NAVI and Aurora set up grand final showdown - ESL Pro League S23

We'll be treated to a NAVI vs Aurora grand final tomorrow after both ground out hard-fought wins on the stage in Stockholm.

NAVI overcame their old friends FUT as their rifle core got the better of the feared FUT trio in ways MOUZ - among many others - have failed to do. iM, especially, had one of those games that he has in his locker where he looks like GamerLegion in Paris iM, and just seemed to be winning duels he had no right to win time and time again.

On Mirage he was absolutely untouchable, dropping 26 kills in just 18 rounds as NAVI blew FUT away on a map they used to be world class on, and the series looked set to be a pretty simple one for NAVI. When they raced into an 8-4 lead on Ancient as well, it looked fork-tender cooked.

But FUT, despite their inexperience, were resilient under the bright lights and fought back with nine T rounds of their own - which is no mean feat against a very, very good Ancient team. Even though FUT lost, even though they missed out on the final, that second half on Ancient has made us certain that they will go on to be one of the best teams in the world.

MOUZ would not have done that.

Dust 2 was wall-to-wall highlights; cmtry, who won Ancient with a tidy clutch of his own, kicked off Dust 2 with a 4k, but makazze went one better with a stunning ace. That, of course, paled in comparison to one of the greatest plays of the year, as Krabeni put on a masterclass in Scout gameplay.

Cheers mate, that's our matchmaking games ruined for the next six months.

It, sadly, was not a play that ended up being all that material. NAVI hit back in the next round, and Krabeni's glorious round was the only T side round that FUT got. It's pretty hard to call around yourself bagging five with the Scout, it turns out.

NAVI, on reflection, were definitely the better team, and it was only that wobble on the second half of Ancient that let FUT in. They were pretty dominant in three halves of CS, even in two and smashed in the other. They've found a bit of consistency and reliability at a time when all the other top teams beside Vitality are faltering, and that second place spot in the rankings is well up for grabs.

Could they?

Aurora sandwiched an absolute pasting of Astralis on Dust 2 between two close maps, with the final one going their way and closing out the series.

This was not Aurora at their absolute best, but Astralis have proven a very tricky team to play against who can knock you off-guard and catch you slipping, and being able to stand up in a tough period on stage is a big moment for Aurora.

XANTARES was largely kept quiet during map one and three - he got his kills, but there were none of those 'how on Earth did he just do that' moments that he's extraordinarily regular at pulling off, but fortunately for Turkey's finest, Wicadia stepped up to fill that void and drive Aurora to a crucial win on Inferno.

XANTARES did have one of those maps on Dust 2, which is largely how that game finished 13-2, and those who know, know why you shouldn't ever play that map vs woxic. woxic is absolutely demonic on Dust 2.

Inferno was a close one, but Aurora seemed to always just about have their noses in front, and when Astralis finally did catch up, they hit the accelerator and won three on the bounce to close it out. Astralis can be extremely proud of their run, and how they played, but Aurora were just that little bit better.

Tomorrow, we get NAVI vs Aurora, and while it'd be easy to suggest NAVI are most likely to win, they're not infallible. w0nderful was not brilliant today, as good as NAVI's rifle core played, and iM doesn't often follow up those crazy games with another one. makazze will have a lot on his shoulders, but so far at ESL Pro League, he's had pretty massive shoulders.

We're looking forward to this one.