BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2022 Day 1 Recap

Yesterday saw the start of the BLAST Premier Spring Finals, which was packed with the top CS:GO action. Day 1 ended with three predictable results and one upset. 

Before Day 2 kicks off today at 11 am CEST, let’s recap the matches played on the opening day of the tournament.

Natus Vincere vs. OG

Everyone knew that Na’Vi was in terrible shape ahead of the tournament, but few people suspected how bad the situation was. With Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov out of the roster and Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev announcing his intention to take a break from competitive CS:GO, the CIS team is now a shadow of its former self.

The match between Na’Vi and OG started with an easy victory for the former on Inferno (16:7), followed by two painful defeats. One on Mirage (12:16) and one on Ancient (13:16). Arguably, both maps could have been won by s1mple’s squad. But the problem here is much deeper.

If Na’Vi lose against OG, who are ranked 24th globally, what chance do they have against the likes of ENCE, FaZe Clan, or G2 Esports? Clearly, the chances of the CIS crew surviving the quarterfinals of BLAST Premier Spring Finals are thin. They may not even make it out of the groups.

ENCE vs. BIG

This match was much tougher than ENCE fans expected, leading to the question of whether ENCE’s current global rank (2nd) reflects reality. The team is undoubtedly strong at this point, but they still need to prove that they deserve the spot in the rankings.

ENCE defeated BIG with a score of 19:16 on Mirage and 16:13 on Nuke. It remains to be seen what they can do against OG.

FAZE Clan vs. paiN Gaming  

This match was extremely one-sided — 16:7 on Ancient and 16:6 on Inferno. FaZe, the winners of the last CS:GO Major, displayed great individual skill and excellent teamwork from start to finish. If they play the same way today, their spot in the semifinals is almost guaranteed.

G2 Esports vs. Vitality

For the first time since the signing of Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, G2 Esports looked capable of achieving a great result at an important CS:GO event. This team has a high chance of reaching the semifinals, but that’s unlikely to happen right after the group stage. In today’s decisive match, G2 will play against FaZe Clan, and Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s squad seems unbeatable.

Day 2 preview

Day 2 of BLAST Premier Spring Finals will clarify who will be eliminated and who will advance to the semifinals. The statistics indicate that ENCE and FaZe are likely to become the group stage winners. However, losers are much harder to predict.

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