Natus Vincere booked a spot in the BLAST Premier Spring Final with a 2-1 win over Complexity Gaming on Saturday in the play-in stage of the BLAST Premier Spring Groups in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Six berths in the $450,000 Spring Final, set for June 7-11 in Washington, were up for grabs in the $177,498 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event. The first three went to the group winners: Team Vitality, FaZe Clan and G2 Esports. The other three will go to the teams that emerge from this weekend’s play-in stage, with the last two set to be determined on Sunday.
The fourth- through sixth-place teams in the Spring Groups will head to the Spring Americas or Europe Showdown.
In first-round play-in action on Saturday, Astralis came from behind to beat Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-1, earning the right to face OG on Sunday for a place in the Spring Final. The sixth Spring Final slot will go to the winner of the Sunday match featuring Heroic and BIG.
Natus Vincere posted a 16-14 win on Anubis before Complexity pulled level with a 16-11 decision on Inferno. Complexity led 14-8 on the decisive third map, Overpass, before Natus Vincere took the last eight rounds for a 16-14 victory.
Ukraine’s Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy led Natus Vincere with 63 kills and a plus-17 kill-death differential. The United States’ Michael “Grim” Wince compiled 73 kills and a plus-16 K-D differential for Complexity.
Ninjas in Pyjamas jumped on top with a 16-11 win on Overpass before Astralis captured Mirage 16-7 and Ancient 16-10.
Benjamin “blameF” Bremer topped Astralis’ all-Danish squad with 73 kills and a plus-19 K-D differential. Ukraine’s Daniil “headtr1ck” Valitov produced 56 kills and a plus-4 K-D differential for Ninjas in Pyjamas.
BLAST Premier Spring Groups prize poll
1st-3rd — Qualify for Spring Final, 2,400 BLAST points: Vitality, FaZe, G2 Esports
4th-6th — Spring Final, 1,200 points: Natus Vincere, TBD, TBD
7th-9th — Spring Showdown, 900 points: Complexity Gaming, TBD, TBD
10th-12th — Spring Showdown, 600 points: Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, Ninjas in Pyjamas
–Field Level Media