Astralis' courageous attempt at recording back-to-back tournament victories for the first time in 2020 came just short. The Danes were stopped in the grand final of BLAST Premier Fall by Team Vitality.
Astralis are not having the greatest year both on and off the server. They hadn't won successive titles in 2020 going into the BLAST Premier Fall Finals but had the opportunity to change that on the back of a DreamHack Masters Winter title. In yet another impressive run, the greatest CS:GO squad ever assembled fell at the last hurdle - a truly inspired Team Vitality, but showed once again that they are by far the most consistent threat at every event.
YES SIR! #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/cXBFImuHtK
— Team Vitality (@TeamVitality) December 13, 2020
Team Vitality Hit Peak Form at BLAST Premier Fall Finals
BLAST Premier Fall began in huge controversy and while it never came close to any games being canceled or anything, the contamination in the air threatened to damage the quality of competition to some extent.
The underrated professionalism of high-tier CS:GO players pushed us through another obstacle and the whole week was a true celebration of the game despite the looming player-organizer disputes.
Astralis found out the hard way that roles can switch very quickly in this game. Last week, they went undefeated during the DreamHack Masters Winter playoffs. Their final opponents then - mousesports, had to go all the way from the opening lower bracket round to reach the final. There, the Danish machine won a hard-fought four-map battle.
This week it was Astralis in the role of the underdog. A defeat at the hands of Natus Vincere handed them a win or go home rematch with mouz. It was much easier for Nicolai "device" Reedtz and co. this time. A 2-0 breeze set the start of a memorable run that included three more clean victories over G2, Na'Vi and BIG.
Vitality had beaten those same teams (except G2) themselves during their upper bracket push. So while Astralis' streak of 2-0s was impressive, they were by no means clear cut favorites.
The final itself was not what we all expected. Of the three maps, the second - Dust2, was the only one worth mentioning. It was also the only one that went into Astralis' score. Their attempt at a surprise map pick backfired horribly on Vertigo and the decider - Inferno, was no better. A traditionally strong map for the four-time Major champions that simply did not work for them on the day. It happens.
BLAST Premier Fall Final
Team Vitality - Astralis
- 16:4 (Vertigo)
- 14:16 (Dust2)
- 16:5 (Inferno)
BLAST Premier Fall Prize Distribution
Here's what each team walked away with from BLAST Premier Fall:
- Team Vitality - $225,000/4000 BLAST Premier points
- Astralis - $85,000/2000 points
- BIG - $40,000/1500 points
- Natus Vincere - $25,000/1000 points
- G2 Esports - $15,000/500 points
- FURIA Esports - $15,000/500 points
- mousesports - $10,000/250 points
- OG - $10,000/250 points
The top four are granted entry into the 2020 BLAST Premier Global Final. If you're thinking "wait, it's almost Christmas, are they going to play on bloody Christmas?" the answer is a no. BLAST aren't that cruel. The Global Final, despite the name, is going to take place in 2021. The exact dates are January 18-24.
The final event for 2020 is the IEM Global Challenge. It kicks off later today and will conclude on Sunday, December 20. We'll be there to cover it as always.
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