NaVi slips takes #3 World ranking after incredible StarSeries win

We mentioned late last year that if the current NaVi roster were to spend more time working on their team cohesion, they could easily land themselves a top spot in the world rankings in 2018.

It seems that this suggestion is slowly starting to come true. After their recent performance at StarSeries i-League Season 5, NaVi is looking more formidable than ever. In this article, we’ve taken a look at why NaVi has performed so well and why you should keep an eye on them for future events.

What helped NaVi reach success during StarSeries i-League Season 5

NaVi have always had difficulties playing consistently at a high level, mostly due to their inability to come together as a team when it really mattered. The current NaVi roster is very talented, but it has taken until now for them to build chemistry. Even though S1mple is still NaVi’s star player, it’s no longer a one man performance on the NaVi show.

Instead, Flamie, Zeus, Electronic, and Edward are starting to pull their weight. More importantly, they are all working together to execute strats and pull themselves out of difficult situations.

NaVi didn’t have a super clean victory throughout StarSeries i-League Season 5, but they pulled through in the end. NaVi lost the group stage to fall into the lower brackets, but they put their heads down and rebounded. By the time they got into the playoffs, they pushed through with two 2-1 victories against Mousesports and SK, followed by a 2-0 grand final win against NRG.

Throughout this event, NaVi has shown that they are more resilient than ever. They now have the patience and energy to fight through losses and still show up when it matters. NaVi are well on the fast track to becoming the top team in the world in 2018, so I’d highly suggest rooting for them in any upcoming big events taking place during the rest of the year.

Other Notable StarSeries i-League Season 5 Performances

StarSeries i-League Season 5 wasn’t just a victory for NaVi. Many other teams showed up and proved their worth. NRG is a notable example. They fell into the lower brackets, and only just snuck into the playoffs after a 2-0 victory against Hellraisers.

As soon as NRG hit the quarterfinals against Team Liquid, we thought it’d be game over for them, but they fought on and won against Liquid, then won against North to make it into the Grand Finals. It’s safe to say that NRG gained a new level of respect from us during StarSeries i-League season 5.

AGO is also another team that we are continually impressed with. Even though they did lose in the quarterfinals against North, they still had a clean streak up until that point. AGO went up against VP, NIP, and Mousesports and only lost a single map against Mousesports.

Summary

The latest results from The StarSeries i-League Season 5 tournament are certainly interesting. We’ll be giving NaVi, NRG, and AGO more attention going forward.