Favorites of BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022

BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2022 starts tomorrow, June 15 and will feature eight of the world’s best CS:GO teams competing for a shared prize pool of $425,000, along with a ticket to BLAST Premier: World Final and thousands of BLAST Premier circuit points.

BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2022 is set to take place between June 15 – 19, with the playoffs commencing on June 17 and the Grand Final scheduled for June 19 at 6:30 pm CEST.

Format

The tournament’s competitive format is simple — a double-elimination (GSL) format with two groups of four followed by single-elimination playoffs. All matches are best-of-three.

The Group Stage is quite forgiving compared to other CS:GO tournaments, as only one team per group is eliminated. This allows organizers to simplify the event by skipping multiple matches.

After the opening confrontations, there are only two more matches to be played in each group. One to determine the winner and another one to determine who gets eliminated. The winners of the groups advance to the Semifinals, while the other two qualified teams advance to the Quarterfinals.

Here’s the team line-up for the BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2022:

Group A:

• FaZe Clan
• Team Vitality
• G2 Esports
• paiN Gaming

Group B:

• BIG
• ENCE
• Natus Vincere
• OG

Favorites

In Group A, the clear favorites are FaZe Clan. The battle for the other two spots will most likely be won by G2 Esports and Team Vitality. PaiN Gaming are likely doomed from the start. Their opponents are ranked first, eighth, and tenth globally, while paiN currently occupy a much lower place (25th). The skill difference is so big, that it would be an achievement for them to win even a single map.

In Group B, Natus Vincere is likely to win the race. However, under the current circumstances, that isn’t guaranteed. With Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov removed from the roster, the team is now without an IGL. There’s little doubt that Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev will carry them to a victory, but it’s not going to be easy.

ENCE’s results during the past few months have helped them reach second place in the global rankings and it’s hard to tell how well they will play at this tournament. As for OG and BIG, they’re less of a threat. Either of them could get eliminated, even though BIG is definitely stronger, at least on paper.

Overall, FaZe Clan should win this tournament without too many problems. Everyone else is struggling at this point and FaZe’s recent victory at the Antwerp Major clearly demonstrates that they are stronger than their adversaries.

Header photo: BLAST | Blast Premier