Vici Gaming upsets Na`Vi even as s1mple dominates the field

The StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7 tournament in Shanghai delivered an immediate stunner as Natus Vincere, widely considered the championship favorites, suffered a devastating opening loss to underdogs Vici Gaming.

Entering the competition with high expectations, the Ukrainian powerhouse found themselves completely outmaneuvered by the Chinese squad in a three-map series that exposed fundamental weaknesses in Na’Vi’s approach.

What made this defeat particularly shocking was the comprehensive nature of Vici’s victory – the underdogs didn’t just win, they dominated Na’Vi in two of the three maps, showcasing superior team coordination and strategic planning.

The series began on Inferno, where Na’Vi immediately displayed signs of strategic disarray. Despite securing an initial pistol round through Egor “flamie” Vasilyev’s efforts, the team failed to establish any momentum, immediately surrendering three consecutive rounds to Vici.

A brief recovery with two round wins provided temporary hope, but Vici Gaming responded with overwhelming force, stringing together an incredible 13-round streak to reach match point and secure the first map victory.

This decisive loss appeared to awaken Na’Vi’s competitive spirit temporarily. On their chosen map of Train, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev delivered an extraordinary individual performance, accumulating 27 kills that single-handedly disrupted Vici’s rhythm and propelled his team to a convincing 16-6 win.

However, the resurgence proved short-lived. The final showdown on Nuke saw Vici Gaming leverage the map’s inherent CT-side advantage to build a commanding 10-5 halftime lead. While this deficit remained theoretically manageable, Na’Vi completely collapsed in the second half, managing only two additional rounds as Vici closed out the series 16-7.

This defeat represents more than just a single bad result for Na’Vi. Despite their impressive third-place finish at the 2019 Katowice Major, persistent rumors of internal team conflicts and coordination problems have continued to haunt the organization.

The most glaring issue remains the team’s consistent failure to translate s1mple’s exceptional individual performances into consistent team victories. Even if recent months have seen improvements in off-game harmony, these fundamental in-game strategic deficiencies persist.

The statistical disparity tells a compelling story: s1mple finished the series with a dominant 62-41 K/D ratio (+21), while the next best performer on Na’Vi, Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev, registered a -2 differential, highlighting the massive performance gap between the star player and his teammates.

Meanwhile, Vici Gaming’s performance cannot be dismissed as mere luck. Following their elimination from the Katowice Major’s Challengers Stage with a 2-3 record, the Chinese team demonstrated significant growth, securing convincing victories over established organizations like Fnatic and Cloud9 while also performing respectably against top-tier opponents including Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Vitality.

The organization’s decision to maintain roster consistency following the Major appears to be yielding dividends, as the team’s coordinated play and strategic execution have reached new levels.

For Natus Vincere, this loss serves as a critical wake-up call, emphasizing that individual brilliance alone cannot overcome coordinated team play at the highest competitive level.

The Ukrainian squad still has substantial tournament life remaining in Shanghai and will seek immediate redemption in their upcoming best-of-three confrontation against BIG.

Success in this next match requires addressing fundamental strategic issues, particularly improving team coordination and ensuring other players can consistently contribute beyond relying on s1mple’s exceptional skills.

Vici Gaming now faces the challenge of converting this momentum into continued success against FaZe Clan. Their ability to maintain this level of performance against another elite opponent will demonstrate whether this victory represents sustainable growth or a temporary peak.

This upset victory underscores a crucial lesson for competitive gaming teams: strategic cohesion and coordinated execution can overcome even the most dominant individual performances when properly implemented.

No reproduction without permission：Game Guides Online » Vici Gaming upsets Na`Vi even as s1mple dominates the field Analyzing Vici Gaming's stunning CS:GO upset over Na'Vi and what it reveals about team dynamics