CS2: Group A favorites kick off BLAST Open Fall qualifier with wins

FaZe Clan kicked off their BLAST Open Fall campaign with a nail-biting three-map victory over ECSTATIC on Wednesday, marking the debut of their newest Counter-Strike signing, Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski.

The result kept Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s squad in the upper bracket of Group A in the closed qualifier, but the headlines were split between a flawless Dust2 showing and jcobbb’s muted first outing.

The match opened on Overpass, where FaZe looked comfortable early with a 10-5 halftime lead. Momentum shifted quickly, though, as William “sirah” Kjærsgaard strung together nine kills across two rounds to spark ECSTATIC’s comeback.

Eight straight rounds sealed a 13-10 win for the Danes, handing FaZe their third defeat on the map since it returned to the map pool.

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  Fast Payouts

Dust2 was an entirely different affair. FaZe delivered a perfect 13-0 thrashing, dominating both halves with highlight-reel moments including no-scopes and auto-sniper kills. Jcobbb saw little action but managed his best map statistically with a 1.28 rating from seven frags.

That win set up an Inferno decider, where ECSTATIC once again gained the early edge through force-buy wins, pushing FaZe to a 6-9 deficit. However, experience told in the late stages, with FaZe dragging the map into overtime and then tightening up their play. Karrigan’s calling proved decisive as they punished overextensions to close out a 16-13 victory.

For jcobbb, it was a subdued first showing in FaZe colors. He ended the series with a 0.81 rating and looked tentative at times. The win nonetheless keeps FaZe in contention and offers their newest addition breathing room to find his footing.

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  The bookies' bookie

Elsewhere at the BLAST Open Fall closed qualifiers, Team Vitality survived a scare from M80 after dropping Overpass 13-3, recovering through the heroics of Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and the leadership of Dan “apEX” Madesclaire to edge the series 2-1.

GamerLegion made light work of Virtus.pro with a 2-0 sweep, exposing the Russians’ poor mid-round calling. Natus Vincere rounded out the day with a 2-0 win in a commanding defensive display against Fnatic, highlighted by Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen’s near-flawless anchor play.

Day one closed with three of the four esports betting sites’ favorites advancing, but all eyes will remain on how quickly jcobbb adapts to his new role on one of Counter-Strike’s biggest stages.

Click here to read ESB’s full preview and betting tips for Group B’s BLAST Open Fall closed qualifiers.

Day 1 BLAST Open Fall results

• Team Vitality defeated M80 2-1 (3-13, 13-7, 13-10)
• GamerLegion defeated Virtus.pro 2-0 (13-7, 13-9)
• FaZe Clan defeated ECSTATIC 2-1 (10-13, 0-13, 16-13)
• Natus Vincere defeated Fnatic 2-0 (13-10, 13-8)