win.gg
Win.gg Counter-Strike Natus Vincere shreds Astralis, faces G2 in IEM Katowice 2020 finals

Natus Vincere shreds Astralis, faces G2 in IEM Katowice 2020 finals

M Alzamora
M Alzamora Published 29/02/2020
Google Preferred Source

Natus Vincere and Astralis squared off in a best-of-three that saw the number one team in the world crumble beneath the crushing weight of a frightening Russian squad.

Dust 2 and Nuke were the staging grounds for a defeat that seemingly broke Astralis after the team cruised to the semifinals without dropping a single map. Natus Vincere took the series in two decisive maps and booked their tickets to the IEM Katowice 2020 grand finals

s1mple’s merciless display on Dust 2 breaks Astralis

The semifinal started on Dust 2 where Na`Vi took the early lead off the back of dramatic plays by Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy. Things quickly got out of hand for Astralis as they took massive casualties round after round from the kind of plays that make casual players drop from a server.

Na`Vi gave Astralis no quarter, conditioning the Danes to fear the long hit before a mid to B walk produced this masterpiece:

Star player s1mple was in rare form.

The world’s top-ranked team was systematically dismantled by Na`Vi as the CIS team put up a 14-1 scoreline in the first half. Na`Vi’s Kriegs were on full display for perfecto and Egor “flamie” Vasilev. s1mple, unleashed with Na`Vi’s release of Ladislav “Guardian” Kovács, put up a total of 19 kills in the first half.

Dust 2 was over before it began. Na`Vi gave up four after winning the CT pistol round, but Denis “electronic” Sharipov’s aggressive cat push in round 21 netted him a double kill and set up Na`Vi’s A-site defense for the map win 16-5.

The semifinal’s first map was a master class by s1mple and made the argument that HLTV’s crowning of Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut as the world’s best player was dead wrong. s1mple finished Dust 2 with a gaudy stat line of 25 kills, 11 assists, and just three deaths, He also had 123.5 average damage per round, a 95% Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded statistic, and an earthshattering 2.09 rating. 

Nuke betrays Astralis as Na`Vi cruises to IEM Katowice 2020 finals 

Astralis’ looked no better on Nuke, the map where Astralis once posted a commanding 31-map winning streak. Nothing could get in Na`Vi’s way. The Danes took the pistol round despite perfecto’s heroics. That turned out to be one of only two rounds that Astralis won on their Terrorist side.

Na`Vi won the ensuing force buy after flamie burned alive, but took two with him. Alongside this, Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov pulled off a cheeky decoy play that started a five-round streak for the CIS squad. flamie locked down ramp throughout the half, and posted an ace with just a Galil against a strong Astralis buy.

 

Astralis went into the second half down 13-2, completely unable to break through Na`Vi’s assertive defense. The Danish roster picked up three more rounds before Na`Vi decided they had had enough.

Finally, two sets of double kills from s1mple and electronic put Na`Vi on match point, and a clean final round from the team sent Natus Vincere to the grand finals. In the end, Astralis only managed a total of ten rounds over both maps.

 

It’s unfortunate that s1mple’s performance was broadcast to an empty Spodek Arena. Polish authorities revoked ESL’s permit to hold the event on Friday, citing concerns over the spreading coronavirus. ESL’s announcement that fans couldn’t attend IEM Katowice 2020 sent hundreds of fans that had already traveled to Poland scrambling to get home.

It was an unfortunate slate of semifinals to play out in front of an empty room, as s1mple’s outstanding performance came just after Kenny “kennyS” Schrub and G2 Esports posted an impressive victory of their own over Fnatic.

Natus Vincere will play G2 Esports on Sunday for the trophy at IEM Katowice 2020.

M Alzamora M Alzamora
About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

View full profile
Read Also
IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions Owen Harsono It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...
Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major Counter-Strike
Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major Owen Harsono It was pretty weird seeing Team Spirit having to start the IEM Cologne Major from Stage 2, but they quickly proved why that was a mistake. With donk shooting on all fronts, the Eastern Europeans speed ran the competition to book their spot in Stage 3. With how they’ve been playing, it’s hard not to wonder whether they can actually win the entire thing. These boys can sometimes be known ...
BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap Counter-Strike
BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap Owen Harsono We’ve just witnessed arguably the worst choke in Counter-Strike Major history, and we’re only on the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major. If you didn’t tune into the Stage 1 matches, here’s what you need to know heading into Stage 2. Many fans tend to underestimate Stage 1 teams for fair reasons, but some survivors in this tournament look extremely promising. Two Eastern European teams, BetBoom Team and B8, ...
Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026? Counter-Strike
Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026? Owen Harsono If you’re looking to play it safe and back one team at the Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 Major, traders prediction markets platforms have a clear frontrunner – it’s Team Vitality. But if it’s not meant to be, there are a few other candidates that could lift the trophy. Here’s what traders on Polymarket and Kalshi think. If you haven’t been watching CS2 this year and are only jumping on ...
The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major Counter-Strike
The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major Owen Harsono In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg's list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major. ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike's most famous players for one ...
IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds Owen Harsono Mark your calendars, as the IEM Cologne Major kicks off on June 2, 2026. We’re going to see the best teams in the world compete, but which ones are actually favored to take the title? This will be the first time in 10 years that IEM Cologne will return as a Counter-Strike Major, so the stakes this year are much higher than they’ve been in a decade. In this guide, ...
All IEM Cologne winners and rosters in Counter-Strike history Esports Betting
All IEM Cologne winners and rosters in Counter-Strike history Owen Harsono IEM Cologne is one of Counter-Strike’s biggest events, happening every single year. Some seasons, the event is labeled as one of Valve’s two Counter-Strike Majors of the year, but if not, still stands as one of the big events every player chases to win. With the IEM Cologne 2026 Major right around the corner, let’s take a trip down memory lane and check out every single winner of the tournament, ...