HEROIC eliminate NAVI from IEM Chengdu after a tense 2–1 series

NAVI fell to HEROIC 1–2 in a do-or-die match at IEM Chengdu 2025. Despite a confident start on Nuke, where the Ukrainian team won their opponent’s map pick, the Danes took control as the series went on. HEROIC equalized on Ancient and then secured victory on the decider, knocking NAVI out of the tournament in 13–16th place.

Nuke (13:8 NAVI)

NAVI showed strong form and managed to win HEROIC’s map pick. The first few rounds went in NAVI’s favor, but HEROIC soon found their rhythm and took a 7–5 lead by halftime. Things turned around when NAVI switched to the T side — they dropped only one round and closed out the map 13–8.

Ancient (13:8 HEROIC)

HEROIC responded by winning NAVI’s map pick in return. The script was similar to Nuke: NAVI started well, taking the early rounds, but gradually lost focus. HEROIC picked up five rounds on defense, and after halftime, NAVI only managed to win the pistol round. The Danes then completely dominated the rest of the half to take the map 13–8.

Inferno (13:8 HEROIC)

The decider on Ancient began once again with NAVI taking the early lead. The first half was close and ended 6–6, but in the second half NAVI couldn’t handle HEROIC’s aggressive T-side. HEROIC took control and closed the map 13–8, sealing the series.

Match MVP

The best player of the series was yxngstxr, who delivered an impressive performance: ADR – 89.2, Swing +5.58%, and a 1.46 rating.

It’s a disappointing exit for the Ukrainian squad, who finish 13–16th and take home $4,000 in prize money. Meanwhile, HEROIC move on to the Group A Lower Bracket Semifinal, where they await their next opponent. IEM Chengdu runs from November 3–9 with a $1,000,000 total prize pool — $300,000 allocated to teams and $700,000 for the organizer.