Natus Vincere and Team Spirit showed different levels of dominance on Thursday, but each took advantage of their placement in winners matches to advance to the semifinals of the BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024 in London.
In Group A, NaVi outlasted FaZe Clan two maps to one with a 13-10 victory on Mirage providing the winning margin. Previously, NaVi had won 13-5 on Dust II before losing 13-9 on Nuke. Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov of Ukraine paced the winners with 51 kills, finishing plus-10.
Meanwhile in Group B, Spirit swept past Virtus.pro with an easy 13-4 win on Ancient and a closer 13-11 victory on Dust II. Danil “donk” Kryshkovets of Russia was dominant with a 41-23 kills-to-deaths differential (plus-18).
In elimination matches, Astralis downed SAW 13-6 on Dust II and 13-3 on Inferno to reach the quarters, where they’ll be paired against Virtus.pro. Team Vitality will face FaZe after beating G2 2-1. Vitality won 13-4 on Inferno, lost 13-9 on Anubis, and won 13-5 on Mirage.
Astralis, which is comprised of all Danish players, was led by Nicolai “device” Reedtz, who finished plus-23 (36-13). Vitality’s pace-setter was Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut of France, who racked up 50 kills (plus-19).
The $425,000, eight-team Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event wraps up with the grand final on Sunday. The winner takes home $200,000 and 3,200 BLAST Premier points while also qualifying for the World Final in November.
The playoffs will kick off Friday. All matches are best-of-three save the grand final, which is best-of-five. The playoffs are single elimination.
Friday’s BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024 schedule
Quarterfinals: FaZe Clan vs. Team Vitality
Quarterfinals: Virtus.pro vs. Astralis
BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024 prize structure
1st: ($200,000, 3,200 BLAST Premier points, World Final qualification)
2nd: ($85,000, 2,200)
3rd-4th: ($40,000, 1,300)
5th-6th: ($20,000, 600)
7th-8th: SAW, G2 Esports ($10,000, 400)
–Field Level Media