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tips.gg/CS2 (CS:GO) News/BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022 Overview

BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022 Overview

Analytics
10.02.2022, 08:34

BLAST Premier: Spring Groups just came to an end, with 6 teams qualifying for Spring Finals and 6 relegating to Spring Showdown.

Spring Groups 2022Europe
$177,500Prize Pool
12Teams
MajorTier
Team Vitality
Winner
OG
2nd Place
FaZe Clan
3rd Place

Unlike last year, 2022’s Spring Groups were quite forgiving. In 2020 and 2021, there were only group stages, no Play-In stage. The six finalists of the three groups would qualify for the Spring Finals. The ones who didn’t reach the Final would automatically join the Spring Showdown.

The tournament was much more forgiving, and there was a chance for even teams that were placed last to qualify for the Spring Finals (a certain era-defining team, for instance).

The toppers of each group were placed in the three Finals. The runner ups in the semis, and the third and fourth placed in the quarterfinals.

And that still isn’t the end. There’s another net of safety for the losing teams. The losers of semifinals and finals would then face off in a final Last Chance match, where the three winners would progress to the Spring Finals, and the losers to the Spring Showdown.

Without further ado, let’s get into the results and of course, the exciting storylines.

Group Stages

With 12 teams divided into groups of 4, the Group Stage was much like the ones in previous years. Except the nylon-strong safety net fixed in place, it was clear that some teams weren’t pushing themselves to their best.

Group A

The first group consisted of G2, NiP, Complexity and BIG.

The event started with the two teams with roster changes: G2 vs COL. A 1.73 rating performance from NiKo meant it wasn’t too difficult for G2 to win.

BIG vs NiP was interesting too, but a weak German defense meant NiP won the second half relatively easily. hampus’ performance was noteworthy, as well.

The winners’ UB Final followed, and G2 vs NiP was barely a competition. G2 won 16-6 on Inferno, and secured their place in the Group A Grand Final.

BIG defeated COL in the Lower Bracket Round 1.

NiP vs BIG followed, a fair game that NiP won to fix a rematch against G2 in the Finals.

This time the two played on Mirage, and the game was way more competitive than the last time. Almost everyone played rather well, and that is proved by the fact that the match went to double overtime before the two sides were separated, G2 coming out on top.

Final Ranks:

  1. G2
  2. NiP
  3. BIG
  4. COL

Group B

This group consisted of NaVi, Astralis, OG, and MIBR. It seemed quite obvious that NaVi would breeze through their opposition and guarantee rank 1 in their group. Not only was that very wrong, but it went to an extreme, as NaVi finished the group dead last. More on NaVi later.

The day started with a NaVi vs MIBR, a match that shockingly went MIBR’s way. brnz4n’s 112 ADR was a major factor in this upset.

Astralis vs OG followed, and the Danes put up a flailing defense to ensure that nexa’s men start on a postive note.

OG vs MIBR was not competitive at all, with OG obliterating MIBR 13-2 in the defensive first half. Not long after, OG had qualified for the Finals.

Trying to do what NaVi does best in BLAST, they thought of an attempt of a lower bracket run to the finals. That failed twice, as NaVi succumbed to a heavy deficit first. And then after making the regulation time comeback, they failed again by letting Astralis win it in overtime.

Astralis vs MIBR was another poor offensive showings from the Brazilians, as they managed just 1 out of 10 T side rounds.

Much like G2 and NiP, Astralis had set up a new date with OG.

The map changed, but the result remained the same. valde put in a godly 2.01 rating performance, and OG ran rampant on their T side, throwing rocks and tearing Astralis’ paperthin defense.

Final Ranks:

  1. OG
  2. Astralis
  3. MIBR
  4. NaVi

Group C

This group had Vitality, FaZe, Liquid, and EG. A competitive and strong group right off the bat.

It started not so competitively, as Vitality blew away EG 16-3.

FaZe vs Liquid was a better affair, with the match going to overtime before FaZe reigned supreme. FaZe’s new boy, ropz, truly shone with a 1.60 match rating.

FaZe vs Vitality was shocking, as FaZe lost despite taking a 13-3 lead. ZywOo and dupreeh were great, and took it to overtime before downing FaZe 19-15.

In the Lower Bracket, Liquid progressed at the mercy of fellow NA team, EG. Stewie2k could only watch as his former teammates nailed EG to the coffin early in the Group Stage.

With that, a FaZe vs Liquid rematch was set, and the international squad came out on top again. They overcame a 11-3 deficit, and finally won the game in overtime, on the same map as before, Inferno.

Another FaZe vs Vitality was on the cards, and this time FaZe won, thanks to ropz’s incredible 1.85 rating performance. He ended the match with +20 KD, and FaZe were the group topper.

Final Ranks:

  1. FaZe
  2. Vitality
  3. Liquid
  4. EG

Play-In Stage

With the ranks of each team set for their respective groups, it was time for the Play-In Stage to finally decide the 6 winners and 6 losers.

The losers of Quarterfinals were directly relegated to the Showdown. The semifinalists had a good cushion of Last Chance Match if they lost, playing against the loser of the Finals.

That said, the three Quarterfinals were as follows: COL vs MIBR, NaVi vs Liquid, and EG vs BIG.

MIBR won 2-0 against COL, but it wasn’t a complete steamroll. COL clinched 13 and 14 rounds in the two maps played, putting in a fairly better performance than what we had seen from them thus far in 2022.

NaVi vs Liquid was a high octane, and high risk match. NaVi simply couldn’t have afforded to lose this one like they lost against MIBR and Astralis. And they did manage to convert it, winning 2-0 on Ancient and Mirage, thanks to a strong CT side in general. s1mple’s 1.47 rating performance helped quite a lot, too.

EG vs BIG wasn’t really competitive. EG did win the first map to put the pressure on the Germans, but they bode with it well. They made a fairly easy comeback and won 16-12 and 16-10 in the following maps.

The Semifinals were set as such: Vitality vs MIBR, NiP vs NaVi, and Astralis vs BIG.

Vitality’s victory wasn’t difficult to predict, as they fairly breezed past the Brazilians.

NiP vs NaVi was quite a match. After the Ukrainians won on their strongest map, Nuke, NiP bounced back spectacularly on the following two maps, defeating NaVi 16-11 and 16-7 on Overpass and Mirage, respectively. NaVi had been left to settle for a chance in Spring Finals only through the Last Chance Match. No 1st – 3rd place for the world champions.

Astralis vs BIG was a disaster for the Danes, as they lost 2-0 to the tabseN’s men. BIG put up an otherworldly defensive show, when they won the half 14-1 on Mirage. It was humiliating for gla1ve and co.

With three out of six spots filled in the Last Chance Matches, the Finals were set as follows: G2 vs Vitality, OG vs NiP, and FaZe vs BIG.

G2 vs Vitality was a very interesting match, and I talk about it later in the article. All you need to know right now is that G2 lost narrowly.

OG vs NiP was another treat. OG easily brushed aside NiP on Overpass, thanks to great CT calls by nexa. But the next two maps were extremely close. NiP won Ancient 16-14 to take it to Mirage, where OG closed it out by winning 19-17 in overtime.

FaZe vs BIG wins the Weirdest Match Of The Event award, for sure. After a great Dust 2 that FaZe won 16-14, BIG literally blew them away on FaZe’s own map pick 16-2. I have no idea what holes BIG exploited to humiliate FaZe on their own map, but wow.

Here’s the weirdest part: BIG put in one of the worst Nuke performances I’ve had the misfortune to see in my life, as they lost 16-1 to FaZe.

Not even kidding.

With Vitality, OG, and FaZe clinching Top 3, it was time for the Last Chance Matches to decide the more exciting 3-6.

G2 vs MIBR, a rematch between NaVi and NiP, and another rematch between BIG and Astralis were on the cards.

To no one’s surprise, G2 blew away MIBR, with m0NESY defenestrating MIBR’s pride with that 1v4 clutch on Inferno.

NiP vs NaVi went the Ukrainian way this time, as NaVi won on Nuke and more importantly, Overpass.

Unlike NiP vs NaVi, where the winner was switched, BIG vs Astralis was the same, as BIG defeated the Danes 2-0 again. That sent Astralis to the Spring Showdown for the third year in a row, and BIG into the Spring Finals, second year in a row (sacrificing Astralis both the times).

The teams that qualified for Spring Finals:

  1. Team Vitality
  2. OG
  3. FaZe Clan
  4. G2 Esports
  5. NaVi
  6. BIG

The teams heading to Spring Showdown:

  1. MIBR
  2. NiP
  3. Astralis
  4. Complexity Gaming
  5. Team Liquid
  6. Evil Geniuses

With the results revealed, let’s get into the most interesting part: the different storylines. You can easily guess the first one: NaVi.

The NaVi Disaster

Coming into this tournament and off the back of their most successful year, no one expected NaVi to not go 4-0. 4-1 was definitely my prediction. But 2-3?

Natus VincereEurope
7651981
Tips
3Win streak
78%30 d. winrate
67%Winrate

NaVi have qualified for Spring Finals, instead of being relegated to Spring Showdown, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this tournament was a complete disaster for NaVi.

Pin it to online matches, or rustiness, there’s no excuse.

Their first two matches were Bo1, against MIBR and Astralis. NaVi lost both. 16-12 against MIBR, and 19-17 against Astralis, despite a valiant effort of a comeback. The unbelievable had happened and NaVi came into the Play-In stage dead last.

There they faced a new-face Liquid and had to stave off comeback attempts from the Americans. They won 2-0 eventually, making their way to the semifinals. Maybe the first two losses were fluky, and NaVi were back to their unbeaten selves in Bo3.

That optimism was carried into their Nuke win over NiP, but the Swedes fought back and won the next two maps, throwing the boys in yellow in a helpless situation.

The Last Chance match was NaVi vs NiP again, after the Ninjas had lost to a flawless OG. They won Nuke again and to the visibly positive sighs of relief of Boomb14 after the match, they also won Overpass.

At the end of the day, 6 teams were to qualify to the Spring Finals and 6 to the Spring Showdown. Everyone expected NaVi to qualify for the Finals and they did.

But losing 3 matches warranted some serious introspection on the side of the Ukrainians; errors to be patched before the grand IEM Katowice that starts next week.

So what went wrong exactly?

MIBR had a strong CT side. They threw a barrage of great flashes to catch NaVi off guard, and it worked very well. s1mple put in a shockingly low performance, having 4 kills in the first 20 rounds. MIBR were very brave and clearly played without pressure, and that made all the difference. Astralis vs NaVi was a matchup of two laughably terrible teams. All NaVi players were a level below their usual heights, and there were simply a lot of rounds that shouldn’t have happened. Too many of them.

These first two Bo1s can only be put to rustiness. A week later, Bo3s were going to start, and it was again a general prediction that NaVi would sort their issues out.

That seemed to have worked during NaVi vs Liquid, and on Nuke against NiP. NaVi were good but not great.

But on Overpass and Mirage, it was again a disaster. They put out a paperthin defense thanks to s1mple and b1t’s poor resonance on A site, and hampus’ extraordinary performance. Their T side was a mes, with horrendous coordination at times. Round Number 23 made my eyes bleed, as boomb14 and s1mple died hopelessly in toilets. If NaVi don’t fix these tactical holes quick enough, creating an era will be a far cry from reality. I won’t even talk about Mirage, which NaVi lost 16-7. Uninspired, directionless, and confused, are the best words to describe that match on NaVi’s side.

In the final matchup of NaVi vs NiP, the Ukrainians did avenge the loss by obliterating the Swedes on Nuke and narrowly winning on Overpass.

Overall, it was the NaVi of older times, the one that was constantly on the edge of greatness, yet not having the power to make the leap. With Katowice coming up, one can only hope that this team recovers and makes their way back to the top, where they belong.

G2 and Vitality’s New Look

G2 and Vitality both shined pretty brightly with their new rosters. There’s room for improvement on both sides, of course. But it’s a promising first look. Especially for G2.

G2 EsportsEurope
9391583
Tips
1Lose streak
45%30 d. winrate
61%Winrate

G2’s talking point is m0NESY, since NiKo and huNter- were at their best just like usual. No rustiness, unlike s1mple and co. m0NESY fit in with this team very easily. He was their second-best player in almost all the matches, ousted only by World Number 3, NiKo.

G2’s group stage was flawless. As Aleksib had prophesied, G2 went 3-0 in the GS, defeating COL once, and NiP twice.

Vitality’s group stage was a little tumultuous. They easily brushed aside EG and then had to go to overtime to defeat FaZe. In the Group C Final, Vitality vs FaZe, karrigan’s men avenged that defeat, and Vitality had to settle for Rank 2.

VitalityEurope
8001673
Tips
1Lose streak
83%30 d. winrate
70%Winrate

With that, a G2 vs Vitality was set in the Finals, after the semifinal of Vitality vs MIBR proved to be a non-competitive affair.

After winning their own map picks, G2 and Vitality headed into the third map, Dust 2. Both the teams played a good level of CS, with not a lot of mistakes. But Round 22 on Dust 2 was a major blunder from G2.

13-8 down, with three G2 defenders on A, Vitality threw a few default nades. m0NESY gave up Cat control, as expected. But due to some miscommunications, Aleksib gave up Long control at the same time and the two new G2 players ended up colliding and awkwardly running into the site. Within a few square meters, Aleksib, m0NESY, and NiKo were all aimlessly standing, with no chance of winning the round. G2 had a very weak buy the next round, and soon lost it too.

Nevertheless, it was a good match. There were glimpses of both teams being “new”, which they are, but they played very well.

Vitality won the match and became the first team to qualify for BLAST Spring Finals, while G2 easily brushed aside MIBR to follow suit. m0NESY and NiKo both won 2 MVPs, with huNter- winning one. An elite crew.

Danish Woes

Astralis had a fair start to the event, reaching the Finals of their group. They started their journey on a sour note, as they lost 16-8 to nexa’s OG. That loss threatened Astralis’ rank, as they were about to face NaVi after the Ukrainians fell to a shock defeat. There was a very real chance that Astralis would have to settle for last place in the group, but somehow they defeated NaVi after the CIS side attempted a mighty comeback. Astralis’ was heavily carried by k0nfig and blameF, and they made all the difference.

AstralisDenmark
9551285
Tips
1Lose streak
43%30 d. winrate
58%Winrate

On that high, they then beat MIBR with a mighty defense, and reached the Final of Group B, fixing a rematch against OG. But yet again, OG was the better side, as Astralis lost 16-8 for the second time. They had settled for second place, not a bad result.

But what followed derailed their campaign from its core. Back-to-back 2-0 losses to BIG meant Astralis crash out and relegate to the Spring Showdown, with BIG qualifying for the Spring Finals.

Last year, the Germans qualified for the Spring Finals the same way: defeating Astralis 2-0.

BIGGermany
9031439
Tips
2Win streak
67%30 d. winrate
57%Winrate

BIG sure love to thwart Astralis’ hopes and dreams. Things aren’t so smileys in the Danish camp, though. It’s been quite a few months since their roster change, but the team clearly is not a Top 5 team yet. blameF asked the fans to be patient; that they’re working to be as good as they were too.

Let’s hope we get to see that Astralis again.

The Greatest Moments!

There were a lot of great clutches and kills in this tournament. Here are the best of them!

This is definitely going down as one of the greatest clutches of 2022. That coming from a 17-year-old rookie? Insane.

That crazy round from NaVi. Comedy all over the place.

And the final greatest moment was huNter- becoming a dad!

This is as good as it can get 🙂

Is There A Hope For non-NaVi Fans?

Just to make it clear, no one, including me, is placing much importance on this tournament. It was just a qualifier, and even losing all matches had no serious consequence. But we cannot overlook the fact that this still is the tournament preceding the grand IEM Katowice. All teams do their best to gain some much-needed momentum in such tournaments.

Is NaVi’s performance a proof of their vinciblity? A sparking hope for competitors in Katowice that it won’t be a one-team show? It’s hard to say. I don’t want to ruin the glee mood of non-NaVi fans, but looking at the matches, NaVi’s major problems were rustiness and a lack of inspiration. Their tactical issues were few and discrete, and even those were quickly fixed, as seen in their second matchup against NiP.

Don’t you remember BLAST World Finals? NaVi’s Inferno was so weak in the dawn of the tournament, but within just one week, amidst all the chaos, Blad3 and co. had managed to make the map one of their strongest (especially Banana) by the end of the tournament.

I’m sorry I’m saying this, but there’s genuinely little to no hope for non-NaVi fans. IEM Katowice is simply not a tournament that the boys in yellow can be uninspired for, and Blad3 will definitely be giving them a lot of spanking from now till the end of the month.

I will wish for me to be wrong, though, as G2, Gambit, and OG look extremely promising.

2022 is spicy.

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