By PAGE Editor

Since the emergence of esports as a huge and independent industry, a lot of time has passed, but it only becomes more hype and spectacle. This is facilitated by the increasingly high-quality preparation of major tournaments, more media coverage, and a more open position of professional players and clubs.

Among the many cool esports titles are those that forever remain in the hearts of esports fans. And Counter-Strike, of course, is one of those games.

Throughout its long history, Counter-Strike has undergone many changes, but one of the most significant was the transition of the game to the Source 2 engine and the emergence of Counter-Strike 2. Of course, almost immediately all esports organizers and tournament operators moved their competitions to the new game model of up to 13 rounds. ESL Pro League, one of the most famous and prestigious leagues in the history of competitive Counter-Strike, was not left behind.

On April 23, 2024, the 19th season of this competition under the ESL wing began. During the group stages, which last for two weeks, there were many spectacular matches, but among them are those that interest us the most. And here we are talking about NaVi. It is their victory in the debut match at ESL Pro League Season 19 that we will discuss in this article.

What is ESL Pro League Season 19 and why is this tournament important?

ESL Pro League Season 19 is already the 19th season of the league of the same name, organized by the tournament operator ESL. EPL S19 has many virtues. Firstly, it is the longest Tier-1 tournament involving top world teams, making it the center of betting esports for a whole three weeks: ESL Pro League Season 19 runs from April 23 to May 12. Secondly, ESL Pro League is a meeting place for teams from the top 10 HLTV rankings with other, less successful clubs, giving these less prestigious teams a chance to assert themselves. And, it is also one huge and long-lasting LAN tournament in Malta.

Speaking as objectively as possible and considering the figures, ESL Pro League Season 19 cannot boast an extravagant prize pool. The total prize pool of the tournament is $250,000, divided among all 32 participants. However, the main reward for winning the ESL Pro League is a ticket to IEM Cologne 2024. IEM Cologne 2024 is one of the most important and prestigious tournaments of 2024, as well as one of the most prestigious series of tournaments in the professional world of Counter-Strike 2.

So, ESL Pro League Season 19 is by no means a minor tournament. So let's talk more about the tournament participants, and more specifically about NaVi. Why them – read below.

Why NaVi - one of the central teams at ESL Pro League Season 19

Looking at NaVi globally, it is one of the most famous and important teams in the history of Counter-Strike. They became world champions in the CS 1.6 version and won the Major in CSGO. And in 2024, the history of NaVi received a new glorious page.

Natus Vincere won the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024, which took place from March 17 to 31, 2024. This Major tournament became the first in history world championship in Counter-Strike 2, and therefore the victory in it will forever be remembered by fans of competitive Counter-Strike 2. And it was NaVi who won it. Moreover, they won it as underdogs, at best.

In the fall of 2023, the team was temporarily without S1mple, and there was no special faith in a lineup without such a star. However, despite this, thanks to character and teamwork, NaVi defeated FaZe Clan in the final of PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024. That is why after this victory, everyone will take NaVi seriously and prepare for every series. And that's why NaVi is the central team at ESL Pro League Season 19.

NaVi's Position at ESL Pro League Season 19 and Debut Victory against FlyQuest

At ESL Pro League Season 19, NaVi found themselves in Group D. Their opponents were Complexity, Pera Esports, Heroic, Ninjas in Pyjamas, BIG, BOSS, and FlyQuest. Honestly, for NaVi, this is quite a comfortable group, with perhaps only CoL, Heroic, and maybe BIG being competitors.

The debut match for NaVi was against FlyQuest. For those who aren't aware, this is an American club with an Australian roster. They returned to Counter-Strike 2 not long ago, signing the Jeeves roster with well-known players like aliStair and dexter. Theoretically, FlyQuest had chances in a BO3, but already after the map pick for the first game, it became clear that FlyQuest wouldn't be able to win.

FlyQuest decided to choose Ancient as their map. The same Ancient where jL almost single-handedly closed out G2 Esports in the semi-finals of PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024. Eventually, Ancient against FlyQuest turned out to be much easier than against G2 Esports and ended with a score of 13-5 in favor of Natus Vincere.

For the second map, NaVi chose Mirage. The last time they played Mirage was against FaZe in the grand final of the winning Major tournament, and then they suffered a crushing defeat, taking only 2 rounds. Of course, FlyQuest is not FaZe, so such a score was nowhere near: NaVi confidently defeated FlyQuest with a score of 13-6.

Thus, NaVi advanced to the next round of ESL Pro League Season 19, where they will play against BIG for a spot in the playoffs of ESL Pro League Season 19. If successful against the Germans, NaVi will guarantee themselves at least a spot in the quarterfinals, and if NaVi lose, they will still have chances in the lower bracket, the last chance bracket. So, we will definitely see Natus Vincere again.

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