Only three teams remained in the StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 2 finals at the start of the fourth day, and by the end, only one would claim the top prize. Natus Vincere, Fnatic and Team Secret -- all three have tickets punched for The International 6, and a win at StarLadder would mean a huge boost headed into Seattle.
While Team Secret secured a grand finals berth in Saturday's upper bracket final, Na'Vi and Fnatic had one final best-of-three to play to determine who would advance. Despite the two teams being in relatively even standing, Na'Vi looked dominant over Fnatic in the series. Mirana was the key in both games, used by both Danil "Dendi" Ishutin in the first game and Victor "GeneRaL" Nigrini in the second game. Na'Vi secured the 2-0 and a second chance at beating Secret, this time in the grand finals.
The first game saw Natus Vincere struggle to find ground against an aggressive Team Secret. While Na'Vi found a few early kills on Johan "pieliedie" Åström, Jacky "EternaLEnVy" Mao and Artour "Arteezy" Babaev both got off the ground quickly and never let up. Team Secret took a series of kills on Nigrini's Beastmaster and never let Dmitry "Ditya Ra" Minenkov get his Weaver pick off the ground, eventually ending in a first game win for Secret.
Na'Vi swung back harder in the second game off a surprisingly conservative lineup. Usually known for early aggression, Minenkov's Terrorblade signaled a shift to a late-game push. Secret attempted to adapt, putting a great deal of early pressure on Na'Vi and shoving all five back onto their high ground. Team Secret could never put the final nail in the coffin though, and Na'Vi pushed back to bring the series to an even 1-1.
The third game saw more explosive Mirana play, this time on Babaev, who found key eliminations across the map. The overall lineup of Secret couldn't match Arteezy, though, and Minenkov's Ember Spirit gradually pulled Na'Vi ahead as the game went on, securing enough advantage to go high ground and take the series advantage, putting it to 2-1 and match point for Na'Vi.
A draft stage advantage in the fourth game put Na'Vi ahead from the start, where a surprise last-pick Huskar for Minenkov threw Secret for a loop. In combination with some excellent Shadow Shaman play from Ivan "artstyle" Antonov, the early aggression Na'Vi is known for shone, completely shutting down Mao's Morphling and any hopes of victory. Pushing down two barracks in short order, Team Secret tapped out in just 18 minutes, ending the series 3-1. Natus Vincere took home the StarSeries cup, some prize money and the confidence gained in its first LAN victory of 2016.