Cloud9 secure Grand Final spot at BLAST Showdown Spring

Cloud9 have qualified for another CS:GO Grand Final. However, this time it’s at an A-tier event. The result is still significant, but only if C9 manage to win the competition.

BLAST Premier: Spring European Showdown was created as a way of giving one last chance to all those teams that failed to secure a spot in the Spring Final at the Spring Groups event.

Cloud9’s run at BLAST Showdown Spring

Cloud9 entered this tournament with low morale. But not because they had a poor result at ESL Pro League Season 17. They finished that tournament in second place, which is quite an achievement. However, because C9 hadn’t won an S-tier tournament in a long time, losing right at the end must have hurt.

Despite the circumstances, Cloud9 entered BLAST Showdown Spring determined to win. And in their first two matches, they did well against two serious competitors: Copenhagen Flames and Ninjas in Pyjamas.

In the match against Copenhagen, hardly anyone doubted Cloud9’s ability to win. But against NiP, the situation was a lot more scary. And indeed, the Swedes managed to win a map, thanks to the excellent performance of Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin and several of his teammates.

But Cloud9 still win the match thanks to having not only a superior roster but also a superior map pool. On Ancient they excel, so it’s not a big surprise that they won there. And Vertigo is by far their best map. They are currently 10 W – 0 L on it.

NiP’s win rate on this map was also very good ahead of the match (5 W – 1 L) but Cloud9 proved to be a lot more skilled on it.

Thanks to this victory, C9 will have the opportunity to compete in the Grand Final of BLAST Showdown Spring against the winner between BIG and 9INE. It’s very hard to imagine 9INE winning that match, so the Grand Final will almost certainly be a battle between Cloud9 and BIG.

The two teams haven’t encountered each other since June 2022. BIG won that match with a score of 2-0. It remains to be seen what will happen this time. Cloud9 must win if they want to participate in BLAST Premier Spring Final, which is scheduled to take place in June, not long after the Paris Major.

For Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov, who was the third-best player in CS:GO in 2022, a defeat on April 2 would be a huge disappointment.

Header: Cloud9