Vitality successfully reached the Semi-Finals of IEM Rio 2026, beating NAVI with a 2-0 scoreline. 13-5 and 13-6 saw NAVI not able to stand a chance against a well-oiled Vitality, who brought their A game after losing out to Falcons in a tight match that could have gone either way.
VETO
- Natus Vincere removed Overpass
- Vitality removed Ancient
- Natus Vincere picked Mirage
- Vitality picked Dust2
- Natus Vincere removed Inferno
- Vitality removed Anubis
- Nuke was left over
Map 1: Mirage; Pick: NAVI; Winner: Vitality
Vitality on the defence got off to a 5-0 start before NAVI could see a round to their name. Following a poor start, NAVI stabilised later in the first half to edge out a close scoreline with an 8-4 deficit. Starting their offence with a solid lead, Vitality went on to post a streak of 5 rounds to close out the game with a highly dominant 13-4 scoreline. A 30-kill masterclass from ZyWoo outshined everyone on the server and proved to be the difference that put NAVI to bed on their own map pick.
Map 2: Dust2; Pick: Vitality; Winner: Vitality
Hitting the board with the first gun round, NAVI failed to capitalize, leading to a poor start to the map for the second time. Recovering later in the half, NAVI walked away with an 8-4 scoreline before switching sides. Having won the pistol, NAVI cut the lead in half before Vitality hit the board on the first full buy round, leading to them taking back control of the game. Winning the first round of the offence, Vitality cruised past NAVI with 5 rounds in a row to close out yet another dominant performance with a 13-6 scoreline. An unlikely fragger in apEX stood out as the chart topper against NAVI to take Vitality to the semi-finals.
Following their recent burst in form, NAVI has failed to replicate their success against the top sides. As Vitality is the best team in the world can be a tough side to beat, but to get blown out in this fashion speaks to how NAVI is yet to find consistency.
