Astralis and Na’Vi dominate, advance to ELEAGUE Premier Playoffs

Astralis and Na’Vi came into the third day of the ELEAGUE Premier Group Stage looking to advance to the Playoffs.  Team Liquid and Mousesports looked to stop the two European powerhouses in their tracks. However, Astralis and Na’Vi were both looking very strong off very convincing wins off of FaZe Clan and Fnatic.

Natus Vincere seemed to be still in form from their performance against Fnatic. Their match against the Swedish squad was pretty back and forth. However, they were able to close off the last map pretty decisively. Their superstar AWPer Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev was looking like the best player in the world. Denis “electronic” Sharipov was also looking very sharp coming into today’s events against Mousesports.

Astralis did not even flinch when they were facing off against the new-look Cloud9. They were unchallenged through most of the rounds, and were able to dominate the North American team. Astralis’ beautiful teamwork and individual skill were more than enough to take the match, 2-0. AWPer Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz was a beast that day, dropping a clean 50 bomb on two maps.

Astralis Outplays Team Liquid

After a perfect 7-0 start to the first map, Nuke, Astralis was firmly in the driver’s seat. However, after some surprising rounds, Team Liquid would eventually mount an improbable comeback. They end up finishing the half 8-8. TL’s Nick ‘nitr0’ Cannella and Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic make some great plays to keep their team in it.

.@NAFFLY humongous ace to save Team Liquid. pic.twitter.com/nRGdVjIZw7

— ELEAGUE (@ELEAGUETV) July 23, 2018

However, in the second half, Team Liquid loses steam and Device on his AWP shuts down any attack. Nitro and NAF-FLY giveg their team energy with some amazing plays late, but Astralis’ calm, focused play smother TL.

The same story is written on the second map, Mirage. The teams have a pretty close first half, but Team Liquid continously throws possible chances in the first and second halves.  Astralis are able to stay calm and collected in lost rounds, and do not look overconfident when they win. Once they get their double AWP setup, they are at their most dangerous and they would show it. They would absolutely roll over Team Liquid, 16-7.

Na’Vi vs. Mousesports

The most back and forth affair we have seen at the ELEAGUE Premier so far! Natus Vincere and Mousesports gave us one of the most exciting matches of the group stage.

On the first map, Inferno, Mousesports wins multiple improbable rounds, including a save round on the T side. No team is able to take advantage so far. However, it is the same story on the next side, with Na’Vi’s stars pulling them back when they falter. No team wins more than two or three rounds before losing again. Additionally, there are 5 ties and 6 lead changes throughout the entire map. However, Mouz is the team that comes out on top 16-14, with each team playing exceptionally well. Mousesports’ Tomáš ‘oskar’ Šťastný helps carry his team to victory on map one.

However, map two on Train is a completely different story. Na’Vi looks much more composed and together as a team. Electronic shuts down one of Mousesports’s first buy rounds with an easy 4k, setting the tone for the rest of the map.

What are your thoughts on the two teams moving on to the ELEAGUE Premier playoffs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! If you missed our coverage of Day Two, check it out here!