Natus Vincere secure spot in Grand Final!

The ongoing BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022 event in Lisbon, Portugal is slowly but surely nearing its end and things are only getting more and more intense. With only four teams left competing at the event, our first Grand Finalist was to be found when two big names in the CS:GO scene locked horns. Either OG or Natus Vincere would be able to call themselves Grand Finalists once their brawl had concluded. Going into the Bo3-series it was no secret that Natus Vincere, of course, were the big favorites. Whilst OG had recruited help from the very talented "Degster", "s1mple" and his troops were simply too much to handle for the international roster of OG. Despite being way closer than one would perhaps have thought, the brawl concluded after three maps with Natus Vincere as the victors. The victory for Natus Vincere means that they will face either Vitality or G2 in the Grand Final of the event tomorrow.

The first map of the Bo3-series took place on Dust 2 and was picked by Natus Vincere. Facing NaVi on any map is a scary prospect, however, facing NaVi on Dust 2 is many teams' worst nightmare. Allowing individuals to shine, due to its open spaces, Dust 2 is and has been the stomping ground of "s1mple" for many years. It was also NaVi and "s1mple" to start the strongest on Dust 2. Stringing rounds together on their T-side, NaVi secured an early lead on the first map of the series. Despite this, it wasn't long until the CT-sided OG roster woke up. An ultimately close first half concluded at the scoreline of 8-7, favoring NaVi. Whilst the first half was as close as possible, the second half of Dust 2 was far more one-sided. The defense of NaVi seemed impenetrable and there was little the boys of OG could do against the CIS giants. At the scoreline of 16-9, only allowing their opponents two rounds in the second half, NaVi managed to take home Dust 2 and secure a great start to the Semi-finals of BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022.

The second map of the series was picked by OG and saw the brawl head toward the Italian soil of Inferno. Known as the ultimate third map of any great Bo3-series, Inferno is a map that any team in professional CS:GO is familiar with. The two rosters had already fought each other on Inferno once before at the event, a fight that ended 16-7 in favor of NaVi. This time it was OG's chance to get redemption and take down the scary CIS beast on their map pick. The first half saw a different-looking OG roster take control from early on. Posting a stellar T-sided half, OG managed to secure a 10-5 lead before switching sides on Inferno. From the beginning of the second half, it was a much more fiery NaVi roster on Inferno. Not long after the second half had begun, things were all tied up between NaVi and OG. Ultimately, despite a great attempt from NaVi, the lead from the first half was too much to fully catch up with and at the close scoreline of 16-14, it was OG to claim victory on Inferno.

The third and final map was to be played on Mirage. Whilst NaVi took home Inferno the last time the two rosters met, Mirage was won by the international roster of OG in the last brawl. With a close battle on Inferno, it seemed as if both teams were now fully awake and ready to give their all for a spot in the Grand Finals of BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022. A close battle ensued as the first half of Mirage kicked off. With little separating the two rosters it was as close as possible at halftime at the scoreline of 8-7. As the two rosters switched sides, a different NaVi appeared once again. With "electroNic" leading by example and topping the scoreboard, the CIS giants shifted into gear and took OG by storm. A stellar CT-sided half meant a scoreline of 16-10 and a victory for "s1mple" and his troops.

Highlight of the Bo3-series:

Natus Vincere - OG 2-1 | BLAST Premier Spring Finals - Lisbon (Semi-finals)

16-9 (Dust2) | s1mple - 1.47 Rating / 23-14 K-D / 95.5 ADR

14-16 (Inferno) | Degster - 1.31 Rating / 26-16 K-D / 81.2 ADR

16-10 (Mirage) | electroNic - 1.99 Rating / 35-14 K-D / 114.8 ADR

MVP

: Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev - 1.45 Rating / 74-51 K-D / 98.3 ADR