Hot on the heels of IEM Dallas 2023, the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023 is finally here. Teams have flown from Dallas to Washington for the latest event, where they’ll battle it out over five days for their share of a $425,000 prize pool. We’re previewing the latest BLAST Premier event to see who’s in with a shot at victory.
BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023 Teams and Favorites
G2 needs to bounce back from their last few tournaments. Credit: Michał Konkol | © BLAST
Like many other BLAST Premier events, the teams are separated into two groups from the off: Group A and Group B.
Group A
The teams competing in Group A are:
Vitality
Imperial
G2 Esports
Cloud9
Coming into this group, there’s one clear favorite here: Vitality. After winning IEM Rio 2023 and the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, Vitality has been on a hot streak recently. Every time they step onto the server, they look like a well-oiled CS:GO machine and at the moment it’s tough to imagine anyone beating them. They even got to sit out IEM Dallas 2023, so they’ll be fresh and ready to take on everyone here. It would be an enormous surprise if Vitality didn’t make it out of their group. If we’re picking one winner, here and now, we’d be silly to look beyond Vitality.
But professional CS:GO comes in phases; no team knows that better than G2. Winners of the BLAST Premier World Final 2022, G2 were set for an enormous 2023 after finally winning a few Tier 1 events. Lately though, they’ve had a total crisis of faith in themselves, after a few bad tournament losses left them battered and bruised. Despite this, we’d still have them down as one of the favorites in the tournament.
Group B
In Group B, the teams are:
Heroic
Complexity
FaZe Clan
Astralis
Of course, Heroic are a favorite, as they always are. They’re a team with an absurdly high floor, but a ceiling that’s not quite high enough to get them over the line most of the time. After shocking exits to GamerLegion and MOUZ in recent tournaments, Heroic needs to quickly forget the past month to have a chance in Washington. But cadiaN is the master of restoring his team’s mentality, and we think they’ll go far in the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023.
In every tournament they compete in, FaZe are among the favorites. Looking to earn some points on the BLAST Premier World Leaderboard, FaZe shouldn’t have much trouble getting through the group. We know what they’re capable of, they just have to make sure they’re recovered from their 59-round barn burner against ENCE at IEM Dallas 2023.
BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023 Underdogs
We’re seeing a new gla1ve. Credit: Viola Schuldner | © ESL
Rooting for the underdog is always fun, and that’s why we’re excited to watch Astralis. In a group with Heroic and FaZe, the Danes have no business progressing from Group B. However, the team looks rejuvenated with Altekz now in place of Xyp9x, and they’ll be looking to prove they can still kick it with the big boys. For the first time in a while, gla1ve looks up to the demands of Tier 1 CS:GO again. Let’s see what they can muster here.
The final underdog of the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023 that can make moves is Cloud9. It’s been a very tough time for them lately, but we all know how good they are when everything is going as intended. While nothing is guaranteed, it’s the best possible time for Cloud9 to face G2. If they can avoid going immediate full-tilt, a solid Playoff run could be on the cards, and it would be just what they need right now.
BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023 Schedule
With the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023 running from June 7th to June 11th, there’s a lot of Counter-Strike to play. Here are your schedules for both groups:
Group A:
Credit: BLAST
Group B:
Credit: BLAST
Our openers to watch have to be G2 vs Cloud9, and FaZe vs Astralis.
G2 vs Cloud9 is a match between two great teams who can’t seem to do a lot right at the moment. If one of these teams can put on a good showing, it could stand them in good stead for the rest of the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023.
FaZe vs Astralis is always an exciting prospect, no matter the form or roster of either team. We know where FaZe’s level is, but it’s a great opportunity for this new-look Astralis to show how high their ceiling is now.
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