FURIA beat Vitality again: BLAST Rivals Hong Kong group stage recap

BLAST.tv

January 01, 1970

12:00 AM

Struggling with the timezone for BLAST Rivals Hong Kong or just too busy to watch? Well don't worry, we've got all the action here for you right here.

From the early exits of the two Asian teams to FURIA's latest reminder that they are now the top dogs in Counter-Strike, the Group Stage was a banger, so strap in.

The MongolZ disappoint in Group A

The MongolZ may have been weakened with the departure of Senzu, but we still don't expect them to exit any tournament in last place.

Their time in Hong Kong was short, though, first falling in three maps to NA team Passion UA (yeah, we're still not used to it either) before being dumped out of the competition by Spirit.

The biggest talking point of the Group, surprisingly, was Passion UA. Given that it's been a month since their last official game, no one knew what to expect from the former Complexity boys, but their showings thus far in Rivals have filled people with confidence for their run at the upcoming StarLadder Budapest Major.

Pitted against Falcons in the Group A winners game, Passion UA more than took the fight to the titans on the server, losing 2-0 after two incredibly close maps and heading into the playoffs with their heads held high.

As for Falcons, they're yet to drop a map yet here in Hong Kong. Dominant against Spirit after successfully nullifying donk, they might not have been at their best against Passion UA, but very few teams in the world can stop them when m0NESY is pulling off clutches like this.

FURIA on top in Group B

When it comes to Group B there's one team that has to be talked about first, your favourite CS team's favourite CS team: FURIA.

FURIA are a team whose upwards trajectory doesn't seem to be coming to a halt anytime soon, and after edging out a Brazilian derby versus paiN in their opener, they topped their group with another win over Vitality in a banger of a group final.

It took all three maps and some big plays from everyone on the team, but FURIA proved why they're the current number on team on Inferno, sending Vitality into a perilous quarter-final against Spirit thanks to a 13-5 scoreline.

At the other end of the group was TYLOO, who were unlucky to lose against Vitality in their opener, and paiN.

In the end, it was experience that won out in that match, with BLAST.tv Austin Major semi-finalists paiN managing to get the better of the Chinese team thanks to clutches like this one from snow.

They'll now face Passion UA in the quarter-finals, giving them a strong chance to book themselves a rematch versus FURIA in the semis.