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Astralis faced scrutiny after winning just two of their first ten maps under new captain Casper “cadiaN” Møller, yet they defied expectations by defeating Natus Vincere 2-0 in the opening series of the BLAST Premier World Final.
It didn't take long to get an upset at the World Final as @AstralisCS take down @natusvincere! #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/KAaQ7pP7lw
— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) October 30, 2024
Despite Natus Vincere’s dominant Counter-Strike 2 ranking, Astralis upset the order by taking Nuke 13-6 and Mirage 13-6.
The Danes opened Nuke with a 5-0 lead, briefly interrupted by a 1vs1 clutch from Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy.
However, Martin “stavn” Lund’s triple in the second pistol round on Nuke secured their counter-terrorist side, and Astralis sustained their momentum.
The second map, Mirage, began with Natus Vincere trailing 0-4 before Astralis captured a seven-round streak, with Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard leading with a standout 2.18 rating.
Natus Vincere’s defence was unable to recover, earning just one out of seven rounds, allowing Astralis to secure an upper bracket playoff spot.
In another matchup, MOUZ bested FaZe Clan 2-0, marking their second consecutive victory over them after IEM Rio.
It took ALL of the rounds but @mousesports secure the victory today! ✅ #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/ITbX43kaGA
— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) October 30, 2024
While the match was close—with Inferno going into overtime (16-13) and Nuke ending 13-11—MOUZ’s Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin emerged as a top performer with a 1.33 rating.
Dorian “xertioN” Berman’s early impact on the pistol round and Brollan’s contributions on Nuke highlighted MOUZ’s resilience.
FaZe, led by Finn “karrigan” Andersen, made critical mistakes, including a costly Lobby crunch and failure to close a 4vs2, which ultimately set them up for a last-chance match against Natus Vincere.
In Group B, G2 Esports reversed a rough start against Team Liquid, losing Ancient 13-0, but turned the series around on Inferno, led by Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and a strong counter-terrorist side.
They overcome a dreadful first map to safe cruise the last two home 💪@G2esports takes the win vs @TeamLiquidCS!#BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/GNx7V0eER7
— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) October 30, 2024
G2 completed the comeback on Mirage, where a clutch by Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač and a seven-round streak clinched the series, putting them in the upper bracket.
Finally, Team Spirit secured their playoff spot by defeating a Vitality team missing William “mezii” Merriman and featuring stand-in Audric “JACKZ” Jug.
.@Team__Spirit takes an intense Mirage, and the match 2-0 over @TeamVitality, GG!#BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/HFrpHrSFZo
— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) October 30, 2024
Spirit, who now face G2 for a direct semi-final entry, were solid on Anubis after a shaky start and closed the second map, Mirage, in a tense final round.
Danil “donk” Kryshkovets and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut led their teams, but Spirit capitalised on Vitality’s late-round lapse to take the series 2-0.
Thursday’s World Final matches
- Natus Vincere (-200) vs FaZe Clan (+150) @ 3pm SGT
- Astralis (+137) vs MOUZ (-188.68) @ 5:30pm SGT
- Team Liquid (+150) vs Team Vitality (-200) @ 8pm SGT
- G2 Esports (-138.89) vs Team Spirit (+100) @ 10:30pm SGT
