The first LAN tournament of the year, BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023, has been completed. In the tournament played at BLAST studios in Copenhagen, Denmark between 19-29 January, 6 teams advanced to the Spring Final stage, while 6 teams qualified to compete in the Spring Showdown.
Teams
Group A -> Heroic, Team Vitality, Evil Geniuses, Astralis
Group B -> FaZe, Complexity, Team Liquid, OG
Group C -> G2 Esports, BIG, NAVI, NIP
Calendar and Results
Group A | 19-25 January
| Matches | 1st Map | 2nd Map | 3rd Map | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heroic vs EG | Inferno | 16-7 | Ancient | 14-16 | Overpass | 14-16 | Evil Geniuses |
| Vitality vs Astralis | Overpass | 16-12 | Vertigo | 19-15 | – | Team Vitality |
| EG vs Vitality | Overpass | 11-16 | Inferno | 1-16 | – | Team Vitality |
| Heroic vs Astralis | Inferno | 16-10 | Mirage | 4-16 | Vertigo | 16-4 | Heroic |
| EG vs Heroic | Nuke | 16-9 | Overpass | 2-16 | Mirage | 5-16 | Heroic |
| Vitality vs Heroic | Mirage | 16-11 | Nuke | 13-16 | Vertigo | 16-8 | Team Vitality |
The team that came out directly in group A was Team Vitality. Starting the first year quick and dominating, the team sent their rivals Astralis and Evil Geniuses to the Lower Bracket with a score of 2-0. The team that managed to beat its rival Heroic 2-1 in the final stage became the team that went straight to the Spring Final stage.
While Astralis and Heroic managed to make their mark in the Spring Final by defeating their opponents in the Knockout Stage they played to advance to the Spring Final stage, Evil Geniuses lost their first rival Complexity and made their name in the Spring Showdown.
Group B | 20-26 January
| Matches | 1st Map | 2nd Map | 3rd Map | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FaZe vs COL | Inferno | 16-6 | Overpass | 16-9 | – | FaZe |
| Liquid vs OG | Ancient | 6-16 | Nuke | 20-22 | – | OG |
| FaZe vs OG | Mirage | 16-7 | Ancient | 11-16 | Inferno | 16-4 | FaZe |
| COL vs Liquid | Anubis | 2-16 | Overpass | 12-16 | – | Liquid |
| OG vs Liquid | Mirage | 16-12 | Ancient | 8-16 | Overpass | 16-10 | OG |
| FaZe vs OG | Mirage | 16-14 | Ancient | 16-6 | – | FaZe |
After Team Vitality, another team that started the year well was FaZe Clan. FaZe Clan, who had a hard time finding players due to the problems they had with BLAST, did great things with the es3tag they got from the NIP team as a stand-in. FaZe Clan, one of the strongest rivals in the group, managed to print its name in the Spring Final.
Teams like Liquid, OG and Complexity played the last chance stage called Knockout to make their mark in the Spring Final. OG, Liquid and Complexity teams that lost outright in their first match will compete in the Spring Showdown.
Group C | 20-26 January
| Matches | 1st Map | 2nd Map | 3rd Map | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G2 vs BIG | Mirage | 16-14 | Inferno | 16-9 | – | G2 Esports |
| NAVI vs NIP | Inferno | 16-9 | Mirage | 17-19 | Overpass | 16-8 | NAVI |
| G2 vs NAVI | Nuke | 16-10 | Inferno | 22-18 | – | G2 Esports |
| BIG vs NIP | Mirage | 14-16 | Inferno | 11-16 | – | NIP |
| NAVI vs NIP | Inferno | 16-10 | Mirage | 7-16 | Overpass | 16-5 | NAVI |
| G2 vs NAVI | Inferno | 16-6 | Nuke | 16-10 | – | G2 Esports |
G2 Esports was the team that directly participated in the Spring Final from the group with strong rivals such as G2 and NAVI. G2 Esports, which struggled with the Natus Vincere team it met twice, managed to get out of the group by defeating its opponent in both matches.
Only 1 team from NAVI, BIG and NIP teams could get a Spring Final ticket. While losing to NIP rival Astralis and going straight to Showdown, BIG rival Liquid was another team that went to Showdown after losing 2-1 against Heroic they faced.
NAVI, on the other hand, was able to get tickets for the Spring Final by exiting the Knockout Stage despite the pressure from G2 Esports in the groups. Having a tough encounter with Complexity, the Ukrainian team finished the tournament in 6th place and managed to make its mark in the Spring Final, albeit with difficulty.
Knockout Stage
| Matches | 1st Map | 2nd Map | 3rd Map | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EG vs COL | Anubis | 7-16 | Inferno | 16-12 | Overpass | 8-16 | Complexity |
| Liquid vs BIG | Nuke | 2-16 | Anubis | 8-16 | – | BIG |
| NIP vs Astralis | Overpass | 16-11 | Mirage | 7-16 | Ancient | 10-16 | Astralis |
| NAVI vs COL | Anubis | 16-14 | Inferno | 11-16 | Overpass | 16-14 | NAVI |
| Heroic vs BIG | Vertigo | 16-3 | Ancient | 12-16 | Inferno | 16-10 | Heroic |
| OG vs Astralis | Inferno | 16-14 | Vertigo | 14-16 | Ancient | 17-19 | Astralis |
Astralis, Heroic and NAVI will be the teams that come out of the knockout directly, while teams such as BIG and Complexity will participate in the Showdown with their defeat after their first win. BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 has come to an end with the final Knockout Stage. Spring Finals and Spring Showdown tournaments, which are the continuation of Spring Groups, will be played in April and June.
BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2023 -> $135,000 prize pool + 2 Spring Final tickets
BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023 -> $425,000 prize pool
News about Spring Showdown and Spring Final can be checked from BLAST Premier’s official Twitter account.
