NAVI defeat FUT and advance to the ESL Pro League S23 Finals grand final

Natus Vincere confidently secured their place in the grand final of the ESL Pro League Season 23 Finals after defeating FUT Esports in a tense semifinal match. The Ukrainian squad won the series 2–1, showing strong performances on Mirage and Dust2. FUT managed to fight back and equalize the series after winning Ancient, but in the decisive map NAVI regained control and closed out the match.

Map veto:

1. FUT removed Inferno
2. Natus Vincere removed Overpass
3. FUT picked Mirage
4. Natus Vincere picked Ancient
5. FUT removed Anubis
6. Natus Vincere removed Nuke
7. Dust2 was left over

On Mirage, FUT’s map pick, NAVI imposed their game from the very first rounds, taking a 7:0 lead, while the first half ended 10:2. The second half was short, as FUT failed to get back into the game and eventually lost the map 5:13.

On Ancient, the first half once again went in NAVI’s favor. The Ukrainian side secured a 8:4 lead on the T side. After the side switch, however, FUT seized the momentum on their T side, controlling most of the rounds and preventing NAVI from pushing the map to overtime, closing Ancient 13:11 in their favor.

The deciding Dust2 started as a close battle. Both teams traded rounds and finished the first half tied. After the side switch, FUT lost control of the game, while NAVI dominated on the CT side, securing a 13:7 victory.

Match MVP

iM delivered an outstanding performance, finishing the series with 111 ADR and a 1.58 rating. He also played his best map for NAVI, posting 152.2 ADR and a 2.39 rating on Mirage.

FUT are still in contention and will play in the third-place match against the loser of Astralis vs Aurora. Meanwhile, NAVI advance to the grand final, where they will face the winner of that matchup. The ESL Pro League S23 Finals takes place from March 13 to March 15, featuring eight teams competing for a $250,000 prize pool.