BLAST.tv Paris Major Grand Final preview

The semifinals of BLAST.tv Paris Major left us speechless. GamerLegion defeated Heroic and Team Vitality struggled to win against Apeks. Finally, after years of waiting, France has a CS:GO team in a Major Grand Final. And what better place to achieve this incredible result than Paris?

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut will have the opportunity to showcase his formidable abilities in front of his own fans. Given Vitality’s results in 2023, it looks like he’s headed for another CS:GO Player of the Year award. This would be his third. He also finished second twice, which makes him one of the two best players in the history of the game.

Unfortunately for ZywOo, GamerLegion also have their own hard carry player: Mihai “iM” Ivan. The Romanian shocked Heroic with his record of 73 K – 47 D in the semifinals. To put these numbers into perspective, the next best player on the server finished the match with fewer than 60 kills.

GamerLegion vs. Team Vitality

Under normal circumstances, Vitality would have zero problems against GamerLegion. The strength and experience difference between these two teams is enormous. On top of that, Vitality will play the Grand Final in front of their own fans. This double advantage should help them win with ease.

But it probably won’t be that easy for them to be victorious. Given that this is their first Major Grand Final, the pressure they will feel will be enormous. If GamerLegion play their cards right and if iM delivers the same kind of performance that he delivered in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Vitality could be in serious trouble.

Let’s not forget that the match is a best-of-three, not a best-of-five. This means that it’s enough for GamerLegion to win one map and the tension will skyrocket. If they win the first map, it will be tough for the French to recover mentally. And if they win the second map, Vitality will start the third one feeling uneasy.

For the French, it’s all on ZywOo. Lotan “Spinx” Giladi might also deliver, just as he did in the semifinal against Apeks. But ZywOo is forced to play his best Counter-Strike. Otherwise, Vitality’s chances are not amazing. Not against this opponent.

We saw what happened to Heroic when they played against them. The same thing could easily happen to Vitality if they’re not careful.

On paper, the most likely result is a 1-2 for Vitality. But the match could easily end 2-1.

Header: Team Vitality