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Showdown in ESL Pro League Season 18 - Natus Vincere vs. FaZe

Sports Writer

Publish Date: 15/09/2023

Fact checked by: James Leeland

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FaZe and NaVi have reached the Upper Final at ESL Pro League Season 18 after cruising through Group C. Let’s see what’s in store for this matchup.

Setting the Stage

NaVi and FaZe have made their way through the Upper Bracket with very convincing victories. On one side, FaZe overcame 9z in the Opening Round without losing a map and made a statement when winning the third map against fnatic by 16x3 – truly a top-tier performance.

On the other hand, NaVi is still undefeated when it comes to maps as both series against 5yclone and Apeks ended before the third map. This performance shows that NaVi’s lineup is dialed in and ready for the Playoffs.

Track Record: NaVi and FaZe

NaVi and FaZe have played against each other recently at IEM Cologne 2023, a match that FaZe would wish to forget. The series ended in a clean 2x0 for NaVi, but we have to agree the last map was a close one (19x17).

Dominant Streaks & Recent Clashes

Aside from head-to-heads, meaning all recent matches, FaZe has the upper hand. While Navi lost 7 out of the 15 games played in the past 3 months, FaZe only lost 4 out of the 11 matches. This represents a 10.31% lead in performance for Karrigan and his teammates when compared to s1mple’s squad.

Player Spotlight: s1mple vs. ropz

The star players from each team are s1mple and ropz – something many already imagined. Their statistics throughout the last few months are as follows:

Player Name	RATING 2.0	KILLS PER ROUND	DEATHS PER ROUND	IMPACT	AVERAGE DAMAGE PER ROUND
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev (Natus Vincere)	1.16	0.75	0.61	1.14	76.7
Robin 'ropz' Kool (FaZe)	1.16	0.77	0.63	1.14	80.4

When it comes to their performance at ESL Pro League Season 18, that’s where it gets interesting. Both of them have done extremely well so far, and we have compilated their stats for you to compare:

Player Name	Match	K-D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev	Opening Round 1	49-37	+12	82.8	78.2%	1.27
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev	Upper Semi-Final 1	39-20	+19	86.4	84.1%	1.46
Robin 'ropz' Kool	Opening Round 2	48-22	+26	96.2	79.6%	1.60
Robin 'ropz' Kool	Upper Semi-Final 2	61-42	+19	82.8	79.2%	1.25

Map Dynamics

Over the past three months, Natus Vincere (NaVi) and FaZe have showcased varying map proficiencies. On Mirage, NaVi leads with a 62% win rate from 8 maps, compared to

FaZe's 50% from 6 maps. Inferno sees NaVi at 71% over 7 maps and FaZe at 67% from 6.

Faze Team Logo

However, on Nuke, FaZe boasts a 100% win rate from 4 maps, overshadowing NaVi's 40% from 5. The teams are more evenly matched on Overpass, with win rates of 40% and 50% respectively. Differences persist on Ancient and Anubis, with NaVi generally performing stronger. Neither team engaged on Vertigo recently.

What can we expect?

As ESL Pro League Season 18 progresses, both NaVi and FaZe display strong form. Key players, s1mple and ropz, are the ones to watch. Their recent results suggest tight matches ahead. It's set to be an unmissable clash for fans worldwide, and you can watch it on multiple Twitch channels like the official ESL channel (English) and Gaules (Portuguese). Also, be sure to head back to Strafe.com to check out the aftermath.