NAVI falls to Team Vitality in 2026 MLBB Women's Invitational grand finals

NAVI's dream run fell short of a storybook ending as the Philippine bet succumbed to Indonesia's Team Vitality, 2-4, in the 2026 MLBB Women's Invitational grand finals on Saturday in Paris.

NAVI will end its campaign as the runner-up, capping off a fairytale run that witnessed the Filipinas crawl through the grueling lower bracket and survive four do-or-die games while Team Vitality completed a perfect run for a second straight world title.

Facing a 1-2 series deficit, NAVI found itself in another early hole in Game 4 as Team Vitality dismantled three of its turrets and secured two of the first three Turtle objectives within the first 11 minutes.

Team Vitality looked poised to close out the series after jungler Viorelle "Vival" Chen's Ling secured the first Lord, allowing the Indonesian powerhouse to mount a siege in the bottom lane. But NAVI turned the game on its head behind a crucial triple kill from Kaye "Keishi" Alpuerto's Balmond before claiming a free Lord at the 15-minute mark.

Although Team Vitality managed to repel that push, NAVI capitalized on its next siege to knot the series at 2-2.

Team Vitality regained control of the series in the next two games, once again entrusting Vival with Ling, a pick that proved pivotal both times.

In Game 6, Vival delivered a devastating Maniac after taking down four NAVI heroes, setting the stage for the championship-clinching push as Team Vitality sealed the series and sent the Filipinas to a runner-up finish.

NAVI fell short of its redemption tour after a pair of international heartbreaks last year, where it absorbed an early exit at the MWI 2025 and lost to Malaysia in the SEA Games gold medal round.

—JKC, GMA News