FaZe Clan eliminate NAVI from BLAST World Final

Natus Vincere’s BLAST Premier World Final journey ended on Day 2 with a loss to FaZe Clan in the Group A elimination match, cutting their impressive streak of grand finals appearances. NAVI’s exit comes after a rocky start, initially facing an upset against Astralis under Casper "cadiaN" Møller’s guidance. Meanwhile FaZe also faced an early setback to MOUZ.

FaZe's victory here was unexpected, given their recent form. Their struggles since IEM Chengdu have seen them fall short in the quarterfinals of seven consecutive tournaments, including IEM Dallas and Cologne. However, FaZe's resilience shone in this series, especially after a rocky start on Inferno.

NAVI Takes Control on Inferno

FaZe opened on Inferno with a tentative playstyle. Starting strong with a pistol round win but losing ground as NAVI’s defense, led by Valerij "b1t" Vakhovsjkyj, dominated. b1t’s impressive 120 ADR and 14 kills pushed NAVI to a commanding 8-4 lead. FaZe, aside from Håvard "rain" Nygaard’s efforts, struggled to make an impact, with most players faltering, ending with low KAST percentages and ADR as low as 31.

rain throws a lifeline

In a critical moment for FaZe, rain brought his A-game on Mirage. Turning the tide with multi-kill rounds that propelled his team to a 12-7 lead on the T side. This resurgence stifled NAVI’s attempts to regain control, with FaZe’s aggressive mid-round plays proving too much for NAVI to handle. rain’s impact allowed FaZe to level the series, setting the stage for the final showdown on Ancient.

FaZe Completes the Comeback on Ancient

With momentum on their side, FaZe Clan started the decider map, Ancient, with a 6-0 streak. NAVI, struggling to counter David "frozen" Čerňanský’s stronghold in Donut, managed only three rounds by the end of the half.

FaZe’s relentless CT aggression toward Cave and Ramp left Aleksib’s mid-round calls ineffective, ending the half with a 9-3 advantage for FaZe. Though Mihai "iM" Ivan put up a valiant effort with clutch plays to win three rounds, NAVI ultimately fell short. Unable to stop FaZe’s eco-rush to A site, sealing their elimination.

The captain, Aleksib shared his thoughts about their performance so far in a post-match interview, believing that this elimination might be for the better in the future.

"It's really tough to be out like this because I felt like we could do damage in this tournament… As ridiculous as it might sound I think it might’ve been for the better that we have a slap in the face here because I would rather have it here than the major even when we regarded this tournament as a really important one with only eight teams, the best of the best. Now we have more time to reflect, more time to analyze and more time to stay humble." Aleksib to BLAST

A stumble, not a fall

Despite the setback, NAVI’s performance this year has been exceptional. With the Perfect World Shanghai Major RMR on the horizon, this early exit provides a chance to recalibrate. Although some individual performances dipped, notably from Major MVP Justinas "jL" Lekavičius. We expect them to bounce back and prove their worth as the best team in the world in China.

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Featured image source: BLAST

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