NAVI Fight Back to Beat 9INE 2-1, Close Out Day One at StarSeries Fall

NAVI Fight Back to Beat 9INE 2-1, Close Out Day One at StarSeries Fall

StarLadder’s first event since 2019 got off to a long and intense start, as Natus Vincere recovered from a map-one loss to defeat 9INE 2-1 on Day One of StarLadder StarSeries Fall. 

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Match Recap

• Map One – Ancient (9INE pick): 9INE claimed the first map with a strong performance, defeating NAVI 13-8.

• Map Two – Nuke (NAVI pick): NAVI bounced back decisively on their own pick. Despite some technical glitches during halftime, they closed out the map 13-4.

• Map Three – Inferno (Decider): NAVI carried forward momentum and secured the series with another 13-8 win. Some early missteps (including being overrun in eco rounds) made things difficult, but key plays—including a 1v2 clutch by Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov—helped steer the map.

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Context & Takeaways

• NAVI entered the event as the highest-ranked team present. They’ve struggled in recent tournaments, with poor finishes at events such as the Esports World Cup and BLAST Open/Open tournaments.

• Drin “makazze” Shaqiri was added to NAVI over the summer, seen as part of a rejuvenation effort.

• After the win, Mihai “iM” Ivan acknowledged that the team is looking to rebuild confidence. He admitted that despite being the higher-ranked side, NAVI didn’t play as cleanly as hoped, especially early on.

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What’s Next

• With this win, NAVI move on in the Upper Bracket. Their next opponent will be Passion UA.

• Day One also saw some other matches: PARIVISION narrowly beat B8 2-0 (including a 1v5 ninja defuse by kensizor), Ninjas in Pyjamas defeated OG, and Passion UA overcame Gentle Mates.