NAVI win BLAST Premier Global Final: Final placements & recap

NAVI were crowned the champions of BLAST Premier Global Final, taking home the lion’s share of $1 million! Here’s how the event developed. 

• NAVI defeated Liquid, Vitality, and Astralis for the title
• Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev claims the MVP
• NAVI go all the way from the lower bracket

BLAST Premier Global Final: Final Placements

Eight teams are battling it out for their share of $1 million… Additionally, BLAST are gifting the winners an exclusive TW Steel watch to complement the $600k in cash.

BLAST Premier Global Final: Results & recap

Day 1 — Tuesday, January 19

Astralis & G2 edge through to semi-finals

Astralis opened by taking on Evil Geniuses in a three-game series, with the first map (Inferno) going the way of EG (16-14). The North American’s ability to convert pistol rounds was not enough to guarantee a second map, as both Overpass (16-8) and Vertigo (16-6) were claimed by the Danes. Xyp9x’s AUG proved too hot to handle on Overpass — will we see it again?

G2 Esports vs FURIA was a much closer affair. G2 took the initiative on Inferno (16-12), snatching FURIA’s map pick. After falling short on Mirage (14-16), G2 bounced back on Nuke (16-10) to clinch the series. NiKo shined, as he clocked out with +20 frags, going 70-50 in three maps.

Day 2 — Wednesday, January 20

FURIA bow out early, FalleN’s Liquid surprise Na’Vi

Complexity were unable to perform in their first series of the year, being swept on Mirage (9-16) and Dust2 (8-16). ZywOo shined, delivering 46 kills over two maps. 

A new-look Team Liquid pull the upset against NAVI, dispatching the CIS squad on Inferno (16-6) and Nuke (16-14). S1mple’s 36 kills on Nuke were not enough to keep his team in the upper bracket

Despite a convincing win on Inferno (16-9), FURIA fell short on Mirage (14-16) against Evil Geniuses. Stanislaw and co. followed up with a swift win on Nuke (16-6) to keep their tournament hopes alive.

Day 3 — Thursday, January 21

Astralis and Vitality secure top-4, Complexity knocked out

Complexity were eliminated by NAVI after a 1-2 series. Electronic was the star of the show with 75 kills over three maps.

Astralis took down G2 Esports following a thrilling series. The Danes followed Dust2 (14-16) with wins on Vertigo (16-8) and Inferno (16-4) with Dupreeh displaying an impressive 91.5 ADR across three maps.

Team Liquid failed to overcome Vitality falling short on Vertigo (11-16) after a close game on Nuke (14-16). ZywOo seemed unbeatable in clutches across both maps.

Day 4 — Friday, January 22

G2 and Evil Geniuses fall short, NAVI and Liquid trough

Team Liquid send Evil Geniuses packing after two swift wins on Inferno (16-12) and Dust2 (16-8). NAF shined for the North American team, delivering 51 kills over the two maps. 

NAVI take down G2 Esports, looking unstoppable on both Train (16-6) and Mirage (16-8). Everyone on the CIS squad was on point, with s1mple standing out with an impressive 94.3 ADR across the series.

Day 5 — Saturday, January 23

NAVI survive, Astralis through to another Grand Final

Astralis secure a spot in the Grand Final after beating Team Vitality 2-1, managing to steal Dust2 (16-14) and stomping Inferno (16-5). Shox shined on Overpass (16-10) delivering 28 kills and displaying an incredible 122.5 ADR.

NAVI continue their lower bracket run as they take down Team Liquid after two incredibly close maps. B1t helped NAVI edge out Inferno (16-13) while flamie ran the show on Nuke (16-14).

Day 6 — Sunday, January 24

Natus Vincere claims the trophy taking down Vitality and Astralis

NAVI opened the series by edging out Nuke (19-17) after an incredible comeback in the second half to secure overtime. Team Vitality managed to take Overpass (16-12) with ZywOo dropping 28 kills. NAVI responded by taking control of Dust2 (16-12) and securing their spot in the Grand Final. The star of the show was s1mple, the Ukrainian hit a +29 K/D across the three maps. 

The Grand Finals saw NAVI open up with a great win on Nuke (16-12) and follow up with a dominating performance on Inferno (16-5). Boombl4 led by example, delivering 22 kills on Inferno on his way to the championship.

Blast Premier Global Final: Teams & players

Eight total teams will be in attendance at this year’s BLAST Global Final, all of them qualifying through a variety of competitions, such as the Spring Finals, Fall Finals, and BLAST Premier Circuit.

Lots of eyes will be on Team Liquid, who will be with their new star acquisition, FalleN, after the Brazilian legend joined their ranks to replace Twistzz.

The stand out players were expectedly Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev and Mathieu ‘ZywOo‘ Herbaut, however, credit must be given to NAVI’s IGL Kirill ‘Boombl4‘ Mikhailov. The Russian stepped up massively in the tournament, impacting every round that NAVI won.