radoslaw-davidovic
The BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2023 tournament has just concluded. It was an important tournament, even though it was not very large in scale. The tournament took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Royal Arena. Today, we will review the key moments of the tournament, discuss some team changes, and tell you who and how they became the champion.
In article you will find:
Fall Final 2023: Teams, Stages, and Awards
BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2023 is a relatively small tournament with a smaller viewership than other S-Tier events, but it is still very important for the teams that compete in it. Winning the tournament gives a team a solid cash prize and a ticket to BLAST Premier: World Final 2023, where the best teams of the year compete for $1,000,000.
The tournament consists of two stages: the Group Stage and the Playoffs. The Group Stage is divided into groups A and B, with four teams each. The top three teams from each group advance to the Playoffs, while the bottom team is eliminated.
The Playoffs consist of three stages: the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Grand Final. The Quarterfinals are contested by the teams that finished with a 1:1 score in the Group Stage. The Semifinals are contested by the teams that finished with a 2:0 score in the Group Stage. All teams that lose in the quarterfinals are eliminated, as there is no lower bracket.
The Grand final is contested by the two teams that have successfully advanced through the previous stages. The winner of BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2023 takes home $200,000, 3,000 BLAST Premier points, and a coveted spot at the BLAST Premier: World Final 2023.
Group Stage
The Group Stage began with the seeded teams, with eight divided into two groups of four. There, they competed for a place in the Playoffs.
Here are the teams participating in this tournament:
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Heroic
- FaZe Clan
- Team Vitality
- Natus Vincere
- Astralis
- Cloud9
- Complexity Gaming
Group A
Based on the seeding, the following teams were placed in Group A: FaZe Clan, Cloud9, Natus Vincere, and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
FaZe performed well in the group stage, first defeating NiP 2:0 (Vertigo 13:6, Nuke 13:9) and then Cloud9 in a close match, 2:1 (Overpass 11:13, Ancient 13:2, Anubis 19:15). Cloud9 showed very confident play against their two opponents but only managed to defeat NAVI 2:1 (Anubis 13:11, Ancient 9:13, Inferno 13:9).
NAVI also secured one win from two matches, defeating NiP 2:0 (Overpass 13:11, Mirage 13:6). Ninjas in Pyjamas was the only team in the group not to win a match, but they showed good play, and hopefully, we will see more from them in the future.
Let’s move on to the Group B.
Group B
Based on the seeding, the following teams were placed in Group B: Vitality, Complexity, Heroic, Astralis.
The leader of Group B was Vitality, who quite easily defeated their first opponent, Heroic, with a 2:0 score (Nuke 13:6, Inferno 13:9). After that, the French team met with their next opponent, Complexity. Vitality defeated their opponent with a 2:1 score (Anubis 13:2, Nuke 13:16, Inferno 13:7).
Complexity played against Astralis in their first match. There was a very interesting and intense battle. Still, Complexity proved slightly stronger and managed to win with a 2:0 score (Ancient 13:9, Overpass 16:12). In the second match, Complexity lost to Vitality with a 1:2 score.
Heroic’s fortunes mirrored those of Complexity. Heroic also managed to defeat their first opponent, Astralis, 2:0 (Vertigo 13:8, Overpass 16:13), but the following were Vitality, who left them no chance.
Astralis was not lucky this time. They were twice a millimeter away from victory but could not get it. We hope the team will make some conclusions and show us a better game in the next tournament.
Now, we move on to the Quarterfinals of this tournament.
Quarterfinals
The Quarterfinals kicked off on November 24 with two matches between four teams: Complexity vs Natus Vincere and Cloud9 vs Heroic. The teams battled for a spot in the Semifinals, knowing the loser would be eliminated.
Complexity vs Natus Vincere
The first map was Anubis, picked by the Ukrainian team. They confidently started as terrorists, taking the first five rounds, and generally felt comfortable on this map. However, Complexity is a very experienced team. They were able to stop the dominance of NAVI and even began to increase their dominance, but thanks to Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy, NAVI took an important round and won the first map.
Then, things went wrong for NAVI. On Overpass, picked by Complexity, Natus Vincere is helpless and cannot oppose the enormous pressure from EliGE and his team. The second map was almost one-sided, and Complexity easily won the map, tying the series at 1:1.
The decisive map was Nuke, previously one of NAVI’s signature maps, but after many changes in the roster and the replacement of “s1mple”, many were interested to see how the team is playing on this map now.
The new NAVI roster was able to show a good game on Nuke, but in some moments, their unpreparedness was visible. Still, even in such a situation, the Ukrainians were able to give a fight to the opponent. In the 16th round, the teams had the same score of 8:8, and the chances were almost equal, but EliGE was too strong on this map. He almost made two kills in every round and took away all chances of victory for Natus Vincere.
Cloud9 vs Heroic
The second Quarterfinal match was not as thrilling as the first, but it was still worth watching.
On the first map, Nuke, Heroic did not play as well as they could have. Perhaps they were tired from their previous match, or Cloud9 simply outplayed them. Whatever the reason, Cloud9 was able to take the map 13:11.
The second map of the series was Inferno, picked by Cloud9. They confidently started in the first half of the map, playing as terrorists. Cloud9 was able to take nine rounds out of twelve, which made the game in the second half almost a 100% victory.
That is exactly what happened, and Cloud9 did not need to do much to win many rounds. They played aggressively on the CT side several times and caught their opponent off guard, taking a fairly easy victory of 13:5.
The time has come for the Semifinals.
Semifinals
The victors of the preliminary round, Cloud9, and Complexity, moved on to the Semifinals, where they were met by FaZe and Vitality, who had both won their groups with a perfect 2:0 score. Both matches were tense and interesting, so if you support one of these teams, we recommend watching the replays.
FaZe Clan vs Complexity
The first map, Anubis, was a wild ride. At first, FaZe showed crazy play as terrorists, giving no chance to the opponent, taking round after round, closing the first half with a 10:2 score. However, Complexity is a tough nut to crack, but the team refused to give up and showed that they could also play this map.
Complexity almost managed to make an incredible comeback. From a score of 10:2, they went to 12:10, but FaZe still managed to rally and were able to take this map.
Nuke was already not as interesting. Complexity played well and confidently took round after round, closing the first half with an 8:4 score and then closing the map with a 13:5 score.
The deciding map was Ancient. The first six rounds of the first half were equal for the teams, as the score was 3:3. Still, FaZe, in the 7th round, could turn the game in their favor. They won each next round until the end of the first half, turning the score to 9:3.
The second half was a bit more tense for FaZe, but not as much as in the first or second map. Thanks to the large score in the first half, FaZe only needed four rounds to win, which they simply did. Faze closed the map with a 13:7 score and advanced to the Grand Final.
Team Vitality vs Cloud9
The next match was also close, with both teams fighting hard for victory on one of the maps, even with overtime. We will now discuss this in more detail.
Mirage is a rather interesting map on which it is difficult to say who will win at any moment. It is exactly what these two teams showed us. Cloud9 started strong, winning the first three rounds, but Vitality received a defeat bonus, bought devices, and showed what they were capable of. The first half ended with Vitality in front, 7:5.
After switches sides, Vitality played as terrorists and successfully took the first two rounds. Then Cloud9 joined the game and took a few rounds in a row. So they fought back and tied the game at 12:12, meaning the overtime series was beginning. However, it was quite short because Vitality gave themselves to the maximum and quickly won with a 16:13 score.
The second map was Nuke, picked by Cloud9 and showed good confidence and measured play on it. In the first half of the map, the teams showed a close game, finishing it with a 6:6 score. However, in the second half, when Cloud9 switched to the terrorist side, they showed good tactical play, took the first four rounds, went to a 10:6 score, and soon finished the second map with their victory.
On the third map, Inferno, Vitality started on the CT side. They took the first four rounds, which proved decisive in the second half. However, more on that later. The teams played the first half reasonably evenly, ending it 7:5 in favor of Vitality.
However, the second half was difficult for the French team as Cloud9 started to take rounds. They tied the score and continued to win and win, eventually reaching an 11:9 score in their favor. But Vitality could still turn the tide and win the decisive map 13:11, just one step away from defeat.
Now, let’s move on to the most interesting part of the tournament – the Grand Final.
Grand Final
In the Grand Final, two titans of eSports, Vitality and FaZe, squared off. They showed good results on their way to the Grand Final, so expectations were high.
Vertigo
For FaZe, Vertigo was a real disappointment. Despite winning the first round, Vitality played superbly and rolled over their opponents like a steamroller in the first half, winning 9:3. If you thought that anything would change after the sides switched, you were wrong. Vitality dominated after the switch and easily closed the map with a 13:3 victory.
Nuke
FaZe’s hopes rested on their signature map, Nuke.
Starting the game as terrorists, FaZe failed to take the first three rounds. However, once they earned some money, they were able to start winning. From 0:3, they quickly went to 3:3 and reached 7:3 in their favor. It was clear that they picked Nuke for a reason. However, in the 11th round, Vitality stopped the opponent a bit and tied the 7:5 score.
The side switch for FaZe was a real test, as they were facing Vitality, who were playing as terrorists and a formidable opponent. The second half started with Vitality tied the 7:7 score, and now the chances were equal for both teams.
And it seemed like everything was fine for FaZe. They had money and took the next round, but the 16th round was decisive for them. Vitality gained a large economic advantage and had a chance to make several mistakes, which FaZe no longer had. It played the most important role on this map. FaZe did not have the money to buy good devices for the important round, and Vitality could win thanks to good tactics and good play.
Congratulations to Vitality on their stunning victory at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2023! In the meantime, we invite you to enjoy the tournament highlights we have compiled for you.
Highlights
To Sum Up!
The tournament was challenging and exciting, and Vitality secured its ticket to the BLAST Premier: World Final 2023, which will kick off on December 13. It means enjoying the teams’ play and cheering for our favorite team before the New Year.
Stay tuned with us, and keep up with all the latest news and events.
Radosław Davidović is Hellcase’s customer success manager. He enjoys blogging to share his knowledge and experience with customers.