{"id":370743,"date":"2026-03-14T18:26:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T18:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/?p=370743"},"modified":"2026-03-14T18:28:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T18:28:03","slug":"navi-beat-fut-epl-season-23-grand-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/navi-beat-fut-epl-season-23-grand-final","title":{"rendered":"NAVI outlast FUT in semifinal battle to reach EPL Season 23 final"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natus Vincere secured a 2\u20131 victory over FUT in the ESL Pro League Season 23 semifinal, advancing to the grand final after a competitive three-map series. After dominating Mirage, NAVI briefly lost momentum on Ancient before recovering on Dust2 to close the match and book their place in the championship series. The win sends the Ukrainian organization to the EPL Season 23 grand final, while FUT will move to the third-place decider match.<\/p>\n

Path through the tournament<\/h3>\n

Both teams arrived at the semifinal after impressive playoff runs.<\/p>\n

Natus Vincere reached the final four by defeating The MongolZ (2\u20130) in the quarterfinal. Earlier in the event, NAVI also secured victories against 3DMAX and B8, although they suffered defeats against Legacy and G2 during the Swiss stage.<\/p>\n

FUT, meanwhile, impressed during their first ESL Pro League appearance. The squad advanced to the semifinals after eliminating MOUZ (2\u20131) and Legacy (2\u20131) earlier in the playoffs, establishing themselves as one of the surprise teams of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n

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Mar 14<\/div>\n News<\/a> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NAVI 2\u20131 FUT<\/h3>\n

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Mirage \u2014 NAVI start strong (13\u20135)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The series opened on Mirage, FUT\u2019s map pick, but NAVI immediately took control of the game. Confident mid control and sharp opening duels allowed NAVI to dictate the tempo early. Mihai \u201ciM\u201d Ivan and Valeriy \u201cb1t\u201d Vakhovskiy repeatedly shut down FUT\u2019s attempts to establish map control, giving NAVI a comfortable lead.<\/p>\n

FUT struggled to recover momentum throughout the map, allowing NAVI to close Mirage convincingly 13\u20135.<\/p>\n

Ancient \u2014 FUT answer back (13\u201311)<\/strong><\/p>\n

FUT responded on Ancient, where the map remained competitive throughout most of the game. The international squad showed strong defensive coordination and managed to punish several slow executes from NAVI. Key multi-kill rounds from Laurentiu \u201clauNX\u201d \u021a\u00e2rlea helped FUT build momentum late in the game.<\/p>\n

Despite NAVI pushing the scoreline close in the final rounds, FUT held their ground and secured the 13\u201311 victory, tying the series.<\/p>\n

Dust2 \u2014 NAVI seal the series (13\u20137)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The deciding map Dust2 ultimately belonged to NAVI. After a relatively even opening half, NAVI began to take control through disciplined trading and strong mid-round decisions. iM once again led the scoreboard, while makazze and b1t consistently won crucial duels.<\/p>\n

NAVI gradually built a comfortable lead before closing the map 13\u20137, securing the 2\u20131 series victory.<\/p>\n

Match statistics<\/h3>\n

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Player of the Match \u2014 Mihai \u201ciM\u201d Ivan<\/h3>\n

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Across three maps:<\/p>\n