Natus Vincere have completed a run through the lower bracket to top Group B at the BLAST Premier CS:GO Spring Series. Coming off a Grand Final appearance at ICE Challenge 2020, the CIS squad quickly bounced back from a day one loss. Taking down Vitality, Astralis, and peak-form Complexity, NaVi claim their group’s top seed heading into the BLAST Premier Spring Final in June.
NaVi kicked off day one with an opening match against Vitality. The battle between Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut began on Vitality’s pick of Inferno, where the French side took a 16-12 victory. The series then went to Dust2, Richard “shox” Papillon leading Vitality to a 16-9 win, sending NaVi to the loser’s bracket.
Day one’s second match brought a much-anticipated first LAN showing from Complexity’s new European-majority roster, taking on Danish powerhouse Astralis. Astralis’s early lead on Dust2 quickly dwindled as Complexity fought back, the EU-NA juggernaut eventually taking a 16-11 win on their own map choice. The brawl continued on Vertigo, where Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke and 16-year-old Owen “oBo” Schlatter powered Complexity to an unexpected 2-0 upset.
Astralis met NaVi in the lower bracket on day two, and started the series off strong with a 16-6 win on NaVi’s own pick of Train. The two then met on Nuke, dynamic duo s1mple and Denis “electronic” Sharipov each dropping 26 kills to even up the series score. Inferno stood as a classic final fighting ground, NaVi completing a jaw-dropping comeback to take the map 16-14.
The upper bracket continued on day two as Complexity looked for another upset win over Vitality. CoL brought their day-one heat on Mirage, taking a 9-6 lead on their offensive half and closing out the map 16-10. Their form continued on Vitality’s choice of Inferno, the multinational squad taking a dominant 16-5 victory to secure their spot in the BLAST Premier Spring Final.
NaVi once again took on Vitality in the final day’s first match. Feeling renewed from their day one showing, NaVi found a 16-12 win on Inferno, powered by Egor “flamie” Vasilyev’s 27 kills. The CIS side took a 10-5 halftime lead on Dust2, and claimed the series with a 16-6 map victory. NaVi then moved on to face Complexity in the Group B Final.
Complexity’s dream run seemed to fall short as the final series began on Train, NaVi taking a 10-5 T-side lead. The European-American mix found five rounds in the second half, merely teasing a comeback before NaVi secured map one 16-10. The series next went to Complexity’s choice of Mirage, NaVi once again taking a strong halftime lead. NaVi’s offensive side was met with a fight, though the CIS squad took the map victory 16-9.
NaVi take home the $50,000 first-place prize, and will join Complexity at the BLAST Premier Spring Final in Moscow, Russia, in June. Vitality and Astralis are knocked down to the BLAST Showdown.
