Natus Vincere defeated Heroic in the first round of the ESL Pro League Season 16 playoffs. It took three cards to determine the winner, and the match dragged on for five hours not only because the opponents' strengths looked roughly equal, but also because of technical problems. NAVI will now face G2 in the quarterfinal match, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 30.
The confrontation between Natus Vincere and Heroic started with Mirage, and at first the Danish team managed to achieve a noticeable advantage. cadiaN won several duels against s1mple, and at one point the score was 9 – 1 in favor of the Danes. However, Natus Vincere then narrowed the gap and gained an advantage in the second half of the card draw. The final score was 16 – 14 in favor of NAVI.
On Inferno, the teams switched roles: in the first half, the CIS team led in the score, but after the change of sides, the gap gradually narrowed, and the Danes managed to keep this map with a two-point advantage.
The outcome of the match was decided on Overpass. Due to NAVI players experiencing lags several times, the game had to be paused. In the end, the match only continued after the organizers replaced s1mple's computer. However, after the lag problems were fixed, NAVI finished the match without any problems, winning the last map with a score of 16 – 7.