North upset Na`Vi in ESL Pro League Season 11 Europe

North took down world No.1 Natus Vincere 2-0 in the second series of ESL Pro League Season 11 Europe Group B.

The IEM Katowice champions gave a disappointing account of themselves in their first online match since November 2018 as they were outclassed by North, a team sitting 23rd in the world rankings. Veteran René "⁠cajunb⁠" Borg led the charge for the Danish side with a series-high 1.42 rating, though it was Philip "⁠aizy⁠" Aistrup who had everyone talking after his spectacular quad-kill on Dust2.

The series kicked off on Nuke, where initial on-goings suggested a steadily developing lead for North's T side. Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov's troops picked up the pace towards the latter stages of the half, softening their deficit to a single round. However, It was on the defense that North really shined as the Danes allowed only three rounds to slip in their opponents' favor.

North outperformed Na`Vi in their opening series of EPL Season 11

Dust2 saw an unusually poor performance from the CIS-based squad, as CT-side struggles and lack of momentum cost them dearly. An initial six-round lead for North was met with some pushback, but the Danes pushed ahead, concluding the initial half with a commanding 10-5 lead.

A spectacular start to the defense solidified North's lead, as the CTs found themselves two rounds short of map and series conclusion off the bat. A slow A Long take fell through for Boombl4's men, yielding the opposition map point. The CIS offensive did their best in a comeback attempt, but the burden proved too heavy in the long run.

ESL Pro League Season 11 EuropeBest of 3 Natus VincereMatchpage 0 2 17th March 2020 North 10Nuke 16 10Dust2 16

Natus Vincere	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Denis 'electroNic' SharipovelectroNic	46 - 34	+12	92.7	1.23
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostylievs1mple	40 - 33	+7	77.9	1.11
Egor 'flamie' Vasilyevflamie	27 - 34	-7	56.2	0.85
Kirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovBoombl4	25 - 37	-12	61.8	0.81
Ilya 'Perfecto' ZalutskiyPerfecto	21 - 37	-16	54.7	0.68

North	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
René 'cajunb' Borgcajunb	46 - 28	+18	89.5	1.42
Philip 'aizy' Aistrupaizy	39 - 32	+7	76.6	1.23
Markus 'Kjaerbye' KjærbyeKjaerbye	39 - 33	+6	83.2	1.16
Nicklas 'gade' Gadegade	28 - 31	-3	67.2	1.01
Mathias 'MSL' LauridsenMSL	23 - 35	-12	52.7	0.76

ESL Pro League S11 has already produced a considerable number of upsets, the biggest of which saw Astralis trounced by NiP during the opening day. Earlier on Tuesday, Complexity were defeated by FORZE in a nail-biting three-map affair, confirming Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer's suggestion that playing online is "a bit of a wildcard".

Kirill 'Boombl4' Mikhailov Age: 21 Team: Natus Vincere Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 666 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.69 FORZE #24 Dmitriy 'facecrack' AlekseyevAlmaz 'almazer' AsadullinEvgenii 'FL1T' LebedevBogdan 'xsepower' ChernikovAndrey 'Jerry' Mekhryakov Natus Vincere #1 Egor 'flamie' VasilyevOleksandr 's1mple' KostylievDenis 'electroNic' SharipovKirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovIlya 'Perfecto' Zalutskiy North #23 René 'cajunb' BorgMathias 'MSL' LauridsenPhilip 'aizy' AistrupMarkus 'Kjaerbye' KjærbyeNicklas 'gade' Gade René 'cajunb' Borg Age: 30 Team: North Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 1488 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.63 Complexity #17 William 'RUSH' WierzbaKristian 'k0nfig' WieneckeValentin 'poizon' VasilevOwen 'oBo' SchlatterBenjamin 'blameF' Bremer Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer Age: 22 Team: Complexity Rating 1.0: 1.16 Maps played: 384 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.62 Philip 'aizy' Aistrup Age: 23 Team: North Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 1348 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.67