BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 was a special event. The first event after one of the craziest off-season rostermanias of all time, it saw the beginning of a new era for many of the teams in attendance.
A gla1ve-less Astralis, a European NAVI, a European Liquid, and a BIG team without tabseN as IGL, many of the teams began new lives that very few would have expected for them.
With twists, turns, and results that no one could have predicted, this is the story of Fall Groups.
Group A was the only group where every team involved had made changes. Complexity would make their debut at the event with the greatest player in their regions history, EliGE, while Evil Geniuses fans would witness the very first time the former EG Black roster stepped up into the main team. As for NIP, they would enjoy the long-awaited return of their captain, hampus, while Vitality would make their first appearance with flameZ, the man who they controversially replaced dupreeh with not long after winning the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
Although NA fans may have been clamouring for a rival match between Complexity and EG, they would first have to watch their two teams against the European teams within their groups. For Complexity, it went well, EliGE starred as they took down NIP in a tight 2-1 match up. In the case of EG, however, they failed to even with ten rounds in their best of three as they were demolished by Vitality. Not a great start then…
In their second round of matches, things went from bad to worse for NA sides against Vitality. Facing off in an Upper Final, they recorded two fewer rounds than their North American brethren in a game that swiftly brought them back down to reality. EG didn’t fare much better either, despite pushing NIP close, they became the first team to be sent down to the Gauntlet with their loss to EG.
Complexity would then have to face NIP in a rematch of their opening game. A match where the opening two maps were traded back and forth, the third was well in their favour as they had a 15-10 lead on T side Nuke. As history will tell us though, it’s never that easy for NA and especially not Complexity, and they choked to concede the map and series to a 22-20 scoreline.
The final game of Group A would be contested between NIP and Vitality. Clear favourites, Vitality had dominated both of their two previous games whereas NIP had looked shaky in all three of their games. Should be an easy win for Vitality, right?
Well it wasn’t. Largely down to a massive overperformance from Brollan, the Swedish team upset the reigning Major Champions in two maps, claiming a huge scalp early on in their road to regaining relevancy.
Astralis may have been making their first appearance without gla1ve since 2016, but the main focus in Group B was on the debut of NAVI’s European roster. A lineup featuring Aleksib at another tier one organisation to leave fans scratching their heads, as well as two of the stars of the BLAST.tv Paris Major in jL and iM, the real sense of intrigue came from the fact that b1t would now be speaking English, a language in which he only knows how to say “one there” and “dead”.
Joining them would be an unchanged Heroic, and a BIG side who had promoted two academy players and brought mantuu back from the depths of FACEIT pugs.
The group opened with BIG taking on Heroic. A game in which the German side were utterly decimated, it would have been unrealistic to expect their newly formed roster to have any fate other than that against the world’s current number one team. In the other opening round game, Astralis claimed an early lead against NAVI, but a disappointing second and third map saw them fall 2-1.
The subsequent games would see Astralis lose to BIG. Having previously looked strong on Ancient, they struggled against the Germans, and faith in the new roster was low as they were sent down to the Gauntlet. NAVI also struggled, Heroic were rampant as they won the series with a clean 2-0.
With NAVI losing and BIG winning, the two teams would have to face off in the Group’s Consolidation Final. Krimbo fought valiantly, but he was powerless to prevent his team from losing 2-0 as iM and s1mple starred.
The Group’s Final would be a rematch between NAVI and Heroic, and with the new NAVI team now warmed up at the event, they put in a much better showing against their Danish rivals. The Danes would still win the series, but NAVI winning map two was a positive sign for their new roster’s future.
In the final group, Liquid’s European core would debut against FaZe and G2 teams that chose not to make a change during the off-season, as well as an OG side whose new look side had received widespread criticism coming into the event.
Liquid kicked off their new era with a win in the opening round. A game against G2, it was a statement of intent from the new side as they took down one of the best teams in the world. FaZe also opened with a win, they took down OG in two maps thanks to a strong team performance.
With wins in the opening round of matches, FaZe and Liquid would face off in the Upper Final. Another 2-1 victory for the former NA side, they continued their strong start to the event and the start to life with YEKINDAR as IGL remained positive. It went from bad to worse for OG though, they were taken down by G2 after two 16-6 maps.
Having both lost to Team Liquid, FaZe and G2 would be the two teams competing in the Group C Consolidation Final. A series in which G2 uncharacteristically struggled on Nuke, the IEM Katowice winners succumbed to FaZe 2-0.
In a rematch of their earlier game, FaZe and Liquid would return to the battlefield for the Group’s final game. A masterclass by karrigan in terms of both fragging and leading, his performances were key as FaZe won the second game between the two teams 2-0 and qualified for Fall Final.
In the first Gauntlet bracket, BIG and OG would face off for a chance to play Major champions Vitality for Fall Final status.
Albeit against weaker opposition, OG showed their best performance yet versus BIG. They opened up the series with a map win, but a fightback from their German adversaries saw them fall 2-1.
In their final game, try as they might, BIG could not topple Vitality. A team determined to not allow any more slip ups, Vitality played with the swagger of champions as they took down BIG 16-11, 16-8 to qualify for Fall Final.
Next up was Evil Geniuses vs G2, a game that almost ended with one of the most surprising results of the year. A 2-1 victory in the end for G2, they again struggled on Nuke before having to come back from a 15-10 deficit on Mirage in order to take down a team they should have easily beaten.
A result that probably knocked their confidence more than boosted it, they would then go on to suffer defeat in a close game against the new NAVI side. S1mple’s best performance at Fall Groups, it’s always going to be hard to beat NAVI when he is at his best, but failing to win a map is a worrying sign for G2.
In the final bracket, Astralis would have to play Complexity in order to go up against historic rivals Liquid to qualify for Fall Final. A game that was won in the veto, blameF made it clear he was happy with the maps they would play before a bullet had even been fired, and his dominant performance on Overpass showed why. A 2-0 victory for the Danes, Complexity never had a chance after their initial 7-2 lead on map one.
The final game of Fall Groups 2023 would be fought between two teams with more history than any others in the competition. The two best teams in the world across 2018 and 2019, it was fitting that their new beginnings would end against one another.
Considering their hugely contrasting starts to the event, many would have expected Liquid to win this game, but as history tells us, they just don’t win against Astralis. Now warmed up to the event, Astralis claimed a second successive 2-0 victory and became the final team to qualify for Fall Final.
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