NAVI started off Dust2 with a 6-1 lead thanks to a stellar performance from the debutant David "dav1deuS" Tapia Maldonado. However, paiN found their footing on offense, fighting back to cut the deficit to just two rounds by halftime. The momentum carried into the second half, with João "snow" Vinicius leading the charge as paiN moved to map point at 12-9. But NAVI found salvation in the form of late heroics from Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius and Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy, forcing overtime. From here, Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov took control, delivering ten kills with the AWP to secure a 13-12 win for NAVI.
On Nuke, paiN dominated from the outset. Behind a strong performance from Kaue "kauez" Kaschuk, they raced to an 8-2 lead, with NAVI only managing to salvage the last two rounds of the half. After the break, paiN continued their dominance, reaching map point at 12-4. Despite a late comeback attempt from NAVI, the Brazilian team closed out a commanding 13-8 win to even the series.
The decider on Mirage began with paiN in blistering form, managing to secure a 6-0 lead on the T side and winning three consecutive 4v5 situations. NAVI looked rather rattled but managed to stabilize and cut the deficit to 8-6 at halftime. The second half turned into a nerve-wracking affair, with both teams struggling to gain the upper hand. paiN reached map point at 12-10 but failed to capitalize, allowing NAVI to force overtime once again. Seizing the momentum, NAVI completed the comeback with a 13-12 victory to close out the series.
For paiN, the result was a bitter pill to swallow. They were the stronger team for significant stretches of the series and came agonizingly close to closing it out.
With this win, NAVI advance to the semi-finals, where they will clash with the dominant Team Spirit for a spot in the BLAST Bounty 2025 finals on January 25.
What did the paiN say?
“Our team was stronger than the individuals,” admitted jL, reflecting on the defeat after the closely-contested match. “Some individuals dropped off, here and there. Like me, in the first two maps.”
