Today marked the day of another big reshuffle in the world of CS:GO.

The German organization BIG presented their new roster, where Josef "⁠faveN⁠" Baumann, Nils "⁠k1to⁠" Gruhne, and Marcel "hyped" Köhn will all leave the active roster giving way for Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski, Elias "⁠s1n⁠" Stein, and David "⁠prosus⁠" Hesse.

faveN will step down until the fall due to happy circumstances with him recently being a father, while hyped will return to the academy team. k1to has been transferlisted.

Elias "⁠s1n⁠" Stein, and David "⁠prosus⁠" Hesse both join the main team after a stint on the academy team, while Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski escapes his involuntary hiatus away from top-tier CS:GO. The Polish AWP'er was sidelined in the summer of 2022 from OG, after Abdulkhalik "degster" Gasanov took his spot on the team with an excellent stand-in performance at BLAST Spring Finals in Lisbon.

You can read more about how that situation affected mantuu in our interview with him below.

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We have spoken with Mateusz "mantuu" Wilczewski about his time in OG and why his removal from the team back in July 2022 actually ended up being the “best thing to happen” for the Polish AWPer.

Something he opens up about in a recent interview with us.

- I think getting benched was the best for me to happen, because it made me reset and rethink a lot of stuff… It was good for my mental health. I had like a lot of problems playing every single tournament and not succeeding.

mantuu then explains how he saw his long-standing teammates Aleksib and valde search for new opportunities during last year, while he describes his own situation as being “stuck in a loop of constantly being disappointed”

- That will negatively impact you, and your physical and mental health will go down. That's what I kind of saw with myself because I started developing some physical problems myself and it was 100% due to stress.

The feeling of not getting the opportunity to play the Counter-Strike you want and being reduced to a more supportive AWPer, was clearly also something that bothered mantuu deeply during his time in OG.

- I was playing the support role throughout OG the whole time. And I just wish in, every variation of the OG teams, I would have voiced my opinion more and tried to do what I wanted to do. Then maybe, maybe we could have implemented my style a little bit more and then we would have had more success with the teams.

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mantuu describes that he tried to implement some new ideas for the team for him to be more activated on the server. However, these were quickly “demolished”, mantuu notes.

- It was just people telling me what to do - Like we had a page from the coach and analyst saying that I do not do anything on T side or you just play around the riflers.

Something that was upsetting for mantuu as it made him feel both irrelevant and uninvolved on the server.

- I’m not doing anything. I'm not playing Counter-Strike. I'm just watching my teammates do everything. I'm flashing for them and I'm just playing at the back with the AWP and literally, I cannot do anything, he describes.

- I remember valde saying where at some point with a team, you just need to take a step back and even kind of remove yourself from the team. And that's what I needed to be removed from the team and try to find a new environment.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/OG/Copyright_-_jak-howard_-_OG_cierbk","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Jak Howard Blast","alt":"CS:GO, Counter-Strike"}]

The original OG squad (From left to right: Aleskib, valde, NBK, mantuu, and ISSAA)

mantuu admits that he did have some sort of freedom while playing for Aleksib, who was the in-game leader on OG for three years between December 2019 and January 2022. However, it was under the leadership of nexa that it went downhill for real regarding his mental health.

- I saw potential. I saw a young roster and I saw the potential of me playing a little bit differently. But as soon as the season started, I saw my ideas getting swept to the side, and it was like going back to zero again, mantuu notes and continues:

- Again, I was sad about not voicing my opinion. My confidence was at an all-time low, and I was not enjoying playing Counter-Strike… But again, I always put my head down and just grind, and I think it was kind of bad for me.

A lengthy part of the talk we had with mantuu also focused on the period after his benching in July and what he has been doing while being away from professional CS:GO for eight months. Getting his driver's licence was the first thing on the list.

- Doing all the normal things, like completing my driver's license, which I could never find the time to do, was first thing I did. Then I started running and doing physical fitness, which you can't really find the time. That will improve your mental state as well, which I felt and it helped a lot. Stepping back from the competitive environment helps you sleep and it helps you eat better.

- For the first couple of weeks or first month, I could just sleep properly. And I was also listening to the device interview [HLTV Confirmed] where he also felt like he had problems mentally and physically. And I also relating to the things he kind of said in the interview where you're just feeling all like stressed out.

- So the first thing was like, take a break and be with family members, be physically active, do stuff you wanted to do. And then slowly go back into CS and have fun with it and enjoy the game that you always enjoyed, right.

In the articles below, you'll find our two previous interview articles with mantuu where he among other things touches on his hopes for this year.

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*This is a re-publication from an interview made with mantuu before the release of Counter-Strike 2.

The reported release of Counter-Strike 2 has been on every Counter-Strike enthusiast’s lip for the past week.

Something that only became more exciting when the renowned journalist Richard Lewis this weekend broke the news that the new update is “right around the corner”.

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We have had the opportunity to speak with the star AWPer Mateusz "mantuu" Wilczewski about the much-debated Counter-Strike update and what he 

- I think every single player is kind of hyped, especially free agents and benched players. I feel like it can up the levels of CS:GO so much higher, mantuu said and continued:  

- I believe it will bring in new people, a new fanbase and new streamers who are trying out the update. Obviously, we don't know much about it, how it would change, or what we would change, but even if it's just the loading screen and the UI [user interface/HUD] being updated it will already make me much more hyped to play.

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It was quite clear when speaking with mantuu, who's currently a free agent following his departure from OG this year, that he would welcome a new game with open arms despite his continuous affection towards the game that has been his faithful companion for so long.

- I'm not going to argue, like CS:GO in terms of how it looks with the matchmaking compared to other games and stuff, is completely terrible, mantuu said just to declare his deep love for the game right after.  

- You just play CS:GO because you love the game, you love competing, you love playing against the best players and love proving yourself. But the game on itself and the updates are honestly terrible. The map pool is terrible as well. I have 13,000 hours in this game. I have played it for half of my life and Counter-Strike still look kind of the same from when I started to now - obviously, there were some changes - but you have kind of always hoped for some big update to come.

A new leak by the notorious Gabe follower 2 on Twitter from the latest patch:

This was the first of three interview articles with mantuu. Be sure to keep an eye on the site for the coming articles.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the profiled AWPer Mateusz "mantuu" Wilczewski in action with his last official match being back in June last year when he still played for OG. Now mantuu is a free agent seeking for a new home in Counter-Strike.

Despite not having found a team yet, mantuu reveals that there have been several offers from prominent organizations.

- After my benching on OG, I was looking for teams and I was also in contact with some teams. I was in contact with NIP and I was in contact with EG - where with EG they wanted to go for American players on the roster. So that's why that didn't work out. And with NIP, I had an interview and everything, but obviously, they decided to go with headtr1ck instead.

mantuu then explains how he towards the latter part of the year following the missed opportunities with EG and NIP constantly has tried to find a new team. In his hunt for a new CS:GO home, he openly addresses that he could see himself in a North American team.

- I'm open to joining both NA and EU teams, mantuu quickly said.

And when asked if mantuu could see anywhere in the CS:GO landscape where he could make a difference and maybe add some individual firepower, he pointed towards one specific region. 

- I believe I would improve every single NA team, 100%. Especially coming in from the break in a different environment, I think I could boost any team and also my own individual level. Looking at the EU teams, of course, they are completely different to NA and they have some really strong AWPers, but I'm also looking at the teams there as well.

- And I think I could honestly if you put me into those teams - obviously, I'm not looking like at Faze or G2 or these teams - but a lot of other teams, I feel like I'll be confident and comfortable to play in and improve.

OG's first roster in CS:GO - Aleksib, valde, NBK, mantuu, and ISSA from left to right

However, going down the ranks and maybe joining a lower-tier organization, isn’t something the former OG profile will rule out.

- I'm open to any offers from any kind of team. I think maybe the tier two and tier three teams don't even want to kind of contact me because… I don't know, maybe they think I will just say no or something.

- Like I'm happy to talk, to see the lineup, and to see what the future can hold with the different organizations. I just have to see the players – to see if I see potential and if I see new hungry players. Let’s say I see that then I would 100% be willing to go for it. Especially if there are no tier-one offers for the next major.

It was clear when chatting with mantuu that he feels a great desire to return to competitive play after his contract with OG ended in January this year. Especially with the heavy rumours of a Source 2 coming up – something he touches on [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/news/mantuu-counter-strike-2-can-levels-cs-go-much-higher","isNewTab":true,"text":"here"}].

- I really hope to be in a new team and a new environment where we can really try to improve and be in a healthy and happy environment where no one is toxic. Hopefully, in the future, making the major for myself because is one of those things I really think I deserve; to make a major team.

- Obviously, I really miss playing officials, being at bootcamps, and going to events. Just travelling with the team and grinding. That's the one thing I miss and I think a lot of players miss once they get benched or become free agents for a longer time, is the competitive aspect.

Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke {cflag:DK}

The Danish rifler has been consistently synonymous with controversy over recent months, yet the prevailing opinion still remains that he deserves further shots at the big time, and I couldn't agree more.  I doubt that a top 20 team will pick him up before the roster-locks of the new season continue to slam doors shut but if a team like NiP perhaps don't make as many waves as their plans for the year would hope for, he would be an outstanding pickup. Who knows he could even be in line for a sensational return to Astralis if their fortunes don't improve. If I’m a team like OG or ENCE, I am immediately enquiring about the possibility of signing the Danish superstar at earliest convenience.

The Ukrainian rifler didn’t have the easiest time during his stint with Na’Vi, never fully being given any job security, but he deserves to be mentioned here, having by no means hampered their pursuit of greatness and even securing the trophy at BLAST Premier Spring Finals. Now, do I think that he is entirely suitable for a team containing the greatest of all time? No, but he is clearly a serviceable support player and any top 20 team would surely be enriched by his addition. Due to the ongoing political situation, there sadly aren’t many options for the Ukrainian to pursue within his region, so a team like OG could be a solid shout moving forward.

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Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski {cflag:PL}

The Polish AWPer has been inactive for a while but absolutely deserves another shot at the big time. While a little inconsistent, it’s hard to see how he hasn’t found another team since being benched by OG back in July. Once again the names of ENCE and NiP reappear as potential candidates for his signature if their year gets off to a less than ideal start, or perhaps a hop across the pond to save NA with the ailing Evil Geniuses.

The Danish hybrid hasn’t made the best of life choices since abandoning Heroic while his ex-teammates now sit atop the HLTV rankings as the best in the world. With underwhelming forays into North America under his belt with Cloud9 and Complexity, the ‘brightest star in the Danish night sky’ has since been benched again by NiP. Role turmoil and a change in IGL did nothing to help the Dane but yet another relative failure has left him with very little option moving forward but a team like Sprout might benefit from his experience.

k0nfig

es3tag

A team that is no stranger to issues with the AWP role is EG, having had the slowly declining Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov occupying the most impactful role within the core of the team for over 5 years before his inevitable benching at the start of this year. I think that our Polish sniper could be a great fit for EG, providing a little bit more consistency as the project continues to grow, and I’m sure he will be an attractive prospect for the team as the current crop of NA AWPers leaves much to be desired.

Now I’m not saying Alvaro ‘SunPayus’ Garcia is in any way the problem for ENCE, but if they continue to fail to live up to their previous heights, changing the AWP is a potential move that could solve a number of short term issues. As launders himself says “mantuu is one Snappi away from being a consistent top 20 player” and I would agree with that sentiment and think that the mixed team environment suits him and allows a little more freedom alongside an IGL with great vision and this crop of young players.

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Liquid!?! you say. Yet I don’t think it is as ridiculous as first thought, the thought process being if Liquid decide they need to move on from Josh 'oSee' Ohm there truly isn’t much choice throughout the region and they may have to look elsewhere. Mantuu’s experience on mix teams plus his perfect English would mean absolutely no teething issues integrating into life in NA.

Despite recent addition of Daniil 'headtr1ck' Valitov, NiP could still be in need for another change if the move doesn't work out, as historically they make more roster moves than most. An IGL reunion and an end to the roster woes of the Ninjas, what’s not to like? Ninjas in Pyjamas’ struggles to fill the AWP role have been well documented, and if the signing of the Ukranian youngster doesn't work out over time, the Pole, being an ex-teammate of Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen, could be a great potential replacement especially on a free transfer. In my opinion, either option is better than their old setup of shoehorning ‘star’ riflers into roles they are not best suited for, and just the fact Mateusz 'mantuu' Wilczewski is a pure AWPer, will already bring something more exciting to the project if they decide to make another snap change.

Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski is free to explore his options after having spent six months on the bench for OG.

The Polish AWPer was benched to make way for Abdulkhalik "degster" Gasanov, who joined the roster before BLAST Spring Finals in Lisbon. The 25-year-old Polish-British player was a key part of OG since its inception in 2019. He started his career in 2015 and has since then transitioned into being an AWP'er.

You can see some of the best highlights from the Polish AWPer here.

Ten days ago OG announced the transfer of the profiled AWPer Abdul “degster” Gasanov after a successful BLAST Spring Final Lisbon campaign, where the 21-year-old Russian ended up as one of the top individual performers.

However, the thing with transfers is that there’s almost every time one person who comes out on the “losing side of things”. In this case, that person is Mateusz “mantuu” Wilczewski. [link:{"url":"https://www.dexerto.com/csgo/out-of-og-mantuu-can-start-playing-csgo-like-himself-again-1879912/","isNewTab":true,"text":"In an interview with Luis Mira and Dexerto"}], mantuu opens up about the benching and how he has experienced a lack of communication between him and OG, despite having represented the team since 2019. 

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In the interview, manutuu also touches on his own role on the server, while playing under the leadership of both Aleksib and nexa and how he wanted to “fix some things in himself” in order to fit in nexa’s playstyle.

You can read the entire interview right [link:{"url":"https://www.dexerto.com/csgo/out-of-og-mantuu-can-start-playing-csgo-like-himself-again-1879912/","isNewTab":true,"text":"here"}].

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It was earlier rumored that Abdulkhalik 'degster' Gasanov would be joining OG, and the organization has now finally confirmed that he will be their new starting AWPer. The Russian will immediately be stepping into the shoes of the last standing member of the original OG squad; Mateusz 'mantuu' Wilczewski.

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When 'degster' stood in for OG at BLAST Premier Spring Final in June he was massively successful. The 20-year-old star was the sixth highest-rated player at the event, and he led the team to 3rd-4th place, and almost to the final.

According to the two media outlets [link:{"url":"https://www.dexerto.com/csgo/sources-degster-set-to-join-og-1871810/","isNewTab":true,"text":"Dexerto"}] and [link:{"url":"https://www.1pv.fr/news/142038-og-to-replace-mantuu-with-degster","isNewTab":true,"text":"1pv.fr"}], Mateusz “mantuu” Wilczewski will be removed from OG’s starting lineup after having represented the team since December 2019.

The Polish AWPer will allegedly be replaced by the 20-year-old Abdul “degster” Gasanov, who played as a stand-in for OG at the recent BLAST Premier Spring Final in Lisbon – something he did with great success.

If OG decides to bench mantuu it means that there will be no players left from the original roster, which contained NBK, Aleksib, ISSA, valde and lastly mantuu. But despite being OG’s highest-rated player throughout 2022, it still looks like the organization has chosen to go for degster and his services.

Neither Spirit nor OG has confirmed or said anything publicly about the transfer.  

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OG's potential lineup would look like this:

{cflag:RS} Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković 

{cflag:IL} Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan 

{cflag:PL} Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski 

{cflag:DK} Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså 

{cflag:DK} Nikolaj "⁠niko⁠" Kristensen 

Spirit

With day four of the group stage at the ongoing Roobet Cup 2022 event, we are slowly but surely nearing the playoff stage of the event. Today we found out what teams are going to be eliminated from the event and will not get the chance to reach the playoff stage. When Entropiq and OG locked horns, only one out of the two rosters would be able to continue their run at the event. On paper, the OG roster were the favorites, ranking as #12 in the world. However, an Entropiq on fire is scary to even the biggest of names in the CS:GO scene. Entropiq didn't hit the ground running and a stunning performance on Ancient led to a 2-0 victory for OG. The victory means that the Europeans avoid elimination whereas Entropiq are sent home from Roobet Cup 2022. 

The first map of the Bo3-series was picked by OG and meant a trip for the two rosters into the depths of the jungle. Ancient is still the newest map in the official map pool but has become a strong suit for many different teams, including OG. Only finding success in 40% of the times Entropiq have played Ancient in the past three months (15 maps), it was furthermore a weak point for CIS boys. Despite starting on the arguably more difficult side of Ancient, OG hit the ground running and got off to a great start. Managing to claw a handful of rounds back near the end of the first half, Entropiq still had to see themselves behind at the scoreline of 10-5 before switching sides. The second half continued as the first had shaped up, with OG and "mantuu" dominating. Only allowing Entropiq two rounds on their offense, OG claimed victory on Ancient at the scoreline of 16-7. 

The second map of the brawl between Entropiq and OG was, of course, picked by Entropiq and saw the two rosters head to the sandy and iconic Dust 2. Whilst Dust 2 is an incredible map for Entropiq, it is often down to great performances from their star player "El1an". With "El1an" having a rough go at things over on Ancient, things didn't look too bright for Entropiq heading into the second map of the series. Dust 2 started with OG piling on pressure once again. An early lead left the offense of Entropiq scrambling for rounds before reaching halftime. Managing to do slightly better on Dust 2, Entropiq went to halftime behind at 9-6. The second half saw an "El1an" finally challenge OG's AWP'er in "mantuu". As a result, the two rosters traded rounds back and forth and the brawl became much closer. Ultimately, however, OG's cohesive and confident play, orchestrated by IGL "nexa" was too much for Entropiq to handle. At the scoreline of 16-12, OG were able to walk away with the victory and three much-needed points in Group A. 

OG - Entropiq 2-0 | Roobet Cup 2022 (Group A)

16-7 (Ancient) | {cflag:PL} mantuu - 1.92 Rating / 29-10 K-D / 109.3 ADR

16-12 (Dust 2) | {cflag:RS} nexa - 1.36 Rating / 24-15 K-D / 89.8 ADR

: {cflag:PL} Mateusz "mantuu" Wilczewski - 1.54 Rating / 49-25 K-D / 95.7 ADR

Roobet Cup 2022 (Group B) - Complexity vs Movistar Riders (Win by default) 

Whilst OG and Entropiq had their battle, another brawl didn't take place at the Roobet Cup 2022. What should have been an elimination match between Movistar Riders and Complexity never came to be. Due to scheduling issues, Movistar Riders were not able to participate in their Bo3-series against Complexity and the victory was handed to Complexity by default.

Entropiq

We have probably all had the thought, how difficult can it be to play Counter-Strike as a professional? Well, the answer to that question is that it is very difficult. Like any other sport or profession, it takes many hours of perfecting the craft for a player to reach the highest level of competition. It is not all about clicking on heads. To become a professional CS:GO player you need drive, passion, talent, and much more. 

A beautiful documentary made by CS:GO tournament organizers BLAST Premier showcases just how tough a journey players must take to become the absolute best. Besides talent on the server, it takes a certain mentality, winners are born not made. Take a look at how "REZ", "hampus", and "mantuu" managed to become professional CS:GO players as well as what it takes to stay at the top once you have climbed your way to success: 

hampus

While IEM Dallas was filled with stand-ins and replacement teams the BLAST event in Lisbon has avoided any big cancellations from the participating players and teams. Until now.

OG's Polish AWP'er Mateusz "mantuu" Wilczewski will watch the event from home, while Abdulkhalik "degster" Gasanov did not have to spend a lot of time on the bench at Spirit before being called to action again. On Saturday the Russian Sniper was benched after disagreements with Spirit.

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OG and degster will face NAVI in the first round of BLAST Premier Spring Finals in Lisbon on Wednesday.

Remember to follow the event closely here on Pley.gg, where we have travelled down to Portugal to cover the event.

The opening match for OG had them going up against MOUZ. The battlefield of choice for the two international squads was Mirage. It was a bit of a surprising pick seeing as OG has a flawless record over the last three months, while MOUZ has only come out on top one out of five times.

OG grabbed a flawless pistol round to open the game and grabbed a small lead as they were able to convert the following two. MOUZ were not far behind, and they quickly grabbed their first lead after a four-round winstreak on the T-side. From here until the break it was downhill for the boys of MOUZ who were down by five rounds at halftime.

Right from the start, the second half was a lot closer than the first. MOUZ were able to put up much more of a fight, and "torzsi" who had been missing for the first fifteen rounds was slowly finding his way back into the game. MOUZ were close to making a comeback, but the round deficit was too big for "dexter" and co. who lose 12-16.

MOUZ - OG 0-1 | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Europe RMR A

12-16 (Mirage) | {cflag:PL} mantuu - 1.39 Rating / 25-12 K-D / 86.5 ADR

MOUZ

There are plenty of pros out there who had a lot of good ideas about what could change in the game, maybe something they are dissatisfied with, or just or whatever something they think is missing.

RivalryCSGO asked different pro players like EliGE, mantuu and GuardiaN what they would add to CS: GO if they could.

[youtube:www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmRI4UHkl_E]

EliGE

smooya

jkaem

BnTeT

GuardiaN

NaToSaphiX

The last elimination match of the day featured Ninjas in Pyjamas and OG. The last couple of times the teams have faced each other it has been OG that have had the upper hand, but this time it was the Ninjas' turn to come out as the winners.

”Aleksib” and OG chose that the first battleground of the match was to be Inferno, a map on which both teams are well-versed.

OG, starting on the T-side, started out best with lots of convincing openers and site-takes that prompted several immediate save calls from the Ninjas. OG managed to bring themselves to an 8-3 scoreline without ever really being able to break the bank of NIP due to all the saves. The Danish/Swedish combo was luckily able to pull some rounds back before halftime and were able to go into the second half with more confidence and an 8-7 scoreline.

NIP were able to take the lead early in the second half, but there was never much separation between the teams, who looked extremely evenly matched. After a very back-and-forth map, NIP were able to bring it to map point at 15-12. OG were able to take one round more before they were laid to rest by the Ninjas at 16-13.

NIP picked into Ancient as the second map, maybe a targeted pick as OG have only played this map in three official matches.

After the narrow loss on Inferno OG looked hungry early on, as they devoured the NIP offense. They made it very clear from the start, that this is not a weak map for them. With a little bit of a lackluster performance from “mantuu” and “flameZ” on Inferno it seemed like they had something to prove on Ancient, as they in combination with “valde” led the team to an 11-4 lead at halftime.

The Ninjas wanted to close the match out in two maps, so they started mounding a comeback, grinding away the rounds from OG one at a time. OG were still the first to reach map point at 15-12, and they closed the game at 16-13.

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The third and final map to be played was Nuke which saw OG start as the terrorist while NIP would be defending.

The hot hand from the start of this third map was one attached to “device”, who led the way for his team to take a commanding 8-0 lead. OG were able to answer back in a small way, but then “REZ” stepped up to the plate and silenced them completely, leading the Ninjas to a halftime lead of 13-2.

OG managed to pick up the first three rounds of the second half, making a comeback look more plausible. But it was too little too late from the OG boys as the Scandinavian Ninjas only had to win a stray round here and there. NIP win Nuke 16-8.

With the result, OG is eliminated at IEM Winter 2021, while NIP will face Team Liquid tomorrow in the Group A Lower Final.

 {cflag:SE} Plopski – 1.44 Rating / 26-19 K-D / 90.7 ADR

 {cflag:PL} mantuu – 1.44 Rating / 27-15 K-D / 95.5 ADR

 {cflag:SE} REZ – 1.63 Rating / 22-11 K-D / 90.8 ADR

IEM Winter 2021 overview – BIG vs. GODSENT (1-2)

 {cflag:DE} syrsoN – 1.56 Rating / 27-14 K-D / 93.6 ADR

 {cflag:DE} syrsoN – 1.50 Rating / 26-17 K-D / 96.9 ADR

 {cflag:BR} dumau – 1.44 Rating / 24-15 K-D / 97.5 ADR

Plopski

device

flameZ

valde

Ninjas in Pyjamas

The last two matches of the BLAST schedule today was: Heroic vs. Dignitas, and Complexity vs. OG. The prize was a semi-final spot in the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown and a chance to get one of the last two remaining spots at the BLAST Premier Fall Final. The other six spots have already been filled by Na'Vi, NIP, Vitality, FaZe, Astralis and BIG.

The first matchup between Heroic and Dignitas was a very close affair, with great team performances from both squads. Though Heroic took the victory 2-0, Dignitas actually had map point on Nuke before being forced into overtime, and eventually defeat.

The second matchup featuring Complexity was a different story on the other hand. Complexity had picked Mirage as their map, and still, OG completely fooled them and cleaned house; 16-0. "mantuu" and "valde" had standout performances with ratings of 2.09 and 1.91. On Complexity's side "blameF" was the only one who managed a rating above 1.0 through the series.

Tomorrow the two last quarter-finals will be played in what is sure to be two great matchups. It's MAD Lions vs. G2 at 3:30 pm, and Liquid vs. Virtus.pro at 6:30 pm.

Heroic – Dignitas (2-0) | BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2021

19-16 (Nuke) | {cflag:DK} refrezh – 1.29 Rating / 31-25 K-D / 87.2 ADR

16-13 (Overpass) | {cflag:DK} cadiaN – 1.33 Rating / 21-14 K-D / 81.3 ADR

MVP: {cflag:DK} refrezh – 1.27 Rating / 52-42 K-D / 81.5 ADR

Complexity – OG (0-2) | BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2021

0-16 (Mirage) | {cflag:PL} mantuu – 2.09 Rating / 25-8 K-D / 116.7 ADR

12-16 (Dust2) | {cflag:DK} niko – 1.43 Rating / 29-19 K-D / 103.6 ADR

MVP: {cflag:DK} niko – 1.49 Rating / 44-23 K-D / 103.1 ADR

refrezh

cadiaN

niko

TeSeS

compLexity Gaming

Heroic

Team Dignitas

FaZe Clan started very comfortably on the T-side on their map pick of Ancient. Twistzz and Rain taking heads left and right, fueled FaZe into a fast 7-1 lead. OG managed to find rhythm after that to bring it back to an 8-7 halftime score in the favour of FaZe.

The Norwegian entry fragger and the Canadian superstar continued their reign in the second half, as they made the OG players lives’ miserable every chance they got. OG fought back but there was no luck to be found, as they managed to get only three rounds on their T-side, ending Ancient with a 16-10 scoreline in favor of FaZe.

FaZe took the confidence they built on Ancient with them, into OG’s map pick; Inferno. They picked up the first 8 rounds of the map only conceding 11 deaths and allowing no plants to come through. OG did manage to claw back some rounds on their T-side, managing to get it back to 5-10 at halftime.

Everything looked done and dusted after the first four rounds of the second half, as FaZe extended their lead to 14-5. This is when OG showed why they picked Inferno. They went on an impressive 11 round win streak, led by the 18-year-old flameZ, to close out the map, and take it to the decider map of Mirage.

The first two maps had started heavily in favor of FaZe, and Mirage would not be an exception. FaZe took the first seven straight before OG managed to put one on the board. FaZe kept looking strong throughout the half with inspiring play from the Swedish legend “olofmeister”. OG only managed to take 4 rounds on their CT-side, though it wasn’t for the lack of trying from OG’s talented AWP’er “mantuu”, who had a stellar first half with multiple opening frags, and multi-kill rounds.

The last pistol round of the Bo3 went to FaZe, just like the five before it. On the back of that pistol FaZe had a clean slate on their CT-side, fueled once again by star player "Twistzz", and closed out the map at 16-4.

Ancient (10-16) | {cflag:NO} rain – 1.51 Rating / 24-19 / 120.1 ADR

Inferno (16-14) | {cflag:IL} flameZ – 1.64 Rating / 28-18 / 110.7 ADR

Mirage (4-16) | {cflag:CA} Twistzz – 1.71 Rating / 20-11 / 100.5 ADR

rain

Twistzz

olofmeister

FaZe

Team Vitality continued to confirm their status as the main favorites in Group C, which they once again underlined with a win over OG 16-9.

Vitality got off to a great start on Mirage, converting a force buy on the second round before cementing their superiority on the T side with a 1-7 lead. OG was left looking stranded on their CT-side with little to do against the pressure of a Vitality T-side. A dominating first-half performance meant a crucial 11-4 lead for the French going into the second half. The European side showed signs of life at the offense but overall could not get into a rhythm. OG never managed to make Vitality work for it in the second half and could not conjure up a comeback, eventually falling 16-9.

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16-9 (Mirage) | {cflag:PL} mantuu – 1.45 Rating / 23-15 K-D / 99.8 ADR

ENCE – MAD Lions (16-11) | {cflag:PL} hades – 1.45 Rating / 25-17 K-D / 88.3 ADR

Sprout – Dignitas (12-16) | {cflag:SE} Lekr0 - 1.20 Rating / 18-18 K-D / 82.3 ADR

	30 days	90 days
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Maps count	0	0

mantuu

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