Cloud9: A chance to take revenge on Dallas at the BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2023

BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2023, the second tournament for first-tier teams after the majors, kicks off June 7 in Washington, D.C. Eight teams, including Cloud9, FaZe Clan, Heroic and G2 Esports, will compete for a spot in the BLAST Premier: World Final 2023 and a $425,000 prize pool.

The tournament seems predictable at first glance, with Vitality competing. However, in addition to Dana Madeskler’s lineup, four of the world’s strongest teams according to HLTV.org will play in Washington. Natus Vincere, who could not come to the event because of visa problems, was REPLACED by Complexity Gaming, which is rarely feared by fans of the “grands”. However, BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 and IEM Dallas 2023 have already shown that underdogs cannot be written off.

We will discuss all of the contenders to win Team Vitality’s first tournament since its Dominance in the last CS:GO majors in this Cybersport.ru article.

Team Vitality is the top favorite

After winning two tournaments in a row Mathieu ZywOo Herbaugh’s club went on a short vacation: since May 21 the team has not played a single official match on the professional stage. After the failure at the IEM Rio Major 2022, the Vitality members repeatedly noted that they began to treat the preparation for the tournaments more responsibly, as well as the rest in order to evenly distribute their energy.

Heroic – time to learn how to win tournaments

Over the past nine months, Heroic has been in the top-8 at every tournament. The team is known for its stability, which almost no other teer-1 team has. Kasper cadiaN Moeller has proven more than once that he can get his team out of the most stalemate situations, even with an often antagonistic public at LAN tournaments.

G2 Esports is a hidden threat

G2 Esports is going through a crisis. The team’s results, as well as the mood of the players, can be seen on the webcams, speak for that. The team’s departure from the Legends Stage in the majors was difficult: in an interview, Nikola NiKo Kovac said with despair that he “didn’t deserve to win any of the majors,” while Rasmus HooXi Nielsen was once again subjected to a barrage of criticism.

Cloud9 – a chance for revenge

Cloud9 is in a similar situation to G2, but its problems are slightly different. The team still shows excellent results online (that’s why it’s still in the top 10), but on LAN it seems that all its magic disappears. In Washington, the team will again have the opportunity to try themselves as a “home” team, winning the heart of the crowd.

The other four are a potential problem.

BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2023 is probably one of the most interesting events in terms of underdog form. Astralis, which showed its strength at IEM Dallas 2023, once again makes us take it with full seriousness. Nor should we forget about FaZe Clan, who earned a million dollars for the Intel Grand Slam this year.

The first match at the IEM Katowice 2023 Play-In will begin as early as June 7 at 17:00 Moscow time. Vitality and Imperial will play in the opening match (all matches will be in bo3 format). The winner will be one step away from making the playoffs.