NAVI defeat B8 in a tense series to reach the upper bracket final of BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026

Natus Vincere secured a hard-fought victory over B8 in the Group A upper bracket match at BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026, closing the series 2–1. Despite a tight battle and overtime on Ancient, NAVI managed to edge out their opponents on the decider and book a spot in the upper bracket final.

Map veto:

1. B8 removed Anubis
2. Natus Vincere removed Overpass
3. B8 picked Mirage
4. Natus Vincere picked Ancient
5. B8 removed Inferno
6. Natus Vincere removed Nuke
7. Dust2 was left over

The match started on B8’s pick. In the first half of Mirage, NAVI secured a slight lead on the CT side, finishing 7:5. After the side switch, B8 responded with a solid defense of their own, but NAVI still closed out the map 13:9.

Ancient ended in a dramatic win for B8. The first half saw both teams evenly matched, ending in a tie. After the switch, the battle continued as B8 reached map point, but allowed NAVI to push the game into overtime, where B8 ultimately prevailed 19:17.

The deciding Dust2 saw a confident performance from NAVI, who secured a 13:7 victory. They looked strong on the T side in the first half, and after switching sides, B8 failed to find their footing, resulting in a 2–1 series win for NAVI.

MVP of the match

The standout player of the match was iM, who finished the series with a 1.41 rating.

With this victory, NAVI advance to the Group A upper bracket final, where they will face Falcons. Meanwhile, B8 drop to the lower bracket, where they will take on NRG Esports. BLAST Open Rotterdam runs from March 18 to March 29, featuring 16 teams competing for the trophy and a $250,000 prize pool.