We’ve arrived at the conclusion of the first CS:GO tournament after the mid-season break, with the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023. Plenty was at stake, including a place in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2023 in Copenhagen’s Royal Arena.
Here’s the list of teams that qualified when all was said and done on the server:
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Heroic
FaZe Clan
Team Vitality
NAVI
Astralis
Growing Pains
It was to be expected, but some of the active participants of the CS:GO roster changes saw some serious growing pains at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023. Liquid were the main culprit. After winning their openers against G2 and FaZe, it looked great initially for the new EU team. Patsi and Rainwaker looked to be great fits, making a seamless transition to Tier-1 CS:GO. Afterward, losses to FaZe and Astralis ensured their Fall Finals dream will have to wait for the Fall Showdown for now. That said, there are positives for Liquid to take here.
Not every team had a dream start. Credit: Michał Konkol | © BLAST
Complexity were another team plagued with similar issues. Now spearheaded by legendary NA rifler EliGE, hopes were high for the team. Ultimately, they never really got going here, and arguably Complexity even looked worse than before. We’re sure they’ll iron out some of the issues going forward, but early signs are inked with worry.
Some Things Never Change
While the newer rosters struggled, it was those that stuck with their current players that prospered at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023. G2 aside, both Heroic and FaZe put in some great performances that saw them top Group B and Group C respectively.
Credit: Michał Konkol | © BLAST
It would have been easy for the new rosters to find themselves in a honeymoon period to beat the known quantities. However, the quality on display was simply too much. In Heroic’s case, it was a win over BIG, and two victories of the new-look NAVI CS:GO roster that saw them through. Meanwhile, FaZe saw off OG, G2, and Liquid to secure their place in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2023. FaZe’s run was perhaps the more impressive of the two, given they recently lost their coach RobbaN out of nowhere.
While the newer rosters will likely take time to gel, it’s good to see the established teams continuing to prosper.
Surprise Packages
Amidst all the action, there were a few surprise packages of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023. The main one we want to highlight is Astralis. After dropping Altekz and legendary IGL gla1ve, much was made of the pickups of Staehr and b0RUP. Both performed admirably on their debut, offering hope to fans that Astralis could finally be back. Only time will tell if that’s the case.
Astralis were one of the surprise packages. Credit: Astralis
We also want to give credit to Evil Geniuses. It seems odd to praise a team that lost every single game they played, but they looked a LOT better than anyone expected. The revamped roster certainly looks much better than it did a few months ago. There are lessons to be learned in defeat, and EG have a lot of positives they can take from the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023.
Individual Brilliance
The BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 had an unusual standard of individual brilliance on display. Of course, at this level of competitive CS:GO there are always going to be some ridiculous plays, but these were particularly memorable this time around
When rain is AWPing, something crazy’s happening. Credit: FaZeEsports on Twitter
At the center of it all was broky, who came just a single kill away from one of the greatest Deagle aces of all time. The speed and precision of his flicks were simply absurd, and it was HooXi who put a stop to it with an impressive 1v3.
Such was the degree of crazy individual plays, that the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 even saw a rain AWP kill!
It was just the 127th of his career, which spans back ten years now. When rain is getting an AWP kill, that’s how you know there are some really crazy things happening on the server.
All hope is not lost for the teams that didn’t qualify from here. They’ll now get another opportunity to qualify for the BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2023 at the Fall Showdown, which takes place in October of this year.
Now, all of the attention moves to IEM Cologne 2023, which promises to be one of the biggest competitive CS:GO tournaments of the year.
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