So much was at stake for both teams
The last time these two teams fought was at Heroes Rising back in January, where Naventic defeated C9 and took 1st. For many fans, the Finals felt like a rematch. It was a chance for C9 to restore their pride and prove that they were the best team in NA.
For almost every game, Naventic appeared to be the better team.
C9 was constantly getting caught out in the early game because Naventic had great rotations and map pressure. Also, players like KingCaffeine fell prey to repeated ganks (sometimes in the same spot), resulting in early tower pushes or losing objectives. Early kills often gave Naventic a level advantage as well, and allowed them to control the tempo of the match. There were so many times during the Finals that I thought C9 was finished.
But C9 managed to come back almost every time. They did a great job taking advantage of Naventic’s misplays. On many occasions, small mistakes snowballed out of control and lead to massive pushes. In Game 1, for example, C9 was on the defensive all game until one pivotal team fight. They managed to ace Naventic, take the Dragon Knight, and push all the way to the core. Fans were going crazy and there was even some slight BM from C9.
Although the tournament is over, Blizzard is still rebroadcasting the games over at ESL’s Twitch
The Finals were exciting to watch and filled with great highlight moments from both teams. I recommend watching them even though you know who wins, because both teams put on such great performances. No tournament footage has been released yet, but hopefully Blizzard will release official replays within the next couple days, so make sure to check them out.
