Na`Vi over fnatic to TECHLABS final

The first semi final of TECHLABS Cup 2012 is now finished as Natus Vincere took down fnatic in a close best-of-three series to claim the first spot in the grand final next month and guarantee themselves at least $5,000.

Natus Vincere started off strong as Counter-Terrorists on de_tuscan where new in-game leader Sergey "starix" Ischuk aced the opening pistol round with a one versus one situation in the end. He clutched yet another one-on-one situation in round two, and Na`Vi went on to win five rounds in a row.

The sixth round looked to be going for the Ukrainians as well, but Rasmus "Gux" Ståhl clutched a one versus three situation to win fnatic's first round. After that Na`Vi collapsed and went on to lose eight straight rounds before trading the last two to end the half 9-6 in the Swedes' favor.

Second half pistol went to fnatic as well, but they were actually very close to losing Na`Vi's glock save round until Richard "Xizt" Landström won a one versus two situation with bomb planted without a defuse kit. Third round looked to be going to fnatic as well, but Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko won an important one-on-two with just over ten seconds on the clock to force the Swedes on a save.

Propelled by Teslenko's clutch, the Ukrainians went on to win six straight rounds until Rasmus "Gux" Ståhl's four kill round caught fnatic a break to even up the score at twelve a piece. That wasn't enough though, as losing the following round broke fnatic's money and they never recovered, losing de_tuscan 12-16.

Amazing start by Na`Vi's new in-game leader on de_tuscan

After a lengthy break due to a server change, de_train got underway with Na`Vi winning the pistol round as Terrorists and going up 5-0. After trading rounds to 6-1, Patrik "cArn" Sättermon's troops went on a run to win seven rounds in a row before Natus Vincere responded with a round of their own, making the score 8-7 in favor of the Swedes at half.

Second half started with an inner push by fnatic but Na`Vi secured the round as well as the two following save rounds to make it 10-8. Next round fnatic attempted a quick outer rush, but got shot down without a single frag, resulting in yet another save round for the Swedes to make the score 12-8.

Round six saw some life from fnatic as Michael "Friis" Jørgensen and Landström turned a two-on-four situation to a one-on-one, but Yegor "markeloff" Markelov came out on top. The game seemed to be all but over at 13-8, but fnatic mounted a comeback to make the score 13-12.

fnatic attempted to rush the inner bomb site in round eleven, but only managed two kills before losing the round. Attacking inner slowly in round twelve worked though, bringing the score to 14-13 and forcing Natus Vincere on a save round, which tied the game at fourteen.

Yet another slow attack towards the inner bomb site guaraded by the former and current Na`Vi in-game leader Ischuk and Teslenko proved effective for fnatic who sealed game point, and then won de_train 16-14 thanks to a four kill round, once again towards the inner site, by Landström in round thirty.

A good performance by Landström ties the maps at one each

Final map, de_dust2, started with fnatic winning the knife round and their Terrorist pisrol round with ease to rack up a 3-0 lead. Early aggression by Na`Vi won the fourth round quickly, and Ischuk clutched a one versus two situation with bomb planted in round five to get back into the game.

The Ukrainians went on to win six rounds in a row until Andreas "MODDII" Fridh and Jørgensen won a two-on-four situation, only to lose the following round and be forced to save round twelve, making the score 8-4 for Na`Vi. Next round was over in just 25 seconds as Markelov and Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev took care of fnatic. After one more save by the Swedes, the half ended 10-5 for Natus Vincere after Fridh's three kill on the last round.

Jørgensen's overly aggressive re-peeking looked to have cost fnatic the pistol round as Counter-Terrorists, but Fridh scored three quick kills in a two versus four situation to turn it around. The Swedes won Na`Vi second round deagle buy, third round save and the first gun round on fourth round as well, making the score 10-9.

At that point Natus Vincere switched to a higher gear though, as they force bought and won the next round, as well as the three gun rounds that followed, resulting in a force buy from fnatic at 14-9. A risky push by Sättermon and Landström didn't pay off however, granting the Ukrainians entry to B to force game point. Another B attack in round ten put a nail in fnatic's coffin, as Natus Vincere won 16-9 on de_dust2 and 2-1 overall.

TECHLABS Cup 2012Best of 0 Natus VincereMatchpage 2 1 17th February 2012 fnatic 16Tuscan 12 14Train 16 16Dust2 9

Match statistics:

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The grand final Natus Vincere qualified for will take place on March 18 in MEGA shopping center in Moscow, Russia. Winner will go home with a whopping sum of $10,000 while the runners up will receive $5,000.