Spirit routs NAVI 13-1 on Dust2, wins 2-0 at IEM Cologne

Spirit defeated Natus Vincere 2-0 at IEM Cologne Stage 3, moving into the 1-0 pool after a one-sided series. The Russian team won Dust2 13-1 and Anubis 13-8 in Cologne.

On Dust2 Spirit built an early lead and closed the first half 11-1. Natus Vincere failed to convert several advantageous retake situations, including 2v5 and 3v5 rounds. Spirit finished the map 13-1. Danil “donk” Kryshkovets produced back-to-back triple kills after the side switch and ended the match with 38 kills, a tournament-high 111.0 average damage per round (ADR) and a 1.98 rating. Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov added 35 kills and a 1.90 rating.

On Anubis Spirit recovered from an early 0-2 deficit and took control with key clutches, including a 2v4 and a 3v5. NAVI showed some response on the Terrorist side as they reduced a 3-9 deficit, but Spirit closed the map 13-8. Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia recorded 29 kills and an 86.6 ADR. Boris “magixx” Vorobiev and Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich supplied supporting rounds across both maps.

For Natus Vincere Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy finished with 30 kills and a 91.0 ADR. Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov had 25 kills and a 74.9 ADR, while Mihai “iM” Ivani recorded 24 kills.

Spirit extended their Dust2 winning streak to seven matches across events. After six maps at IEM Cologne, Spirit have not allowed an opponent to reach double digits. Natus Vincere entered Cologne three weeks after winning IEM Atlanta; the loss leaves NAVI unable to reach ten rounds on either map in this series.

Both teams progress to their next matches in Stage 3 of IEM Cologne.