iM: NAVI target playoffs to ease Major qualification path

Natus Vincere opened their PGL Masters Bucharest campaign with a close win over G2, taking both maps by the narrowest possible margin.

The victory gave NAVI 83 Valve Ranking System points and moved the team 10 places to 23rd in the global rankings. Current projections give NAVI a 98% chance of qualifying for the Major.

NAVI picked Nuke after G2 allowed the map through the veto. The team had limited information about G2’s setups, but identified the positions during the opening rounds and secured the map.

Dust2 was even closer. NAVI took an early lead before G2 recovered on the T side and forced overtime. iM described Dust2 as one of NAVI’s weaker maps but said the team was prepared to play it when opponents selected it.

“It’s a relief because Nuke, we went in kind of blind,” iM said. “Dust2 is not our strongest map, but we are ready to play it whenever opponents are picking it. And it was tough, very tough.”

The Romanian player did not believe the Major qualification race was adding pressure to NAVI. He pointed to the team’s recent ESL Pro League losses against Vitality, PARIVISION and Falcons, highlighting the defeat by PARIVISION.

“The pretty rough loss, you can say, was against PARIVISION; to be fair, it was our game,” iM said. “We should have been 2-0 on that Cache. We lost so many of our rounds.”

NAVI now aims to reach the PGL Masters Bucharest playoffs and improve its ranking position before the Major. iM described the win over G2 as a positive result but warned that the team had also started ESL Pro League with a victory before struggling later in the event.

“After every victory, it’s moving in the right direction,” he said. “And even after some losses, it can move in the right direction because you learn from the mistakes. I think it was good, but we started the same in EPL, so let’s not slip up.”

NAVI has registered for HyperX Retake Season 13, a tier-two LAN tournament in Lisbon. The event is part of the team’s current plan if it does not reach the PGL Masters Bucharest playoffs. The roster’s participation at IEM Beijing has not been decided.

“We know a bit about what’s going to happen,” iM said. “After this, if we fail, we have this LAN in Portugal. That’s pretty much it. I don’t think I can go into more detail about what we’re going to do about Beijing and stuff, but this is our plan. Obviously number one is to get to the playoffs here, and then if we fail somehow, we go to HyperX. Because we need those LAN wins.”

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