Earlier this week Nativz made history, winning the first ever NLC Division 2 Spring Split with a 3-0 victory over our domestic rivals Munster Rugby Gaming.
We had a strong run in the NLC Division 2 Spring Split from start to finish, however it did not come without its challenges. The regular season finished with us sitting in second place boasting an impressive 14 wins and just 4 losses. Munster Rugby Gaming, our Irish rivals, topped the group with just one more win than us. However, it was evident from the games in which we faced off against each other that anything could happen in playoffs.
We entered playoffs in the upper bracket, facing Munster Rugby Gaming in a Best of 5 match. This decided which team would fast track to finals and which would drop into the lower bracket to face Fløng Esport for a second chance at finals. Despite our best efforts on the rift and overwhelming support from fans in our Metaverse viewing party we took a tough 3-2 loss.
We then faced off against Fløng Esport in the lower bracket final. Fløng Esport were a strong side, placing 4th in the regular season and holding a 1-1 record against us. But the loss against Munster Rugby Gaming had not knocked our confidence one bit, and we picked up a swift 3-0 win on the day. We then had two days until the finals in which we would face Munster Rugby Gaming to decide who would be NLC Division 2 Spring Split champions.
After two days of intense preparation from everyone across the organisation we headed onto the rift. Game 1 saw a dominant performance from our Danish Top Laner Lunddorf, carrying the game with an 11/0 KD on, a pick we haven’t seen too much from him, Jayce. We then entered game two with a slightly adapted draft seeing us pick champions like Lillia and Yone. This game was very much a Sn1lle show, despite him dying twice before the 7 minute mark, our superstar jungler ruled the map in the mid to late game finishing witha 12/2 KD. Just one loss away from defeat Munster Rugby Gaming pulled out all the stops. Munster Rugby Gaming threw a curveball with a Heimerdinger pick and put their star player Mirbs on Zeri, a champion he has been known to easily carry games on. However, after a 35 minute back and forth slog of a game Rylle and Lunddorf found the perfect pick on Mirbs to secure Nativz the win.
Coming into the final as the underdogs and beating our Irish rivals, who we had lost to just a week before, made receiving the first NLC Division 2 Spring Split title even more prestigious for us. We would like to also take the opportunity to thank everyone within the organisation that contributed to the win and our fans who have continued to support us throughout the split whether it be on social media, discord or in the Metaverse – we love you all!
