NAVI Wins ESL Pro League Season 20 After Grand Finale Slugfest

NAVI has done it! After three weeks of ESL Pro League Season 20 where the best Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) teams in the world competed for their share of the $750,000 prize pool, we have a victor.

NAVI topped Group A without losing one map and then beat Team Spirit 2-0 and G2 Esports 2-1 in the Playoffs to make it to the Grand Final. Turkish side Eternal Fire had to reverse-sweep TheMongolz, then shock fans by sending Team Vitality packing, and then 2-0'ed MIBR to earn a spot in the ESL Pro League Season 20 Grand Final.

Read More: Eternal Fire Shocks Vitality at ESL Pro League Season 20

The ESL Pro League Season 20 Grand Final went the distance, delivering a slugfest of a match to the delight of CS2 esports fans across the globe or those lucky enough to watch the action live in Malta. 

On NAVI's map pick of Nuke, Eternal Fire got off to a strong start in the first half and held their advantage expertly to secure a 13-8 win. On Anubis, Eternal Fire's map pick, it was perfectly even in the first half, but when teams switched sizes, NAVI pulled ahead slightly for a close 13-11 win. 

With a bit of momentum on their side, Aleksib rallied the squad on Ancient, NAVI's second map pick, for a close 13-11 win. Then, Eternal Fire retaliated with a dominating 13-4 win on Inferno to set up the fifth and final map, Dust2.

It came down to the wire, with NAVI's IGL, Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen, making some incredible calls and showcasing his game sense, while the likes of Ihor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov and Mihai 'iM' Ivan just kept on clicking heads. It was too much for Engin "MAJ3R" Küpeli's men, who finally buckled in the second half of Dust2. NAVI ended up winning Dust2 13-10 and the ESL Pro League Season 20 Grand Final 3-2.

For his fantastic performance throughout the tournament, especially against NAVI's highest-rated opponents such as Spirit and G2, Lithuanian rifler Justinas "jL" Lekavičius was awarded the MVP title.

The first #ESLProTour DHL MVP to add to @jLcsgo's collection 🏆

The KING of #ESLProLeague XX 👑 pic.twitter.com/ijL0o91sDN

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 22, 2024

NAVI's finish captain, Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen, broke the curse. Before the ESL Pro League Season 20 win, Aleksib was on an eight-match loss streak in the S-Tier event BO5 Grand Finals.

Congratulations go out to NAVI for winning ESL Pro League Season 20, for Eternal Fire doing so incredibly well, and to Justinas "jL" Lekavičius for picking up his first EPL MVP title.

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