Day 1 at BLAST Open London did not bring major upsets, but it delivered plenty of storylines. Here is a clean roundup of the key results and the day’s top performers.
The Matches
Vitality 2-1 M80
Many expected a routine opener for Vitality, but M80 pushed them hard.
Overpass, M80’s pick, was one-way traffic. Vitality’s CT side never settled, the half ended 9-3, and M80 closed 13-3.
On Dust2, Vitality steadied the ship. The first half was even at 6-6, then Vitality’s CT side ran away with a 7-1 half to take it 13-7.
Inferno was the decider and, for a while, it looked destined to go the distance. M80 led 9-8 on CT, before Vitality found a late surge, winning five of the last six rounds for the 13-10 map victory and 2-1 in the series.
GamerLegion 2-0 Virtus.pro
This one was far more straightforward.
Dust2, VP’s pick, went 13-7 to GamerLegion, who controlled the map from start to finish with the Russians never in control.
Ancient was closer, yet VP never looked fully comfortable. GamerLegion closed 13-9 to sweep the series.
FaZe 2-1 ECSTATIC
FaZe entered with questions after benching their highest-rated player, EliGE, and fielding the young Polish rifler jcobbb. The series quickly turned chaotic.
On Overpass, ECSTATIC’s prep showed. Despite trailing 10-5 as T to start the second half, ECSTATIC rattled off eight straight to win their pick 13-10.
Dust2 was a nightmare for the Danes. FaZe dominated 13-0, with Kristou finishing 0-13.
Inferno delivered the tournament’s first overtime. After trading rounds late, FaZe edged it 16-13 to take the series 2-1.
NAVI 2-0 Fnatic
This matchup was defined by stout CT halves and disappointing T sides. Across both maps, the teams combined for only 11 T rounds.
On Train, Fnatic kept things competitive early, but NAVI’s strong CT start, plus both pistols, built an 11-3 cushion that carried them to a 13-10 win.
Mirage told a similar story. Fnatic led 8-4 at the half, then NAVI switched to CT and strung together nine straight to close the map 13-8 and the series 2-0.
Top 10 Rated Players of Day 1
- Sebastian “Tauson” Tauson Lindelof, GamerLegion — 1.50
- David “frozen” Čerňanský, FaZe — 1.49
- Shahar “flameZ” Shushan, Vitality — 1.38
- Oldřich “PR” Nový, GamerLegion — 1.37
- Evgenii “FL1T” Lebedev, Virtus.pro — 1.35
- Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen, NAVI — 1.35
- Michael “Swisher” Schmid, M80 — 1.33
- Anton “Anlelele” Huynh, ECSTATIC — 1.31
- Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov, NAVI — 1.30
- Mihai “iM” Ivan, NAVI — 1.30
