The match, held in Saint Julians, Malta, went the distance, with NaVi emerging as the champions after a fiercely contested best-of-five series.
This victory marks NaVi’s third Big Event title of 2024 and their fourth consecutive grand final appearance, solidifying their position as one of the top Counter-Strike 2 teams of the year.
ALEKSI'S CURSE HAS BEEN BROKEN.
@natusvincere ARE YOUR #ESLProLeague XX CHAMPIONS
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 22, 2024
NaVi, led by captain Aleksi “?Aleksib?” Virolainen, entered the final as heavy favourites with esports betting sites after a dominant group stage and playoff performance, where they defeated Team Spirit and G2 Esports.
However, Eternal Fire, the underdog Turkish team, pushed NaVi to the limit.
The series opened on Nuke, where Eternal Fire took an early lead, winning the map 13-8, with key contributions from ?zg��r “?woxic?” Eker.
NaVi responded by edging out victories on Anubis (13-11) and Ancient (13-11), though the matches remained intensely close.
Inferno, the fourth map, saw Eternal Fire dominate with a 13-4 victory, setting up a decisive fifth map on Dust2.
The final map mirrored the back-and-forth tension of the series, but NaVi ultimately secured a 13-10 victory, with Justinas “?jL?” Lekavicius delivering a critical triple kill to seal the win.
Following his standout performances throughout the group stage and in each of their three playoff victories, jL was awarded with the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the 20th season of ESL Pro League.
It was the second MVP medal that jL has earned in 2024, after he earned the same award for NaVi when they took out PGL Major Copenhagen in March.
THE #ESLProLeague XX #ESLProTour DHL MVP
JLEGEND @jLcsgo_
@DeutschePostDHL pic.twitter.com/mzk0qELxg4
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 22, 2024
The victory was especially sweet for Aleksib, as it marked his first best-of-five final win after enduring seven consecutive best-of-five series’ losses.
Eternal Fire, despite the loss, made history by becoming the first Turkish team to reach a Big Event grand final, defeating world No. 1 Vitality along the way.
Captain Engin “?MAJ3R?” K��peli reflected on the near-upset, expressing pride in their performance despite the heartbreak of losing such a close series.
Aleksib praised his team��s consistency after the match, emphasising NaVi��s four consecutive grand final appearances and two best-of-five victories this year.
He noted that their teamwork and tactical depth, overseen by coach Andrij “B1ad3” Ghorodensjkyj, were key factors in their success, even on a day when individual performances were not at their peak.
NaVi will quickly shift their focus to the upcoming BLAST Premier Fall Final, which begins on September 25 in Copenhagen, Denmark, while Eternal Fire will have two weeks to lick their wounds before IEM Rio kicks off on October 7.
]]>