AGAiN put on one of the all time great finals performances to outplay and outclass an in-form Natus Vincere and win SEC 2011. The Poles took it to Na`Vi on the Ukranians home map, train, and then sealed the deal with a monsterously vicious and violent CT side performance on dust2 to put them all but at the top of the podium before the series was three halves old.

The Poles came into the final facing a Na`Vi team who had bested SK Gaming and then outlasted WinFakt to reach the top two looking fearsome. Meanwhile AGAiN had defeated M5 yesterday and only had to beat up on domestic rivals Fear Factory to reach the final. Nevertheless it was AGAiN whose performance shined brightest on the biggest stage of SEC 2011, especially in a dust2 CT side which was perhaps the most entertaining of all time.



Map one - AGAiN 16:11 Natus Vincere (train CT 7:8 T 9:3)

Na`Vi looked strong in the first half as they pushed the game and AGAiN with eight terrorist rounds. After a dominant CT performance vs. WinFakt they headed into their CT side seemingly headed for a sure-fire first map win. Instead AGAiN showed why they are the best train T side team in the world, and maybe of all time, as they tore off rounds to win the game 16:11. Na`Vi's usually amazing CT side found itself constantly pressured and neutralised by classic AGAiN style offense.


Map two - AGAiN 16:11 Natus Vincere (dust2 CT 12:3 T 4:8)

The second map began in wierd fashion as Na`Vi won the pistol round as terrorists but then lost the next round and all of their guns. The first part of the game was back and forth but then AGAiN cranked up the intensity of the game higher and higher as they became more aggressive with each passing round. NEO, pasha and TaZ were all on fire and moving around the map at will killing the opponents. pasha essentially won two retakes at B for the Poles, including a 1v2 vs. a planted bomb, while NEO was hitting shots only NEO can hit at all.

TaZ was having one of the great games of his career as he was so in the moment that everywhere he went he found himself in the right place at the right time. What made the CT aggression so crazy was that it came round after round and saw AGAiN push up for kills and escape without losing significant health. Na`Vi found themselves beaten down and unable to even get into their T side bases, hiding in spawn and taking a long time to exit it and enter the AGAiN side of the map.

In the second half Na`Vi finally got the game under control for a while and were winning a nice enough clip to look like they'd get back into the swing of things but they knew they had a big mountain to climb. Eventually AGAiN got the rounds they needed, including TaZ pulling off a great flank to win a 1v2 in the A site.

AGAiN are the champions of SEC and in very impressive fashion. Na`Vi, for their part, looked impressive elsewhere in the tournament and even came with big time plays in the final but today they found themselves outmatched against an AGAiN team who finally figured out how to play their best CS against the Ukrainians in a final. For the Polish team who lost the IEM V World Championship and ICSC7 finals to Na`Vi this victory and the manner it came in must be very satisfying. Beating one of the best teams of all time on their home map and then another map they are known to be good at is one thing, to do it in commanding fashion is another level of greatness.

It should also help AGAiN find a new organisation, with them apparently having departed from FX. During the event they did not tag up as Frag eXecutors and their ESL profiles are now part of AGAiN.