Ukrainian & Russian gamers scoop $1 MILLION prize in Stockholm final.. before star proposes to girlfriend live on stage (VIDEO)
Esports kings Natus Vincere (NaVi) – made up of gamers from Ukraine and Russia – were crowned champions at the prestigious PGL Major Stockholm 2021 tournament as they scooped a cool $1 million in prize money.
Facing off against rivals G2 Esports in a Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) battle, NaVi swept their rivals 2-0 in Sunday’s Grand Final to win a major CS:GO title for the first time in the team’s history.
They achieved the feat in flawless fashion, becoming the first team ever not to drop a ‘map’ on their way to the title, having also whitewashed Team Vitality in the quarterfinal and Gambit Esports in the semifinal.
NaVi features legendary Ukrainian star Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev – widely regarded as the best CS:GO player of all time, but who was picking up his first major title in front of a live crowd at the Avicii Arena and millions more watching around the world.
🏅KINGS🏅#PGLMAJORpic.twitter.com/HuOgHWE0KX
— PGL (@pglesports) November 7, 2021
+31 in a major final for the greatest player in CS:GO history. s1mple averages a 1.37 rating for the major as his team becomes the first in history to win without dropping a map! Impossible numbers!#PGLMajor
— Thorin (@Thorin) November 7, 2021
Also part of NaVi are Kostyliev’s countryman Valeriy ‘B1T’ Vakhovskiy, as well as Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov, Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy and Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov – all of whom are Russian.
Mikhailov, 22, even used the occasion on Sunday to propose to his girlfriend back home in Moscow.
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰PLEASE SAY YES!#PGLMAJORpic.twitter.com/LRgCHpWsXC
— PGL (@pglesports) November 7, 2021
The success for the team follows an even bigger prize money triumph for Russian and Ukrainian gamers from ‘Team Spirit’ last month, who picked up a whopping $18.2 million for their win at Dota 2 The International.
The total prize fund at PGL Major Stockholm 2021 was somewhat more modest, with second-placed G2 Esports leaving with $300,000.
In addition to their $1 million prize, NaVi picked up 4,000 Blast Premier points and an automatic bid to the World Final 2021 in December.
Also on rt.com Krem de la krem: Putin congratulates Russian eSports stars Team Spirit after they scoop $18 million world title prize