Falcons could not sustain that start.
w0nderful went 25-4 on Inferno and finished the series with a 1.58 rating, while b1t posted a 1.78 rating. b1t said NAVI had found its pace and played in a flow by the end of the series.
Mirage turned into a one-sided finish as NAVI’s attack built its 12-0 lead. Falcons gave up a 5v3 and then a 5v2, and makazze knifed kyousuke during the collapse.
Falcons’ group-stage exit was their first at a LAN event this season. It came ahead of the team’s Singapore Major title defense, during a stretch in which Falcons had already fallen outside the world’s top five.
What stood out most in NAVI’s response after Falcons took the opener? For more on NAVI’s quarterfinal place and the rest of IEM Beijing’s playoff bracket, follow X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
