{"id":8516,"date":"2023-07-12T20:34:51","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T20:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/news\/cs-2\/blast-premier-fall-groups-preview-which-teams-will-top-their-group"},"modified":"2023-07-12T20:34:51","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T20:34:51","slug":"blast-premier-fall-groups-preview-which-teams-will-top-their-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/blast-premier-fall-groups-preview-which-teams-will-top-their-group\/","title":{"rendered":"BLAST Premier Fall Groups Preview: Which teams will top their group?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the second half of the 2023 Counter-Strike season opens in Copenhagen with the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, BLIX goes over the key players and teams to watch for in each group.<\/p>\n

As Vitality’\u0099s unexpected triumph on home soil at the BLAST Paris Major gave way to the traditional post-Major summer shuffle, the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene is now ready for a fresh start, with a number of high-profile moves rarely seen in the game’\u0099s recent history. With CS2 and the transition on the horizon, all but three of the teams present in the Danish capital (Heroic, FaZe and G2) will battle it out with a different roster from the one they started their 2023 with. Between talent pipelines and star-studded quintets, NA’\u0099s last hope and a plethora of international teams, BLAST Premier Fall Groups will be an event to keep an eye on!<\/p>\n

Group A: Vitality, Evil Geniuses, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Complexity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The first group of the event is headlined by current Major title holders Vitality, who will debut with their new signing Shahar ‘\u009cflameZ’\u009d Shushan. Coming into the French outfit after two years on perennial underdogs OG, the young Israeli rifler will have big shoes to fill as he takes the place of five-time Major champion Peter ‘\u009cdupreeh’\u009d Rasmussen. While doubts have been raised over the entry fragger’\u0099s consistency against elite teams, and he doesn’\u0099t seem like a natural fit in the Dane’s roles, his addition might prove vital to allow Vitality to take the fight to other ‘\u009csuperteams’\u009d and retain the Paris crown.<\/p>\n

Taking on the French-Danish-Israeli mixture in the opening match will be NA representative Evil Geniuses, who decided to overhaul their roster after a dreadful first half of the year. As multiple deals for international players fell through, the Seattle-based organization will be relying on their famed and often mocked ‘\u009ctalent pipeline<\/a>‘\u009d for their attempt to return to the upper echelons of the scene. Partnering a resurgent Timothy ‘\u009cautimatic’\u009d Ta will be Paytyn ‘\u009cjunior’\u009d Johnson, Jeorge ‘\u009cJeorge’\u009d Endicott, Jadan ‘\u009cHexT’\u009d Postma and IGL Colby ‘\u009cWalco’\u009d Walsh. The lineup is not particularly inspiring on paper, but autimatic’\u0099s experience and peaks from junior and Jeorge could get more established teams to pay attention.<\/p>\n

\"HexT HexT and junior will be looking to rebound after disappointing in their previous tier-one stints (Image Credits ESL | Adela Sznajder)<\/span><\/div>\n

NIP come into the event looking for a fresh start after having ended the ill-fated Aleksi ‘\u009cAleksib’\u009d Virolainen experiment, but without renouncing their new international identity. The big news for the Ninjas is Hampus ‘\u009champus’\u009d Poser returning to action in the In-Game Leader role, which saw him shine across 2021 and 2022. His comeback might, however, not be as straightforward as expected, as his new partnership with Ludvig ‘\u009cBrollan’\u009d Brolin and Kristian ‘\u009ck0nfig’\u009d Wienecke will consolidate an extremely aggressive rifling trio potentially prone to overextensions on the offensive side.<\/p>\n

Finally, their opponents in Complexity have come out of the shuffle reinforced by the signing of five-time HLTV Top20 player Jonathan ‘\u009cEliGE’\u009d Jablonowski. As Jason Lake’\u0099s organization is now NA’\u0099s last hope for a high-level quintet for the foreseeable future, Johnny ‘\u009cJT’\u009d Theodosiou will have the tough job of returning EliGE to his incredible 2019-2020 peaks. However, while roles are of no major concern and Norwegian import H\u00c3\u00a5kon ‘\u009challzerk’\u009d Fj\u00c3\u00a6rli has proven capable of quality performances in high-pressure scenarios, the addition of EliGE won’\u0099t do much if the existing core cannot solve its consistency issues.<\/p>\n

Our verdict<\/strong>: Vitality seems poised to take the group with minimal trouble, with their main competition for the first spot coming in the form of a NIP showing up to Copenhagen with many questions and few answers. Don’\u0099t count out Complexity, however, as the NA outfit will be looking for positive signs in their opening best-of-three against the Swedish organization and might make a solid run for the second qualifying spot over EG.<\/p>\n

Group B: Heroic, BIG, NAVI, Astralis<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Group B houses the current world’s #1 Heroic, one of the three teams coming into the BLAST event without a roster change to their name. Before the summer break, Casper ‘\u009ccadiaN’\u009d M\u00c3\u00b8ller’\u0099s quintet was peaking thanks to Jakob ‘\u009cjabbi’\u009d Nygaard’\u0099s exceptional form and Rasmus ‘\u009csjuush’\u009d Beck potentially developing into the world’\u0099s best support player. The Danes’\u0099 Major dream was cut short once again, however, as they collapsed in a 1-2 loss to GamerLegion in the Paris semifinals. Having taken the title at BLAST Premier Spring Final over Vitality, Heroic will start the second half of the year in good form and ready to take the next step.<\/p>\n

Their round-one opponents will be BIG, the German organization shifting away from communicating in their native language for the second time in their history after signing Mateusz ‘\u009cmantuu’\u009d Wilczewski. While this won’\u0099t be an obstacle for the ever-reliable Johannes ‘\u009ctabseN’\u009d Wodarz, the additions of Elias ‘\u009cs1n’\u009d Stein and David ‘\u009cprosus’\u009d Hesse from the academy team haven’\u0099t been met with much excitement, as both had only marginally shined in their time in the lower circuit. With many doubts surrounding the lineup, and especially Florian ‘\u009csyrsoN’\u009d Rische’\u0099s departure, all weight will be on Karim ‘\u009cKrimbo’\u009d Moussa’\u0099s young shoulders.<\/p>\n

\"BIG BIG will reach Copenhagen aiming to rebuild around their star IGL tabseN. (Image Credits: ESL | Adela Sznajder)<\/span><\/div>\n

The third and potentially most exciting team in the group is NAVI, the Ukrainian organization shifting away from a CIS lineup for the first time in their history by securing the aforementioned Aleksib and two Paris Major stars in Mihai ‘\u009ciM’\u009d Ivan and Justinas ‘\u009cjL’\u009d Lekavicius. This roster is the product of extremely smart recruiting, with an aggressive star in the Romanian rifler and two passive elements in Valeriy ‘\u009cb1t’\u009d Vakhovskiy and jL, who can also operate as the team’\u0099s secondary AWPer. Aleksib now has all the necessary pieces to return to the top of the Counter-Strike scene, but it will probably take time for the puzzle to be completed.<\/p>\n

Last but not least, Danish giants Astralis return to action with an inspired revamped lineup, taking on Oleksandr ‘\u009cs1mple’\u009d Kostyliev’\u0099s men in their opening matchup. Now free from Lukas ‘\u009cgla1ve’\u009d Rossander’\u0099s disappointing calling and Andreas ‘\u009cXyp9x’\u009d H\u00c3\u00b8jsleth’\u0099s dwindling form, the organization has rebuilt around Benjamin ‘\u009cblameF’\u009d Bremer’\u0099s leadership. The new IGL will also have to do less of the heavy lifting, as the organization has tried to compensate for his weaknesses with aggressive rifler Victor ‘\u009cStaehr’\u009d Staehr. Rounding out the roster is Johannes ‘\u009cb0rup’\u009d Borup, a jack-of-all-trades support who can hold his weight in the fragging department, leaving Astralis with a promising core.<\/p>\n

Our verdict<\/strong>: Heroic and NAVI are the heavy favorites to advance, with the Danes more likely to come out on top and continue their period of strong form. Aleksib’\u0099s men will be interested in testing their game against some of the world’\u0099s best and making sure all the pieces fit, but they shouldn’\u0099t be bothered by an upset-happy, although still rebuilding Astralis and an uninspiring BIG.<\/p>\n

Group C: FaZe, OG, G2, Liquid<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The third group opens with FaZe, whose last permanent roster move is still Robin ‘\u009cropz’\u009d Kool’\u0099s addition over a year and a half ago, as the superteam is one of the strongest quintets ever assembled in CS:GO. 2023 has nonetheless been a disappointing year for Finn ‘\u009ckarrigan’\u009d Andersen’\u0099s men, taking home a single title at ESL Pro League Season 17 and even almost missing out on the BLAST Paris Major. As these struggles were attributed to issues with the mental side<\/a> of CS, the summer break could mean we see a refreshed FaZe and especially Russel ‘\u009cTwistzz’\u009d Van Dulken in Copenhagen, spelling trouble for all teams in Group C.<\/p>\n

The international quintet will have a relatively easy first-round matchup against OG, who have just come out of their fourth rebuild in as many years in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene. Again led by Nemanja ‘\u009cnexa’\u009d Isakovi\u00c4\u0087, potentially as good an IGL as they could have gotten in the shuffle, the Danish organization lost their star AWPer in Abdul ‘\u009cdegster’\u009d Gasanov and replaced him with talented Romanian prospect Iulian ‘\u009cregali’\u009d Harj\u00c4\u0083u. Where the team falls short is in its rifling department, with Nils ‘\u009ck1to’\u009d Gruhne, Maciej ‘\u009cF1KU’\u009d Miklas and Dion ‘\u009cFASHR’\u009d Derksen having no evident role distribution and, unless the Dutchman returns to his ECSTATIC form, no clear star.<\/p>\n

\"Replacing Replacing degster will be no easy feat for Romanian prospect regali, but his talent is undeniable (Image Credits: ESL | Adela Sznajder)<\/span><\/div>\n

The third and final team without changes to speak of is G2, who limited themselves to confirming ad-interim coach Jan ‘\u009cSwani’\u009d M\u00c3\u00bcller in the off-season. The roster failed to meet the high expectations set for it in the first half of the year, taking the crown at IEM Katowice but only reaching a single top-four after February. While the team’\u0099s twin stars, Nikola ‘\u009cNiKo’\u009d Kova\u00c4\u008d and Ilya ‘\u009cm0NESY’\u009d Osipov, have continued to perform admirably, G2 have both failed to challenge the likes of Vitality, Heroic and FaZe and become the subject of many upsets. If results don’\u0099t trend upward soon, a change could be on the cards, seeing as trigger-happy as the organization has been in recent years.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the event is Team Liquid, once NA’\u0099s best-ever team in CS:GO, who will field a European majority roster for the first time in their history. The shuffle wasn’\u0099t entirely positive for the team; however, they secured a strong replacement for EliGE through Spirit star Robert ‘\u009cPatsi’\u009d Isyanov but chose not to pursue any IGL after Nicholas ‘\u009cnitr0’\u009d Cannella left the organization. Mareks ‘\u009cYEKINDAR’\u009d Ga\u00c4\u00bcinskis will retain leadership duties, hoping his aggressive space-taking style won’\u0099t clash with Patsi’\u0099s entry-focused one, while passive rifling roles will be handed to Bulgarian prospect Aleks ‘\u009cRainwaker’\u009d Petrov, a choice which came out of left field even for most tier-two enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

Our verdict<\/strong>: FaZe and G2 are almost equally matched and poised to qualify, but neither have shown to be consistent in their pre-break outings and can be more easily studied by the opposition as they haven’\u0099t made any changes. If someone is to capitalize on their potential stumbles, that’\u0099s likely to be Liquid, as OG has to figure itself out before thinking of challenging elite teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the second half of the 2023 Counter-Strike season opens in Copenhagen with the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, BLIX goes over the key players and teams to watch for in each group. As Vitality’\u0099s unexpected triumph on home soil at the BLAST Paris Major gave way to the traditional post-Major summer shuffle, the Counter-Strike: Global<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":8517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[206],"class_list":{"0":"post-8516","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cs-2","8":"tag-blast-premier-fall-2023"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}