Natus Vincere are through to the semi-finals at ESL One Cologne 2018 after defeating fnatic on two maps (16-12 on Overpass, 16-10 on Train).

The first quarter-final of the day kicked off on Natus Vincere's map pick, Overpass, with fnatic winning their CT pistol on the back of a triple-kill from Richard "⁠Xizt⁠" Landström. But Na`Vi immediately countered them with a successful force-buy, with Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev denying Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell from clutching a 1v3 situation.

The Ukrainian team used that momentum to build a strong lead, with fnatic only breaking that streak in the 12th round. The Swedes strung two rounds together, but then Na`Vi won two of their own to restore a commanding nine-round lead before switching sides.

Just like in the first half, the Swedes picked up the pistol but could not follow that up. Although fnatic went on a massive run after Natus Vincere had hit map-point, the Ukrainians remained calm and collected, closing out the map at 16-12, flamie topping the scoreboard with a 30-bomb.

Natus Vincere will take on Astralis on Saturday

Train, fnatic's map pick, began with a great triple-kill from Aleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev to help Natus Vincere secure their first pistol of the series. With a strong CT setup, Na`Vi further added to their lead convincingly, winning four rounds in a row without much effort.

fnatic then brought the deficit to a minimum with a four-round streak, forcing Natus Vincere to tighten up their defence. With s1mple leading the way with, Na`Vi kept their opponents at bay and switched sides with an 11-4 lead.

In the second half, the Swedish squad won their CT pistol, but, for the third time in the series, they could not prevail on the anti-eco. Natus Vincere then won their 13th round thanks to Denis "⁠electronic⁠" Sharipov's triple-kill in a 2v3 situation.

Surprisingly enough, Xizt's men responded with nothing but pistols, which inspired them to hit 10 rounds. However, a 2v3 clutch from flamie and Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko turned the game around and set Natus Vincere up for a 16-10 victory that puts them through to the semi-finals, in which they will take on Astralis.