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Yesterday the group stage at BLAST Spring Finals finished. We have playoffs ahead of us, and soon we will know the champion’s name. Let’s make a small but detailed excursion of the playoffs stage: six teams and only one trophy.
Spring Finals 2022Portugal, Lisbon, Altice Arena
Natus Vincere
Team Vitality
G2 EsportsQuarterfinals
We have two matches in the quarterfinals stage: ENCE vs. Team Vitality and FaZe Clan against NAVI. About the first pair: ENCE was surprised by a weak game against the OG yesterday, although they were the favorite in that match. Vitality had a close game against G2 and, not without difficulty, took the victory over paiN Gaming.
ENCE has a slight advantage in the map pool, which they should use. The French-Danish team still has problems, and they look weaker against the background of their rivals. But we shouldn’t forget about ZywOo, and his ability to clinch the victory for his team in a critical moment. I think ENCE will win this match and advance to the semifinals.
In the second quarterfinal match things get easier. NAVI with sdy looks a bit weaker than with Boombl4. It was predictable. And their rival, FaZe Clan, is the best team in the world right now. Although they lost against G2 yesterday, I’m sure that they discussed defeat, did the job on mistakes, and are ready to win the next match.
Semifinals
G2 and OG advanced to the semifinals from the group stage thanks to first place. The first team will play against the winner ENCE/Vitality, while the second team will meet with FaZe Clan or Natus Vincere. I saw a lot of times at events with this format of playoffs where pairs who started their way from the quarterfinals, as a result, became the champions.
The latest IEM Dallas confirms my theory. And at BLAST, I see the same scenario. No matter how the G2 and OG played in the group stage. It is over, and now there will be a playoff, in the stadium, with thousands of fans. I predict that if ENCE and FaZe Clan win their first matches, they will also win the semifinals.
As an example, if Vitality beat ENCE, in my opinion, G2 again take the victory over them in the semifinals. No matter against whom OG will play in the semifinals, I think that they will lose. They had already achieved good results despite two newcomers, NEOFRAG and F1ku, and degster as a stand-in.
Final
My prediction: FaZe Clan will meet with ENCE in the grand final. I waited for these teams to play against each other in Dallas, but the current Major winners lost against Cloud9 in the quarterfinal. As one of the ENCE players, maden said in the interview, their current aim is to win a tournament; I think it’s not possible at BLAST. FaZe Clan is a more experienced team with better players, and they want to win this event to regain confidence.
But I’m happy to make a mistake and see someone else come first. Competition at every tournament is excellent, engaging, and pushes fans to watch the game.
