Astralis secure surprise Semi-Final spot in BLAST World Final 2024
We’re two days into play at the BLAST World Final 2024, and already we have a topsy-turvy set of results on the server. Favorites are out, and underdogs are making deep runs in the event. With the conclusion of the Group Stage, we’re looking into all the action so far.
Astralis and G2 lock down top-four finish
Credit: BLAST
Well. The CS2 odds were not in Astralis‘ favor before the BLAST World Final 2024, but they’ve already managed to lock down a Semi-Final spot and top-four finish in Singapore. It’s already the best result of cadiaN’s Astralis career, incredibly coming as the IGL has a broken elbow in his mouse arm. After a rough start to this new Astralis era, we finally caught a glimpse of what cadiaN’s reunion with stavn and jabbi can achieve in victories over NAVI and MOUZ.
They’ll be joined by G2, who took down Liquid and Spirit to reach the Semi-Finals of the event. Their opening match was a 13:0 defeat, leaving fans worried about what version of G2 we would see in Singapore. These concerns have been squandered in the maps since, with m0NESY and NiKo in scintillating form at the moment. There’s a very real chance we’re looking at a third trophy for G2 in 2024 at the BLAST World Final.
NAVI and Liquid crash out in last place
Credit: BLAST
It was a tournament to forget for both NAVI and Liquid, as they crashed out of the BLAST World Final 2024 in joint-last place. One of these teams will be more concerned than the other, though. For NAVI, who have played in the last six Grand Finals in a row, their defeats to Astralis and FaZe Clan are a reminder that they’re not invincible. To get this reminder here and not at the upcoming Major could be a blessing in disguise. Despite being top of our BLAST World Finals 2024 power rankings, we’re not worried about what this means for NAVI going forward.
Comparatively, there have to be some sirens blaring about this Liquid roster right now. Twistzz’s IGL honeymoon looked great initially, but being reverse-swept by a G2 roster they initially 13:0’d and beaten handily by Vitality with JACKZ as a stand-in is rough. Remember, Liquid missed the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 earlier this year, and with the Perfect World Shanghai Major RMRs just around the corner, this isn’t the time for their form to plateau. Most concerning of all is the form of AWPer ultimate, who looked a stellar pickup initially. His true test will be how he returns from a few rough series’.
A look at the Quarter-Finals teams
Credit: BLAST
While Astralis and G2 are already in the Semi-Finals, we can’t forget that the Quarter-Finals of the BLAST World Final 2024 are still to play. The first team taking part is FaZe Clan, who bounced back from an opening day loss against MOUZ to knock out NAVI. It’s a confidence booster for FaZe. This team has been on a downward spiral lately, so getting such a big win was necessary to get back on track.
Then, you’ve got MOUZ. Beating FaZe in the opener was important, even if losing to Astralis was less than ideal. We’d still have MOUZ down as one of the favorites in the BLAST World Final 2024.
The third Quarter-Finalist is Vitality. With mezii unavailable for this CS2 tournament due to having a child, veteran rifler JACKZ has been drafted to help for the event. There’s no shame in losing the opener to Spirit, but to get a series win against Liquid was impressive. JACKZ has performed steadily, and it’ll be interesting to see how far they can actually progress in the tournament with MOUZ up next.
Finally, you’ve got Spirit. A win over Vitality and a loss to G2 is their record so far, but they look to have solved some of the issues that have plagued them in recent times. Importantly, donk looks sharp, and with FaZe up next, Spirit will fancy themselves to secure a Semi-Final spot to potentially set up a match with Astralis.