Astralis upsets NAVI in the BLAST Premier World Final opener
Astralis did the unthinkable and managed to upset the best team in the world, Natus Vincere, convincingly in Group A’s opening series of the BLAST Premier World Final.
Fresh off their triumph in Rio, Natus Vincere were expected to stomp through the group stage, yet the Danes under Casper "cadiaN" Møller’s leadership saw things differently.
Astralis were under immense pressure, winning only two of ten maps with the new lineup. However, things took a turn for the best after the team had enough practice following their early exit from IEM Rio.
Nuked on Nuke
Cadian and co were off to a hot start with a 5-0 lead on Nuke, before Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy put a stop to their round streak with a 1v1 clutch on low HP. Yet, it didn’t break the Danes as they kept their composure throughout the first half despite NAVI clinching a few rounds, ending it at 7-5.
A triple kill by Martin "stavn" Lund in the second pistol round gave Astralis the perfect start on their CT side. From then, it was a total abomination, allowing NAVI only a single round on the offense, sealing the first map at 13-6.
Stavn shined on Nuke with a stellar performance netting 22 kills, 113.8 ADR with almost 90% KAST, securing his team’s map pick.
No miracle on Mirage
The second map had a different tempo for Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen and his men, after taking the lead 4-0. However, Astralis quickly put an end to their offense on the gun rounds by securing seven consecutive rounds, setting the stage for a 2-0 victory in the opening series.
While NAVI’s offense fell flat, their defense was no better. With a sharp shooting from Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard and calculated calls from the in-game leader, Astralis dominated yet again in the second half collecting five consecutive rounds before NAVI clinched their only round in the second half.
Taking down the best team in the world convincingly is a statement to never underestimate the Danes as they move towards the winners match against MOUZ for a semi finals spot.
NAVI, on the other hand, fell to the elimination match where they’ll face a limping FaZe Clan to stay alive and push towards another trophy lift this year.
Be sure to check out the Strafe news page for the latest BLAST World Final updates and follow us on X for more esports related content.
Feature image source: ESL
Read more:
BLAST Premier: World Final Group A Winners and Losers