Unstoppable Natus Vincere Secures Grand Final Spot at ESL Pro League Season 18
Natus Vincere remains unbeaten at ESL Pro League Season 18 as they secure a spot in the grand final after defeating Monte 2-0. Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev and his team will face the winner of the ENCE-MOUZ semi-final in the best-of-five title decider scheduled for Sunday at 17:00 in Malta.
NAVI's remarkable run in the tournament remains unblemished, with a string of victories over 5yclone, Apeks, FaZe in the group stage, and Eternal Fire in the quarter-finals. This impressive campaign marks the first time that this Natus Vincere lineup has reached a grand final since their controversial international roster changes during the summer off-season. It's also the organization's first grand final appearance since their loss to FaZe at IEM Cologne in July 2022.
Following their semi-final victory, s1mple expressed his satisfaction, saying, "It's very nice, not only because it's the last grand final in CS:GO, but also because I don't remember the last time when we played the final".
The semi-final against Monte presented perhaps the toughest challenge for Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen's team in this tournament. Monte had a lead of 11-7 on the favored Terrorist side of Anubis and 9-4 on the CT side of Mirage, but the pressure seemed to affect the relatively inexperienced squad. In both maps, Natus Vincere's composure in clutch situations made the difference, particularly on Mirage, where they successfully executed several late retakes despite being at a disadvantage.
Aleksib commented on Monte's performance, saying, "I feel like they were really feeling the pressure because they kept losing these afterplants." He also highlighted a pivotal round where he exploited Monte's passive stance in a 3v2 retake scenario on Mirage, which ultimately led to reaching series point. "After Valerchik "b1t" won that 1v3, I think that was the nail in the coffin. Then you just felt invincible, like, how can we even win this round?"
Bogdan Lashchenko – content manager at EgamersWorld.Bogdan has been working at EGamersWorld since 2023. Joining the company, he began fillin the site with information, news and events.
1120Poligon
The match between NAVI and Monte at ESL Pro League S18 ranks second in popularity among the most-watched matches1771PoligonS1mple on EPL S18: "I can't remember the last time I played in a final"1893Bodello
Unstoppable Natus Vincere Secures Grand Final Spot at ESL Pro League Season 181401PoligonThe NAVI team will face Monte in the semifinals of ESL Pro League S181718PoligonMonte defeated Vitality and advanced to the semifinals of ESL Pro League S181518PoligonToday, within the ESL Pro League S18 playoffs, a match is scheduled between the teams Monte and Vitality35vitaliiD
FaZe beat Liquid on IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper BracketFaZe secured a 2–1 win over Liquid in the IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper Bracket, advancing to Stage 2. EliGE led the charge with a 1.39 rating over three maps.
33vitaliiDHeroic vs MIBR – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Lower BracketHeroic eliminate MIBR 2–0 at IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1. yxngstxr and tN1R lead with dominant CT sides. Heroic advance to play Virtus.pro next. MIBR exit in 13–16th place.
36vitaliiDFlyQuest vs B8 – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Lower BracketFlyQuest eliminate B8 in a close 2–1 series at IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1. regali leads with a 1.25 rating. FlyQuest advance to face Liquid in lower round 2, B8 are out of the tournament.
45vitaliiDNinjas in Pyjamas vs 3DMAX – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper BracketNinjas in Pyjamas defeat 3DMAX 2–0 in IEM Cologne 2025 upper quarters. xKacpersky top-frags with 1.41 rating. NiP qualify for Stage 2, 3DMAX fall to lower bracket to face TYLOO next.
42vitaliiDTYLOO vs Complexity – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Lower BracketTYLOO eliminate Complexity 2–1 in the IEM Cologne 2025 lower bracket. Moseyuh leads with a 1.26 rating. TYLOO advance to face 3DMAX, while Complexity exit in 13–16th place.
36vitaliiDGamerLegion vs Virtus.pro – IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper BracketGamerLegion defeat Virtus.pro 2–0 at IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 upper quarters. PR leads with 1.52 rating. GamerLegion qualify for Stage 2, VP fall to lower bracket vs Heroic.
