NAVI’s Map-Pool Woes Exposed After Grand Final Defeat to FURIA at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025

NAVI’s Map-Pool Woes Exposed After Grand Final Defeat to FURIA at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025

After reaching the grand final of the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 in Malta and building a strong start in the series, Natus Vincere (NAVI) were reverse-swept 3-2 by FURIA in a best-of-five that exposed significant cracks in their map-pool and resilience under pressure.

A strong start – but it didn’t last

NAVI entered the final as one of the favourites and looked every bit in control during the opening two maps. On Mirage, they dominated from the start and seized a 13–6 win, capitalising on FURIA’s weak start and heavily restricting the Brazilians’ offense. 
On Inferno they followed up with a 13–9 victory to go up 2-0 in the series and appeared poised to take the trophy. 
At that point, everything looked on track for NAVI – but what followed highlighted deeper issues.

Map-pool problems and collapse from 2-0 up

Once FURIA were brought to the edge, their experience, momentum and map-readiness started to show. On Nuke, they finally capitalised on NAVI’s weaknesses and took the map 13–8 — signalling a shift in the series. 
On Dust2 the momentum fully swung: FURIA dismantled NAVI 13–5 to tie the series 2-2, seizing the psychological high ground. 
The final map, Train, saw FURIA dominate with an 11–1 half before closing 13–1 — a shocker given NAVI’s profile and expectations. 

The score-lines and progression suggest that NAVI’s map-pool, especially for best-of-five (BO5) series, was not prepared for sustained pressure: when FURIA adjusted and began punishing weaker maps, NAVI could not respond. Many observers noted that being 2-0 up was not enough when your narrower maps or weaker sides are exposed. 

“We have a map-pool issue” – signs of self-reflection

While the original Russian source notes comments by NAVI’s coach Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy that emphasised the difficulty of mastering a seven-map pool and the danger of rushing into undeveloped maps, he warned this tends to be “a huge mistake” if the team hasn’t mastered that map. 
Though not explicitly quoted saying “our map-pool isn’t ready for BO5,” the combination of the coach’s prior map-pool remarks with NAVI’s collapse in the grand final suggests that their depth past their best maps was insufficient.

In the aftermath, NAVI themselves posted on their official channels that they “finish with the silver medal” at the event, acknowledging the outcome and implicitly the need for improvement. 

Why BO5 matters – and where NAVI fell short

Best of five finals place enormous demands on teams: endurance, strategic depth, adaptability, and the ability to reset mentally between maps. For a team to succeed, they must have multiple viable maps, strong sides within each map, and the capacity to bounce back when losing early.

NAVI’s defeat demonstrates several shortfalls:

• Narrow map-comfort: Once their initial win maps were out of their favour, fewer options remained for NAVI to stabilise and retake control.

• Tactical inflexibility: FURIA’s adjustments on Nuke and Dust2 signalled that NAVI could not react strongly.

• Mental collapse: The 13-1 final map blowout indicates a team that mentally broke down under pressure. Many analysts described the Train scoreline as a sign of morale and structure crumbling.

What FURIA did right – contrasting approaches

In contrast to NAVI’s issues, FURIA showed how a deep map-pool and resilience pay off. After the early 0-2 hole they were in, the Brazilian‐Latvian line-up composed of veteran IGL Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo and rising young star Danil "molodoy" Golubenko (among others) found their groove.

FalleN’s in-game leadership and clutch plays on Nuke and beyond allowed FURIA to shift momentum. 
Their ability to dominate on Dust2 and finish strongly on Train proved they had both the map-depth and mental strength to thrive in BO5 format.

The wider context – implications for NAVI ahead of the Major

With the PGL Budapest Major approaching, this defeat puts NAVI’s preparation under scrutiny. A silver medal certainly is not a disaster, but given their ambitions, the way they lost suggests warning signs.

• Their map-pool depth needs urgent work if they are to succeed in longer series formats.

• Mental resilience in high-stakes elimination matches must be addressed — losing after being 2-0 up carries a heavy psychological toll.

• They must rebuild confidence while still making incremental progress ahead of bigger prizes.

Coach B1ad3’s earlier statement about mastering maps before bringing them into rotation rings more prophetic in light of this result. 

Final thoughts

The Thunderpick World Championship 2025 grand final will be remembered as an emphatic comeback by FURIA and a warning sign for NAVI. For NAVI, being favourites and failing to shut down the opponent despite a strong start means the team must revisit fundamental areas: map-pool structure, adaptability, and psychological preparedness for BO5 challenges.

As one analyst put it: “BO5 is a bridge too far for NAVI right now.” 

If NAVI is going to contend for the Major and beyond, this result must serve as a wake-up call — their map-pool isn’t just “not ready” in name; it showed real vulnerability when it mattered most.