General rehearsal before Major: Power Ranking of BLAST Premier: Spring Europe Showdown 2022

This week, BLAST Premier Spring Europe Showdown 2022 will take place in the online format, where eight teams will fight for one slot for Spring Finals in Lisbon, Portugal.

As many as six teams from the participants in May will play in the Major in Belgium. There are Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis, Heroic, ENCE, Copenhagen Flames, and Bad News Eagles. Remaining members: Spanish from Movistar Riders and Asian Team NKT.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

The Swedish team had a good run at RMR B, where they won against Endpoint, Bad News Eagles, Sinners, and ENCE, clinched the last Legend Spot for PGL Major Antwerp 2022. Its success overshadows the 0:2 defeat at Copenhagen Flames. This March, NiP signed a local star – Brollan, who showed himself properly in debuts matches for a new team. es3tag again took the sniper role, as before in Astralis and Cloud9.

Ahead of the Major, Fredrik “REZ” Sterner has a rather good individual form, being the best player on the team right now. The addition of Brollan brings the team a second star-player, that the team needed so much. In the first match, Ninjas in Pyjamas will meet with Bad News Eagles, whom they won not so long ago.

My prediction: minimum top-2 for Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Astralis

The legendary tag, Astralis, as well will be represented in Belgium. They had a tough run at RMR, secured the spot only on the last game day, took victory over HEET with a score of 2:1. Astralis won two first matches but lost against Players and G2. The match against the French team on the 5th day was tense. The Danish team lost Dust 2, and losing on Ancient 11:14, but, firstly, managed to make a comeback, won the map 16:14, and then clinched the victory on Nuke 16:11.

The team’s playing form leaves much to be desired. I think that they don’t manage to fix the majority of problems, and create some new setups. Better save your strength now to get better prepared for Major.

My prediction: minimum top-4 for Astralis.

Heroic

Another Danish team, Heroic, had a better last week than Astralis. Firstly, Heroic secured the Legend Spot at the Major, won Natus Vincere first time in three years. After that, BLAST announced that Heroic bought a Partner Slot from MIBR, and this moment will be invited for all their tournaments. The first of these was BLAST Showdown. Honestly, I had worries about this team before RMR. They made a failure at EPL S15, lost in the first round of playoffs. But as RMR showed, it was an accident, and Heroic is still good at tier-1 tournaments. It is the latter result that makes me believe in the victory of the Danes in this tournament.

My prediction: victory for Heroic.

ENCE

ENCE – is one of the most improved teams this season. The addition of Maden has strengthened the team, and helped to move up to the top. For now, they are in sixth place in World Ranking by HLTV. The 2nd place at ESL Pro League Season 15 wasn’t an accident, and they proved that in Bucharest, properly secured the spot at the Major. This tournament will be the additional practice for them and gain experience in competitive matches.

My prediction: top-4 for ENCE.

Copenhagen Flames

Copenhagen Flames passed the strength test, making it fairly easy to secure a place on the Major. They won Sprout and Sinners and took victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas in the third match. In the last Major, the Danish team had a good run and took 9th-11th place. Then they managed to surprise everyone. Much has happened since then. The Danes have not always had satisfactory results, but by returning to the LAN, they have shown their full power. Unfortunately for them, they play against ENCE in the first round, so I think that Copenhagen Flames will leave the event so fast.

My prediction: top-8 for Copenhagen Flames.

Bad News Eagles

The Kosovar team deserved to be noticed. Recently, they managed to qualify for the Major, won against Sinners in a decider match, made a good comeback on the last map. Foremost, they will be remembered for their emotions after winning rounds and matches. They jumped and screamed with happiness. Unfortunately, even two mice were injured, but the monitors were intact.

In the first round, they will play against NiP. They have few chances, especially since it is a bo3 match. But as an experience of the game against the tyr-1 team, especially in front of the major, Bad News Eagles can count.

My prediction: top-8 for Bad News Eagles.

Movistar Riders

The Spanish team didn’t play at any RMR events but had a good run at EPL S15, where they won a group and made top-8 at the event. With each tournament, they become stronger and more experienced. This tournament, should also count as the experience of playing against a tier-1 teams. They will be an outsider in a match-up against Astralis, and they’ll probably lose it.

My prediction: top-8 for Movistar Riders.

Team NKT

The weakest team of this tournament, Team NKT from Asia. They won MESA Nomadic Masters: Spring 2022, and received the spot for BLAST Premier: Spring European Showdown 2022. Unfortunately, they didn’t qualify for RMR Asia tournament, so we don’t see them at the Major. But this team is one of the best in Asia region at this moment. This tournament for them is the first tier-1 event, and being here is a success.

My prediction: top-8 for Team NKT.

This is the current situation before BLAST Premier: Spring European Showdown 2022. Traditionally, in front of Major, teams do not like to play “full force” and show all their strategies, so they were harder to prepare for. Let’s see how it goes. BLAST Premier: Spring European Showdown 2022 will take place on the 27th of April and the 1st of May. The winner of the tournament will play at Spring Finals in Lisbon this June.