On October 20, Natus Vincere lost to forZe in a match that was previously postponed from Sunday due to the illness of one of the players. ForZe, who is currently ranked 25th in the world rankings, left no chance to their opponents, winning with a score of 2 : 0. The postponement of the match sparked controversy in the community, with forZe members accusing the tournament organizers of giving NAVI more opportunities than other teams that might have found themselves in a similar situation. Such discussions further fueled interest in the event.
In the end, forZe managed to take advantage of the fact that their opponents were not in the best shape. The first map of the match was Inferno, and in the first few rounds forZe grabbed the lead. By the time the sides changed sides, things had leveled off and the fight remained equal for some time. Toward the end of the map draw forZe regained the initiative thanks to the successful actions of Bogdan «xsepower» Chernikov and Evgeny «FL1T» Lebedev, leaving the map with a score of 16 – 12.
On Dust2 the situation was repeated. At first, NAVI could do almost nothing against their opponents, and soon they were already losing with a score of 10 – 1. After changing sides, Natus Vincere managed to win back a few points, but they could not regain the initiative: 19 – 16.
The question of which teams will be able to get out of the group is still open. Natus Vincere, forZe, Espada and Virtus.Pro are competing for three playoff spots, and who will get them depends on the last round of the group tournament.
