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Ukrainian Esports Team NAVI Wins One of Counter-Strike’s Biggest Global Tournaments
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Ukrainian esports organization Natus Vincere (NAVI) won the international ESL Pro League Season 23 tournament in Counter-Strike 2, defeating Aurora Gaming in the grand final held in Stockholm.
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According to NAVI, the Ukrainian roster secured the championship after winning the final series 3:1 in maps. The decisive matches took place on March 15 as part of the tournament’s final stage.
In the best-of-five series, NAVI opened the match with a win on Mirage (13:7). Aurora responded on Anubis, taking the map 13:11. The Ukrainian team regained control on the next two maps, winning Nuke (13:8) and Dust II (13:9) to secure the championship title.
The victory earned NAVI $100,000 in prize money and improved the team’s position in the global ranking maintained by Valve, the developer of Counter-Strike 2. According to coverage of the tournament results, the title is the organization’s first trophy of 2026 and marks its return to winning at the top competitive level.
ESL Pro League is one of the most prominent competitions in professional Counter-Strike, bringing together leading teams from multiple regions. Season 23 lasted more than two weeks and featured dozens of teams competing for the championship.
According to match reports cited by Ukrainian media, NAVI reached the playoffs after advancing through earlier stages of the tournament with a 3–2 record, narrowly avoiding elimination before improving their performance in the knockout rounds and advancing to the grand final.
NAVI remains one of Ukraine’s most recognized esports organizations and has previously won multiple international tournaments. The team claimed major Counter-Strike titles including PGL Major Stockholm and PGL Major Copenhagen, and historically won The International 2011 in Dota 2.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, members of the organization have also participated in fundraising initiatives supporting the Ukrainian military. Ukrainian media previously reported that in 2024 NAVI donated five million hryvnias for robotic and drone systems used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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