Welcome to all esports and Counter-Strike 2 fans! From September 18, 2025, to September 21, 2025, one of the biggest tournaments of the autumn season — StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 will take place. Eight teams will compete for the championship title and a prize pool of $500,000. Today we highlight the Upper Bracket Final match NAVI vs NiP, which promises to be very exciting. While the teams prepare, we will share our CS2 betting tips and a match preview.
How the bookies view it: NAVI favorite
Most bookmakers consider NAVI the favorite in the match against Ninjas in Pyjamas at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025. The team is one of the strongest this season, but NiP is also a well-known squad capable of defeating top opponents.
NAVI form. What result can be expected from NAVI
Our betting prediction for the NAVI vs. Passion UA matchup begin with analyzing NAVI form. Traditionally, we begin our analysis with the 2023 season. NaVi participated in the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023: European RMR A and qualified for the Major in Paris.
Before the Major, Natus Vincere placed top-4 at IEM Masters Rio 2023. The Paris tournament turned out to be a failure for NaVi — a top-11 finish can hardly be called a worthy result for a top-tier team.
NAVI roster: w0nderful, b1t, Aleksib, makazze, iM.
Before IEM Cologne, NaVi conducted a global reshuffle, updating the team’s roster. electroNic, Perfecto, and npl were replaced by jL from Apeks, iM from GamerLegion, and Aleksib, who had previously played for Ninjas in Pyjamas.
With the new roster, NaVi debuted at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023. "Born to Win" managed to qualify for the Fall Final, placing 4th–6th.
At IEM Cologne 2023, Natus Vincere played quite well, but below their usual level. They first lost 0-2 to MOUZ, then defeated OG in a Bo3. At the end of this top-tier championship, NaVi finished top-8 — a good result for the updated roster at the time.
The main result of the 2023 season for Natus Vincere was 2nd place at ESL Pro League Season 18, followed by a 3rd–4th place finish at BLAST Premier: World Final 2023.
2024 started on a positive note — the team was the best at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: European Qualifier A. But then their form slightly dipped: top-12 at ESL Pro League Season 19 and IEM Dallas 2024, as well as second place at BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024.
It is worth noting NAVI’s first title win of the 2024 season — PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. The team was simply unstoppable and on their way to the championship defeated teams such as G2 Esports and FaZe Clan.
NAVI hit good form at the Esports World Cup 2024 — the main tournament of the season. At EWC 2024, NaVi started with a confident 2-0 win over FURIA. Reaching the playoffs, "Born to Win" once again faced FaZe Clan. This time, NaVi defeated FaZe 2-0. Then came a tough match against MOUZ, where NaVi lost the first map 1-13 but pulled themselves together and reached the grand final. In the final, they faced G2 Esports and won 2-1, securing their second prestigious title of the season.
At ESL Pro League Season 20, NaVi won Group A, easily defeating Lynn Vision, NiP, and Eternal Fire. In the playoffs, the team started with a 2-0 victory over archrivals Team Spirit, then beat G2 Esports (2-1), and in the final overcame Eternal Fire with a score of 3-2.
At IEM Rio 2024, NaVi advanced from Group A in second place, losing only to FURIA. In the playoffs, they defeated VP (2-0) and Heroic (2-1). In the grand final, NaVi outplayed MOUZ (3-1), earning their fourth major trophy of the season.
At PW Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR A, NaVi won two matches — against Fnatic and Sinners, but then lost to MOUZ in the deciding match. However, on the second attempt, NaVi reached the Elimination Stage of the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 by defeating sAw 2-0.
In the elimination stage, NaVi began with a win over Liquid, then lost to MIBR and Spirit, after which they knocked out GamerLegion, but lost to Heroic, leaving the world championship just one step short of the playoffs.
The 2025 season began successfully for NaVi with a strong performance at BLAST Bounty Spring 2025: Closed Qualifier, where they made it to the top 8 and secured a tournament slot. At BLAST Bounty Spring 2025, the team also performed well and placed 3rd–4th.
Among the main achievements of Natus Vincere in the 2025 season so far are 3rd–4th place finishes at IEM Katowice 2025 and IEM Cologne 2025.
After unsuccessful performances at BLAST Bounty Fall 2025: Closed Qualifier and CS2 Esports World Cup 2025, NAVI is ready to redeem itself and fight for victory at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025.
NiP form. What result can be expected from NiP
We continue our CS2 betting picks with analyzing NiP form. In this match, they are playing as underdogs, but the team is well-known and knows how to defeat strong opponents.
In the first half of the 2023 season, NiP were remembered only for qualifying for the Paris Major 2023 after finishing 7th at European RMR B, as well as finishing in the top 8–11 at the Major itself. The team’s form slightly improved over the course of the season.
Although NiP lost in the Last Chance Qualifiers at Gamers8, they later performed well at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023. They confidently advanced to the Fall Final, defeating such giants as Vitality.
NiP approached IEM Cologne 2023 in full combat readiness. There were no roster changes before the tournament, which clearly played in favor of the Swedish club.
In the first round of the Play-In at IEM Cologne 2023, Ninjas in Pyjamas faced Into The Breach. The match ended in an easy NiP win on Ancient with a score of 16-5.
In the match for a spot in the group stage of IEM Cologne 2023, NiP played against MOUZ. The "mice" outplayed the Swedes in class, allowing them to take only 19 rounds in two maps. The tournament ended for NiP in the top 16.
In the 2024 season, NiP drastically changed their roster, essentially carrying out a full rebuild of the team.
NiP roster: r1nkle, ewjerkz, sjuush, xKacpersky, Snappi.
At PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: European RMR A, NiP performed poorly — top 16. Things slightly improved in the second half of the year: top 2 at YaLLa Compass 2024, top 4 at FiReLEAGUE Global Final 2023. Among TIR-S tournaments, the best performance was at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups, where NiP managed to beat C9 and FaZe, but stopped at the top 8 after losing to Astralis.
Later, NiP played at BLAST Premier: Fall Showdown 2024 but failed to repeat the success of the previous BLAST tournament, finishing only top 16. They later placed top 28 at ESL Pro League Season 20 and top 16 at CCT Season 2 European Series #13. They also participated in the Thunderpick World Championship 2024, where they finished top 12 — a result that can hardly be called successful.
In the 2025 season, NiP participated in a large number of various qualifying tournaments. Only one of them ended in victory — PGL Astana 2025: European Qualifiers. However, at PGL Astana 2025 itself, NiP managed to reach the playoffs by winning their group with a 3-2 score — this was the Swedish club’s best result in the past 5 months of the 2025 season.
Ninjas in Pyjamas performed quite well at C and B-tier tournaments. The team won Fragadelphia x LVL UP EXPO 2025, placed 3rd–4th at The Proving Grounds Season 1, and finished 2nd at CCT Season 3 European Series #3.
Recent head to head
The teams have faced each other 23 times, with NAVI winning 18 of those matches and NiP taking 5. The match at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 is crucial, as the winner will advance to the grand final.
Which maps does NAVI pick and ban most often?
Let’s analyze both teams map statistics in 2025 to make smart CS2 tips.
Strong maps
- Train: very high win percentage (87.5%) with 8 matches played.
- Inferno: high win percentage (68.2%) with 22 matches played.
- Mirage: high win percentage (66.7%) with 27 matches played.
Average results
- Ancient: average winning percentage (47.4%) with 19 matches played.
- Dust2: average winning percentage (41.7%) with 12 matches played.
Weak maps
- Nuke: low win percentage (38.5%) with 13 matches played.
- Anubis: low win percentage (16.7%) with 6 matches played.
Which maps does NiP pick and ban most often?
Strong maps
- Nuke: high win percentage (78.0%) with 50 matches played.
- Inferno: high win percentage (66.7%) with 15 matches played.
- Train: high win percentage (60.7%) with 28 matches played.
Average results
- Ancient: average winning percentage (54.1%) with 37 matches played.
- Anubis: average winning percentage (52.6%) with 19 matches played.
Weak maps
- Dust2: low win percentage (43.3%) with 30 matches played.
- Mirage: low win percentage (40.0%) with 15 matches played.
Predicted result of the match between NAVI and Passion UA at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025
Most analysts and experts consider NAVI the favorite in this match, as the team is among the best. NAVI is currently experiencing a slight dip in form, but they have already secured two victories at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025. However, NiP is not an easy opponent — although the team’s current roster has not achieved great success, they are capable of defeating strong rivals. In our opinion, based on previous results, NAVI will win this match. Fans can expect an exciting game.
Betting prediction: NAVI wins.
#231
Inner Circle Esports
#136
K27Watch match
