Coach of CS:GO teams Anatoliy "liTTle" Yashin commented on the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 18 exclusively for Telecomasia.net.
The mentor praised Natus Vincere for a good game form:
NaVi surprised me a lot. The team showed their insane shape, cool shooting and they have improved overall since Cologne. Cloud9 disappointed me. The team didn't change at all. There were no new tactics, rounds or anything. They only relied on individual skill, which, unfortunately, as practice shows, does not let you advance. That's it.
Also "liTTle" noted that NaVi has little chance to win the tournament:
Of course, any team has a minimal chance. NaVi will not be an exception. Actually, we need "s1mple" to play at the same level that he had about a year and a half ago, where he left no chance to his opponents. Then and only then NaVi will be able to win. But with his current version the chances are minimal.
ESL Pro League Season 18 takes place from August 30 to October 1 at LAN in Malta. 32 teams are fighting for $850,000 of prize money, as well as slots at IEM Katowice 2024 and BLAST Premier: World Final 2023.