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Team Vitality reverse sweep Natus Vincere to win IEM Beijing
After four grand final defeats, Team Vitality have finally claimed their first S-Tier tournament win of 2020.
Leading up to Intel Extreme Masters Beijing, it had been silver medal after silver medal for Team Vitality. Appearing in four S-Tier tournament grand finals they had failed to win one. But at IEM they were done with being bridesmaids. Playing against Natus Vincere and with their backs against the wall thanks to a 0-2 deficit, they clawed their way back to secure a 3-2 victory.
With unconventional tactics, great duels and unrelenting aggression, Team Vitality finally won their very first S-tier tournament of 2020. However, it was far from easy, with the French team having to fight for every round against the best team in the world.
Did you miss some of the later rounds or do you simply want to relive the most action-packed moments of this grand final? We’ve got you covered in our recap.
Under pressure
Some people might say that aim is the most important skill to have as a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional player, but that’s not always true. The most important skill is the ability to stay calm and collected in the moments that matter the most. Losing two maps against the top team in the world and then going to their map pick and showing new tactics while keeping control. That’s how you win a grand final – and Team Vitality did just that during IEM Beijing.
While Overpass might not have been Natus Vincere’s best map, it’s always difficult for players to mentally reset after losing their own map pick and finding themselves staring at the prospect of yet another silver medal. However, Team Vitality didn’t seem to mind. After losing against a force buy from Na’Vi in the second round, they pushed forward and grabbed themselves seven rounds in a row. Na’Vi fought back, but it wasn’t enough as Team Vitality pushed on for a 16-6 victory – inflicting Natus Vincere’s biggest defeat on the map in the last three months.
On fire in Inferno
In the fourth map, Inferno, Team Vitality subbed in their map specialist, Nabil ‘Nivera’ Benrlitom. What followed was some of the best T-side play from Vitality all tournament, while Natus Vincere were running around like headless chickens. Despite Inferno being one of the oldest maps in rotation, Vitality were seemingly able to invent new strategies as the rounds progressed. At the height of their creativity was a brilliant A attack, where they deviated through T-Spawn for a B-site play, completely catching Na’Vi off-guard.
When Team Vitality switched to CT, Na’Vi fought back. However, this was exactly the moment when Team Vitality’s substitution began to make sense. Nivera held his own against the very best that Counter-Strike had to offer, proving his worth and helping Team Vitality equal the series with a 16-9 Inferno victory. We’re looking forward to seeing more from him in the years to come.
Don’t call it a comeback? Or do
At this point, the stakes were even higher. If you lose a series 0-3, it’s easy to say that the enemy team was just better that day. But coming back from an 0-2 deficit and then losing 2-3 is extra sour. Team Vitality were on edge and it showed on the player cams.
The first pistol round started and superstar Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut performed one of the best aces of the year from the get-go. Na’vi were flustered and it showed in their performance. Usually so crisp, they started to fall apart as Vitality began to take control.
The first-half ended with Team Vitality 10-5 up and it looked as though the French team would secure a first S-tier win of the year, but Na’vi fought back thanks to Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, picking up a few rounds to stay in the match. Then, with glory almost in their grasp, Team Vitality managed to run down the clock and break Na’vi’s offence, seemingly ensuring that every site was locked down.
In a final desperate attempt, Na’vi attempted to force themselves on A-site, but it wasn’t enough and Team Vitality could finally celebrate. Thanks to this victory, Team Vitality showed that they're currently one of the best teams in the world. With the win proving that even after four heavy final losses, they could pick themselves up and come back again stronger.
The year isn’t over yet and we still have some top tier tournaments coming up at the end of the month. Will Team Vitality be able to stand on the throne and win them back-to-back? Stay tuned for more Counter-Strike action.
