With the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 approaching its conclusion, we now know who’ll be competing in the final BLAST Premier Play-Ins. These games will decide who makes it to Copenhagen’s Royal Arena in November, when the BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2023 will kick off.
We’re taking a look at the upcoming BLAST CS:GO games, to see who will make it in those precious final spots.
G2 needs new ideas. Credit: Michał Konkol | © BLAST
Dangerous Times
With NIP, Heroic, and FaZe Clan’s places already secured, there are nine teams competing for the final 3 spots in the BLAST Premier Play-Ins. These teams are:
BIG
OG
G2
Evil Geniuses
Complexity
Astralis
Team Vitality
NAVI
Team Liquid
The big surprises here are G2 and Team Vitality, who have spent the majority of the year as some of the best CS:GO teams around. Vitality are in the second round, and with either OG or BIG awaiting them, should still be safe. For G2, it’s a little dicey. While they should beat Evil Geniuses handily, they would then face NAVI in the second round. In our BLAST Premier Fall Groups preview, we had NAVI down as one to watch. While two losses to Heroic leaves NAVI in this situation, their improvement has been clear and obvious so far. If that continues, G2 could be in quite a bit of trouble here.
Roster Rustiness
After the latest CS:GO roster changes, this BLAST Premier CS:GO tournament has been tough for the new teams. Of the nine in the BLAST Premier Play-Ins, only one (G2) didn’t make a single change in the offseason. And of the three already qualified, two (FaZe and Heroic) fielded the same roster as before.
NAVI’s new roster is showing promise. Credit: Michał Konkol | © BLAST
This roster rustiness is no massive surprise – teams take time to gel and learn each other’s playstyle. Of all the teams in the BLAST Premier CS:GO Play-Ins, it’s NAVI and Team Liquid that can be the most positive so far. Both look to be improving every game, and it won’t be long until they’re firing on all cylinders again.
We’re particularly concerned about Astralis and BIG. Astralis has always been home to some of the best CS:GO players in the world, but right now they look lost, even post-roster moves. Meanwhile, BIG has done very little to inspire in their recent BLAST CS:GO showings, and they’ll likely be dumped out of the competition by OG.
Schedule and Predictions
Here is the full schedule for the remaining BLAST Premier Play-Ins:
Credit: BLAST
Overall, you’d have to say it’s looking good for the trio already in round two of the BLAST Premier Play-Ins. Given the level of competition below them, it would take a miracle for a team to upset what should be a pretty straightforward set of Play-Ins.
That said, here are our predictions for the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 Play-Ins:
Elimination Bracket 1
Complexity 2:1 Astralis
Team Liquid 2:0 Complexity
Complexity has had impressive moments with EliGE so far, more so than Astralis with Staehr and b0RUP. Either way, Team Liquid’s new players in Patsi and Rainwaker look to be smart additions, which should carry them over the line.
Elimination Bracket 2
OG 2:1 BIG
Vitality 2:0 OG
Ultimately, it shouldn’t matter who makes it into the final match here – Vitality should be walking away comfortable winners.
Elimination Bracket 3
G2 2:0 Evil Geniuses
NAVI 2:1 G2
G2 should waltz past EG with ease, but the NAVI game should be the closest of these three finals. While G2 hasn’t exactly looked impressive in the tournament so far, they should still pose a massive threat to a NAVI roster still bonding.
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