Vitality secure their first win at the BLAST

The first match of the series starting with Team Liquid’s pick on Inferno, but things didn't really end up the way they wanted. Vitality steamrolled into a 7-0 lead and dominated the first half on their T-side. The second half looked comfortable for the Vitality team, only leaking a few rounds at the end of the half. The Frenchmen were too powerful and Vitality taking home the victory of the first map, 16.6.

The second match of the series was to be played on Vertigo, picked by Vitality. Team Liquid set the early tempo, taking the pistol round and continuing to dominate their CT-side, leading to a 7-1 advantage. A 1v3 clutch from Stewie2k and flawless retakes from the Americans seemed to seal the first half. FalleN’s troops had the map control, with a series of successful CT rounds enabling them to extend their lead 12-3 in the first half. Team Liquid was able to carry on their momentum to the second half, grabbing their second pistol round of the map before Vitality started to answer back on their CT-side. The Frenchmen slowly began to climb their way back into the game at 8-14, but it wouldn’t prove enough to turn the tides of the map as the boys in blue closing the map out 8-16.

The series continued on Mirage where Vitality took the pistol with a convincing defense. The Frenchmen didn’t allow Liquid to trash them as they did on Vertigo. Vitality squad quickly began to showcase their CT-side masterclass and took control of the half, storming to a 7-1 lead. Team Liquid was left looking stranded on their T-side with little to do against the defense of Vitality. A dominating first-half performance meant a 10-5 lead for the French going into the second half. Vitality once again started things off on the right foot, winning the pistol. They kept their momentum and Liquid had a hard time closing gaps in the defense and stopping ZywOo from racking up kills. Liquid managed to keep themselves in the match with a string of rounds towards the end of the half, and added a handful more to their tally. Misutaaa’s rifling shut down any hopes of a comeback, and a great team effort by the Vitality team comfortably secured the map 16-11.

16-6 (Inferno) |  misutaaa – 1.65 Rating / 26-14 K-D / 95.8 ADR

8-16 (Vertigo) | EliGE – 1.80 Rating / 27-15 K-D / 120.5 ADR

16-11 (Mirage) | ZywOo – 1.52 Rating / 25-15 K-D / 94.1 ADR

MVP: Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut | 1.32 Rating / 57-44 K-D / 89.4 ADR