Defending CS2 EWC champions NAVI dumped out in last place

After finishing top of the pile at the CS2 EWC last year, defending champions NAVI have been sent packing from Riyadh after just a single best-of-three vs. 3DMAX. The loss sees NAVI essentially eliminated from Esports World Cup Club Championship contention, despite still remaining in the Crossfire event as the overall tournament begins to wrap up.

NAVI’s come back to reality vs. 3DMAX

Just a few weeks back, NAVI enjoyed a stellar debut at IEM Cologne 2025, securing a Semi-Finals finish in Germany on their debut with makazze. What looked like a promising start now looks to be a false dawn, as back-to-back eliminations at BLAST Bounty and the CS2 EWC 2025 event have left the mood and sentiment around this team feeling as sour as it was pre-player break.

When you looked at the CS2 Esports World Cup opening matches, it felt as though 3DMAX were a bit of a layup for NAVI. An easy win, and a springboard for bigger and better things. As defending Esports World Cup Counter-Strike champions, you’d hope to see at least one win, even if they aren’t at the same level they were just 12 months ago.

Yet, even this task proved too tough for NAVI to handle. For a fleeting moment, it looked as though NAVI would do the professional job you’d expect of them, winning Ancient without too much fuss. But the French 3DMAX roster showed more resilience than that, spearheaded by veteran bodyy. The fact that this was a reverse sweep makes it all the more bittersweet for NAVI, with coach B1ad3 describing the loss as a “disaster” on X afterward.

Disaster, out of EWC… We’re losing our synergy when it matters the most and making uncharacteristic mistakes under pressure.

— B1ad3 (@Navi_B1ad3) August 20, 2025

He says it better than I ever could. Of the NAVI five, it was only rookie makazze who really looked like he belonged across the series, pulling out a 1.27 rating with an impressive 2.36 round swing percentage. Now, it just feels like NAVI are back to square one following the CS2 EWC. They’ve got plenty of events up soon, including BLAST Open London and StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025. But is it enough to get their ideas in check? Will changes be needed to get NAVI back on track? It’s one to keep an eye on.