BLAST Premier World Final: Astralis, MOUZ, G2, and Spirit start Group Stage strong

Image: BLAST

Astralis notably kicked things off with a bang by scoring a massive upset over tournament favourites NAVI.

The Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) BLAST Premier: World Final 2024 in Singapore kicked off on Wednesday (October 30) with the opening matches of its two-day Group Stage. Astralis, MOUZ, G2 Esports, and Team Spirit started their campaigns strong as they defeated Natus Vincere (NAVI), FaZe Clan,Team Liquid, and Team Vitality, respectively, to guarantee themselves a spot in the Playoffs.

Here's how all the action went down on day one of the BLAST Premier: World Final 2024 Group Stage:

Group A

Natus Vincere0-2Astralis

Astralis started the Group Stage with a bang as they pulled off a massive upset over tournament favourites NAVI, who have been far and away the most dominant team this year. With Astralis still adjusting to the recent addition of Casper “cadiaN” Møller as in-game leader, many expected NAVI to make short work of them. Instead, the Danish squad soundly swept their opponents to punch their tickets to the Playoffs.

The first map of the series in Nuke saw Astralis on the T side start off strong by winning the first five rounds, though NAVI managed to narrow their lead down to 7-5 to end the first half. The Danes then entered the second half with all guns blazing, picking up another five-round streak to start the half before closing out the map with a convincing 13-6 lead.

NAVI had a better start in game two at Mirage by winning the first four rounds as the T side, but Astralis were quick to strike back with seven-straight rounds to enter the side switch up 7-5 once again. And just like the second half in Nuke, Astralis had another five-round streak that allowed them to claim another 13-6 win and secure the 2-0 sweep over NAVI. 

FaZe Clan0-2MOUZ

The second series of the day saw two familiar foes in FaZe and MOUZ face off once again. While FaZe had dominated this matchup for most of the year, MOUZ emerged victorious in a 2-0 sweep to prove this rivalry was no longer one-sided.

The opening map at Inferno saw a resilient MOUZ squad outlast FaZe in overtime, 16-13, to claim their first win of the series. MOUZ on the CT side were leading in the first half, 7-5, before FaZe mirrored that score in the second half to force the map to overtime. While FaZe won the first overtime round, MOUZ racked off four-straight to close out Inferno with the hard-fought win.

Game two at Nuke started off much like Inferno, with MOUZ on the T side up 7-5 after the first half. FaZe looked like they could force another overtime showdown after getting as close as 12-11 in round 23, but a surgical performance in round 24 by MOUZ gave them the 13-11 win in Nuke and the 2-0 series victory.

Group B

G2 Esports2-1Team Liquid

The action then moved over to Group B with the G2-Liquid matchup becoming the only series to go to three games. G2 managed to bounce back from getting absolutely demolished in game one and trouncing Liquid in the next two maps to claim the 2-1 series victory.

Not much can be said about game one in Ancient, other than the fact that Liquid on the CT side pulled off a perfect 13-0 win over a seemingly hapless G2 squad. 

Despite what should have been a demoralising loss in game one, G2 showed they would not go down so easily as they forced Liquid into a 6-6 to end the first half of map two in Inferno. G2 then seemingly woke up in the second half, as they racked off seven-straight rounds as the CT side to claim the 13-6 win and tie up the series at 1-1.

The decider in Mirage followed a very similar script to Inferno's, with both sides in a 6-6 deadlock by halftime. G2 then flipped the switch in the second half with a seven-round streak to secure another 13-6 win and the 2-1 series victory.

Team Vitality2-1Team Spirit

Despite being the defending BLAST Premier world champions, many saw Vitality as a bit of an underdog in this year's tournament as they could not compete with their full roster. Rifler William “mezii” Merriman elected to skip the event in order to be present for the birth of his child, with Vitality tapping Audric “JACKZ” Jug to stand-in as a result. Spirit took full advantage of their opponents' predicament as they cruised to a comfortable 2-0 series victory.

Game one in Anubis saw Vitality on the T side surprisingly end the first half with a 7-5 lead. However, Spirit stopped messing around after halftime by racking up six-straight rounds to eventually claim the 13-9 win in Anubis.

Spirit then had the stronger start in the second map at Mirage, finishing the first half with a 7-5 lead as the CT side. While Vitality managed to keep things close and tie up the score at 10-10 after round 20, a 3-1 run by Spirit to close out the map eventually allowed them to secure the 2-0 series sweep.

With the day's results, Astralis and MOUZ of Group A as well as G2 and Spirit of Group B have all earned a spot in the Playoffs and advanced to their respective group's Winners Matches. The victors of those matches will earn a direct berth to the semifinals for the Playoffs.

Meanwhile, NAVI and FaZe of Group A as well as Liquid and Vitality of Group B dropped to their respective group's Elimination Matches. The winners of those matches will earn the last two spots in the Playoffs while the losers will be facing an early exit from the tournament.

The BLAST Premier World Final 2024 features eight of the best CS2 teams in the world fighting for their cut of a $1 million prize pool, taking place from October 30 to November 3 at the Resorts World Convention Centre in Sentosa, Singapore. For everything you need to know about the BLAST Premier World Final 2024, check here.