by The 2022 BLAST Premier Spring Final has been played to a conclusion, and Natus Vincere have been declared winners.
Eight teams slugged it out in the LAN event held at Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal, which kicked off on June 15. After a riveting group stage and playoffs, Team Vitality and NAVI emerged as finalists.
NAVI put together a dominating display in the grand final, showing why they were odds-on favorites across most esports betting sites. They delivered in prime fashion with a 2-0 sweep in the best-of-three series.
On Mirage, which was NAVI’s pick, they had a 10-5 lead at the half and completed the 16-8 victory shortly after. They were even better on Vitality’s map pick, Overpass, winning 16-5 to seal victory in two hours and three minutes.
Both teams had a slow start to the competition, losing their first matches. Vitality’s first loss came against European heavyweights G2 Esports, while NAVI lost to OG in Group B.
However, they both went on a tear to reach the grand finals. Vitality were the biggest surprise in the tournament, as not many expected that they would make such a deep run.
While they had impressive wins through the course of the tournament, their biggest victory was against the tournament favorites, ENCE. The Finns are the second-best CS: GO team in the world, and Vitality managed to sweep them in the quarterfinals. Vitality then exacted revenge against G2 in the semifinals, winning 2-1 to their grand-final berth.
After NAVI swept BIG in the Group B elimination game, they went on to face the No.1 team in the world, FaZe Clan. That matchup did not go as many expected. Although NAVI were the underdogs at +125 with BetOnline, they swept Faze to advance to the semifinals. It was an embarrassing loss for FaZe as they were beaten 16-1 on their own map pick, Inferno.
OG, who were responsible for NAVI’s only loss in the tournament, managed to steal one map in the semifinals. However, a 16-10 victory on Mirage gave them the edge in the series.
With their grand final victory, NAVI have become only the second team to qualify for the World Final. They also walked away with $200,000 from the US$425,000 prize pool and 4,000 BLAST Premier points.
FaZe Clan have also sealed a spot in the World Final, after winning the ESL Pro League Season 15 and the PGL Antwerp Major.
There are still six slots open for teams who put in incredible displays throughout the remainder of the season. Three teams will qualify through the global leaderboards, while the winners of the Fall Finals, ESL Pro League Season 16, and the 2022 IEM Rio Major will complete the eight-team tournament.
