Natus Vincere beat Vitality 2-1, ending 21-event streak

Natus Vincere defeated Vitality 2-1 in the semi-final of IEM Atlanta on May 16. Map scores were Dust2 11-13, Anubis 13-11 and Inferno 13-3.

On Dust2, Natus Vincere opened strongly, taking a 5-1 lead after the early pistol rounds. Vitality’s Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut improved in the second half and closed the map 13-11. Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy produced a 1v2 on the half that kept Natus Vincere within reach earlier in the map.

On Anubis, Vitality led 10-8 despite losing both pistol rounds. A late Mihai “iM” Ivan lurk created a map point for Natus Vincere, which they converted to force a decider.

Inferno was one-sided. Vitality lost both opening pistols and managed three rounds total as Natus Vincere closed the map 13-3.

The result ended multiple streaks for Vitality. Their run of 21 consecutive top-four finishes began at IEM Katowice 2025. Their 28-match playoff win streak on Anubis also ended. Natus Vincere had lost nine straight series to Vitality and held a 1-21 map record in those encounters; that stretch concluded with this victory.

Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov led Natus Vincere with a 59-28 kill-death line, an 85.2 ADR and a 1.45 rating. Valeriy “b1t” recorded 49-33 with an 81.7 ADR and a 1.27 rating, while Mihai “iM” posted 43-36 and a 1.08 rating. For Vitality, Robin “ropz” Kool finished 36-37 with a 1.00 rating, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut 39-40 with a 0.95 rating, William “mezii” Merriman 28-44 with a 0.76 rating and Dan “apEX” Madesclaire 25-49 with a 0.67 rating.

Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen credited the team’s mentality, adding, “Just the mentality. We always worked hard for this moment, and we deserved it today for sure.”

Natus Vincere will face BetBoom in the remaining semi-final on Saturday.