BLAST Premier: World Final 2021 Recap Day 1 & 2

Entering Day 3 of the tournament, we’ve seen some shocking results in the past 2 days. With NaVi being relegated to the lower bracket after their very first game, things seemed like they couldn’t get any spicier. But they did. Here’s what happened.

NaVi vs Liquid

With this tournament being Liquid’s last together, it was a little unpredictable what they would do. And that’s exactly the face they wore in the first match. After a close 8-7 half loss, Liquid put on an impenetrable defense, winning 9 out of 10 CT rounds on Overpass. On NaVi’s map pick, Dust 2, things were very close for the first 10 rounds, the score being 5-5. But NaVi picked up steam after that. They did not look back, as they closed out the map 16-7, with a strong CT side of their own.

Inferno was up next. After NaVi took a 3-0 lead, their T side just fell apart as Liquid shockingly won the first half 11-4. Liquid reached 15-4 and then shut down a potential NaVi comeback as they went on to win the map 16-7. That was NaVi’s third loss in nearly 6 months. A loss to a team that openly admits not practicing, and instead just having fun. You can’t kill the dead.

Gambit vs Heroic

With b0RUP from MAD Lions standing in for their top-rated player stavn and internal problems with ex-coach HUNDEN, Heroic were not at their peak coming into Global Finals. The first map was Heroic’s pick, Inferno. Gambit absolutely crushed the Danes on it, winning the first half 14-1. Heroic started to fight back by winning 10 rounds in a row but eventually, Gambit won the next two rounds and ended the map 16-11. Out of the 27 rounds, only 3 rounds were won by the T side.

The second map was Vertigo. After a close first half that Heroic won 8-7, Gambit turned on their strong defense and went on to win the map 16-10. Heroic had lost and were relegated into the lower bracket, where they were to face the mighty NaVi.

G2 vs NiP

The rematch of the IEM Winter semifinal yielded almost the same result as before. With NiP winning their Nuke pick and G2 winning their Dust 2 pick, the match had gone to Inferno, just like it had in IEM Winter. The third map went all the distance, ending 16-14. In IEM Winter, NiP had won 16-14, but this time, G2 won 16-14, thanks to a monstrous 1.46 rating performance from NiKo.

It’s still kind of a shame for a team as powerful as G2 not do away with this match easily, especially with nexa back and REZ from NiP highly underperforming. Nevertheless, they got the job done.

Astralis vs Vitality

Off from the highest point of their year, IEM Winter winners produced a dominant performance in the last Upper Bracket Quarterfinals. Astralis picked Nuke, a map Vitality defeated the grand NaVi on. Unsurprisingly, the French humiliated the Danes 16-4.
Vitality’s pick of Mirage wasn’t a competitive affair, either. Astralis’ late run in the first half made it a respectable 16-6 score.

The “dead” teams lighting up the place to take down the two greatest teams of recent CS history. Enigmatic.

NaVi vs Heroic

The two teams who almost had a Major Grand Final matchup now met in the Lower Bracket Round 1. On Heroic’s map pick of Mirage, NaVi put on an impenetrable defense, winning their CT side 12-3. The tides didn’t change a lot in the second half, as NaVi went on to close the map 16-6. Next was NaVi’s pick, Nuke. Though it is majorly considered a Ukrainian playground, the Danish side themselves have it as a strong map. And it showed as Heroic took NaVi to overtime despite all odds stacked against them. In the overtime though, the enraged CIS men stomped Heroic 4-0 and won the match.

 

Heroic are the first team to quit the BLAST Global Finals. With Liquid’s current form, Heroic may have lost anyway had NaVi won their first match. The next set of matches lined up are NiP vs Astralis for elimination and Liquid vs Gambit and G2 vs Vitality in the Upper Bracket Semifinals. It seems like NiP is the weaker one, but they gave G2 a tough time. Astralis on the other hand got absolutely humiliated by Vitality. So this will be an interesting battle for who could be a less terrible team.

Though Liquid did a great job against an uninspired NaVi, I don’t think Gambit will be another victim to the American free-soul mentality. A G2 vs Vitality prediction is pointless. It depends on what version of G2 shows up. If they connect, there is hope for a competitive match. But if they play as they did against NiP, then it’s a win for Vitality. The loser of this matchup will play NaVi for elimination. For that fact alone, I want G2 to win so we could see one last 2021 s1mple vs zywOo head-to-head.

Things are starting to heat up immensely, and this storyline is getting progressively harder to predict. So let’s just sit back and enjoy watching these giants clash!