If you had been following the early PGL Stockholm betting markets, then you will know that Natus Vincere (NAVI) were the strong favourites to win the title.
Well this weekend, the team went out and proved just why they were the clear pick for so many betting sites and esports betting fans as they produced a masterclass of CS:GO esports gaming to land the $1,000,000 first prize at the tournament.
Alongside that bumper cash prize, NAVI also picked up a number of other important awards including 1800 CSGO Pro Tour points, 4000 BLAST Premier points and a place in the BLAST Premier World Final 2021.
They join Gambit Esports, G2 Esports and Heroic as having clinched one of the eight spots available at this $1,000,000 esports tournament which takes place between 14th and 19th December.
However, after their stellar performance at the PGL Major over the last couple of weeks, they will likely be the team to beat at that forthcoming event.
Legend Status Well Deserved
As one of the eight teams designated as Legends for the PGL Major, NAVI were not involved in the opening Challengers Stage of the event, which saw a number of big name teams such as FaZe Clan, Virtus.pro, Heroic and Astralis make it through into the second phase of the tournament.
The New Legends Stage saw NAVI and the seven other legends enter the tournament and while two teams, Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses lost their Legends status after being eliminated at this stage of the tournament, the other six Legend teams, plus Virtus.pro and Heroic rolled on to the Champions Stage.
Topping the table in qualifying for that stage was Natus Vincere who won all three of their games, defeating Heroic 16-11 in their Round 1 match, and obliterating Virtus.pro 16-4 in their second, before they then claimed top spot in the group with a 16-9, 16-9 2-0 win over Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Champions Stage Winners
Having reached the Champions Stage without dropping a single map, Natus Vincere continued their excellent run through the tournament in the same rich vein of form.
In the quarterfinals, Team Vitality put up a stubborn fight but once again NAVI came through, winning 16-11 and 16-3 for a 2-0 win. They moved on to the semifinals where they totally dominated Gambit Esports, winning 16-8, 16-3 for a very comfortable 2-0 victory.
Having reached the final, they faced G2 Esports who had beaten Ninjas in Pyjamas and Heroic to reach the last two. G2 gave NAVI their toughest test yet, losing the first map 16-11 before pushing NAVI very hard in the second map before losing it 22-19 in overtime.
The win means that this was the fourth big tournament that NAVI have won in 2021, following on from their successes at the Blast Premier: Global Final 2020 in January, the Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Cologne in July and the ESL Pro League Season 14 in September.
The victory means that the team has earned £2,195,000 from those four victories alone this season.
Their win in Stockholm saw them become the first team to win a CSGO major tournament without dropping a map.
NAVI will be back in action in a couple of weeks at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals in Copenhagen, starting on the 24th November.
