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February 16, 2021
CS:GO
4 Things to remember from the BLAST Premier Spring 2021 Groups
The BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2021 have been played out and many of the big teams were struggling.
Twelve teams competed in three groups, each one having a top three team in their midst. Before the tournament began you could already see some of the top teams going into a slump, with fans hoping they could turn it around in these groups, which didn’t always turn out as expected.
Some BIG upsets, Astralis slacking
Being in the same group as the world number one might instil fear into some, yet Ninjas in Pyjamas were able to perform under pressure. They were able to take down Astralis in the first round of group A, leaving them in the lower bracket sooner than they could have imagined. NiP went on to win the second round as well, this time against the world fourth best team, BIG. With their spot in the Spring Final already acquired, they were looking to top the group.
BIG however wasn’t having any of it. After taking down OG in the opening round and losing against NiP in the upper final, they were ready to take revenge. Beating Astralis in the consolidation final they were able to take a 2-0 victory over NiP in the group final, meaning they were the best out of group A. Astralis slacked again, once more not performing up to expectations. Going out so early might threaten their number one spot on the HLTV World Rankings, whereas BIG could really make some moves up the ladder with another good performance.
After already seeing Vitality struggle slightly in the past few tournaments, despite having a strong finish last year, their problems didn’t lessen in this event. Losing against Complexity in the opening round, andlosing in the lower bracket instantly as well, left the team baffled as they now have to battle their way through the Spring Showdown.
Complexity did show up once more though, cleanly getting through this group without dropping a single map. Score wise, only G2 Esports was really able to challenge them, as they were able to post double digits twice in their match up. As well as Complexity, Evil Geniuses were able to surprise many. After being dropped to the lower bracket by G2 in the first round, they took down Vitality and got revenge on G2 only to come short in the group final.
Where Vitality and Astralis seem to be struggling as of late, Natus Vincere is rising. The CIS team didn’t disappoint at this event either. After taking down a new and reformed MIBR in the opening round, and following that up with a win against a strong FaZe Clan, they were able to take down FaZe again in the group final. It has to be said however that in the first match against FaZe things could have turned out differently, with the third map going into overtime.
The conclusion of BLAST Premier Spring Groups resulted in several changes this week
Most notably, NAVI overtake Astralis in the rankings after topping Group C while Complexity and EG return to the top 10 after qualifying for the Spring Finals
FaZe Clan was the other outstanding team in this group. With Russel ‘Twistzz’ van Dulken taking on his old team Liquid in the opening round with a ludicrous score of 16-1 in the second map, they showed they were ready to play. Their power-substitute Olof ‘Olofmeister’ Kajbjer was putting in the work and after their loss against Natus Vincere in the upper final, they were able to make short work of Liquid once again. This time the map scores were slightly closer. Them being unable to beat Natus Vincere is something they can work on with their new addition, as Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen has returned to the organisation once more to see if he can take home more titles with the team he has had the most success with.
Top contenders for Spring Final
Of course the group winners are most definitely a top contender for the Spring Final, yet some teams have shown their progress. You should mainly have your eye on NiP and FaZe. Both were doing well against multiple top five ranked teams during these groups, which shows the potential is there. The question of course remains on how they can prepare against these top teams for the future, or if they will be read into by their opposing analysts. The Spring Final is still some time away, yet most teams will clash again at IEM Katowice.
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