Na'Vi end year of dominance with win at BLAST World Final
Image Credit: Bethesda
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s1mple BLAST World Final 2021
Provided by BLAST

Na’Vi end year of dominance with win at BLAST World Final

They beat Gambit Esports 2-1 in the grandfinals

Natus Vincere have beaten Gambit Esports 2-1 to claim the trophy at the BLAST Premier: World Final. They earn $500,000 in prize money while Gambit take home $250,000 for second place. Na’Vi also become repeat champions, having won the BLAST Premier: Global Final at the start of 2021. With the win, Na’Vi, the best team in the world, have capped off an incredible year.

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“I’m very proud of my team,” Na’Vi’s in-game leader Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov said in the post-match interview. “We did it from the lower bracket, like at the start of the year.”

The match was a repeat of a familiar derby between the two teams from the Commonwealth of Independent States. Gambit boast a winning record over Na’Vi, but Na’Vi have been stronger on LAN — notably, they demolished Gambit in the semifinals of the PGL Major Stockholm 2021.

Even though Na’Vi dropped their map pick of Mirage, 11-16, they answered back quickly on Ancient, 16-11. Inferno was completely one-sided, with Na’Vi playing some of their best Counter-Strike since the start of the BLAST World Final. They blew Gambit out of the server in a 16-6 stomp, all the while screaming enthusiastically and getting louder than what is typical for the team.

“We were so fired up,” Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev said in the post-match interview. “After every round we told ourselves Boombl4 should be louder than [Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov].”

S1mple was named MVP of the BLAST World Final. He ended the grand final with 77 kills and 40 deaths on a monstrous 1.62 rating. No one in the server even approached s1mple’s level, though Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi put up a strong performance as well. B1t ends his rookie year and his first year with Na’Vi without losing a single LAN event.

“Merry Christmas and happy New Year, haters,” s1mple said. “I hope you’re doing fine.”

Na’Vi have won all of the S-Tier LAN events in the back half of 2021. Their tournament wins this year include the following:

  • BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020
  • Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Cologne
  • ESL Pro League Season 14
  • PGL Major Stockholm 2021
  • BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2021
  • BLAST Premier: World Final 2021

The team’s 2021 prize earnings are equal to roughly $3.2 million with another $1 million on top for winning the Intel Extreme Masters Grand Slam.

With the BLAST World Final over, the next significant Tier 1 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament will be IEM Katowice, which begins on Feb. 15, 2022.

Author
Image of Coby Zucker
Coby Zucker
Coby Zucker is Upcomer's resident CS:GO writer. He's also played League of Legends at the collegiate level and is a frequent visitor in TFT Challenger Elo. He's a firm believer that Toronto should be the next big esports hub city.