Natus Vincere (NAVI) repeated their opening win over Falcons at IEM Beijing 2026 to secure the final playoff spot. A flawless T side on Mirage, led by Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy and Mihai "iM" Ivan, was key to the result.
The Romanian player has faced criticism amid NAVI's poor start to the Fall season. According to iM, the team has only played top-five to top-seven opponents lately and showed each time that it could bounce back, proving the earlier win was not a one-off.
iM said Falcons played better on the first map, Ancient, and that NAVI lost some crucial rounds, partly through bad luck. On the other two maps, he said, the opponent had no chance. He singled out Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov's performance on Inferno, praising his confidence, aim and clutches.
On community criticism, iM said he does not care about it, having learned that lesson a year ago. In the quarter-finals NAVI will face PARIVISION. iM expects a good match since the teams know each other, adding that PARIVISION won their last meeting 2-1. In his view, if NAVI play the way they did against Falcons, they should win, but without underestimating the opponent.
