How did G2 win BLAST Premier Fall Finals?

G2 Esports were the champions of BLAST Premier Fall Final after taking down NAVI in the Grand Final 3-1, breaking their nine consecutive losses against Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen’s men and securing their first trophy alongside the newcomers: Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski and Mario "⁠malbsMd⁠" Samayoa.

The samurai showed good form throughout the event and managed to defeat Team Spirit and Vitality, two other viable candidates for the title. With their trophy lift, not only did G2 set the record straight with NAVI but also raised the bar going into an action-packed month with IEM Rio and BLAST Premier World Final.

Following the epic Grand Final performance, we decided to go back into the server and find out how G2 clinched their victory. Was it their successful opening kills, mid-round adaptation or individual impact? More on that in this article.

First map: Ancient

The first half of Ancient, NAVI’s map pick, started strong for Snax and co following their pistol round and conversion wins. They went on to secure 4-0 rounds lead before NAVI could get back at the swing of things with five consecutive T rounds, ending the first half at 6-6.

With their clean record on the map since IEM Cologne with eight in a row, NAVI were poised to seize their map, but G2 had other plans. Coincidentally, the samurai defeated them on this map before their winning streak, and managed to pull it off again, only easier this time.

In the second half, malbsMd pulled a double knife kill in the post plant on the back of a successful A bombsite push, backed by a quick fake on the B bombsite by Nikola "NiKo" Kovač to go 2-0 in pistol rounds.

The pistol round was critical as it allowed G2 to widen the gap and reach double digits. But starting from the 17th round, NAVI managed to hold the A site on lock which enabled them to close the gap to a single round at 10-9. At this point, we must highlight the individual impact of G2 players as they were the difference makers.

For instance, NiKo’s 1v2 clutch on the first gun round allowed them to reach double digits while malbsMd’s successful entry kills in both middle and on the B bombsite was deadly for their opposition.

Image source: BLAST, edited by Strafe Esports

NAVI struggled in the 4v5s

Speaking of entry kills, G2 had a total of 12 opening kills between their players compared to 10 on the NAVI side. Despite the latter leading the overall OPK stats in the tournament with 56.5%, they had a tough time in converting the 4v5s as shown in the last three rounds of the map.

Opposite to G2 who won 7 out of the 10 rounds after giving the opening death, NAVI only managed to take away two rounds out of eight. This was crucial in determining the winner in the second half given that Justinas "jL" Lekavičius and his teammates were on CT side.

Analyzing the demo allowed us to pinpoint NAVI’s weakness in the final rounds which was their ineffective trading while being a man down.

Ineffective trading

The opening deaths really took a toll on NAVI as witnessed during the 20th round (11-9 scoreline) when it took only 30 seconds to penetrate into the B bombsite following malbsMd’s double entry kills. For the most part, Aleksib had good reads and often stacked/took control over the correct space in the mid-rounds. However, that wasn’t enough to win and Nemanja "huNter-" Kovač quickly proved it the following round by getting two kills in the post plant.

Despite the trio of jL, b1t and w0nderful positioning in Back Alley, huNter- lived up to his name and hunted two players before getting traded. By then, it was already too late to have a say in the round with malbsMd and mONESY getting their own kills in Cave and Default, ultimately securing map point.

Second map: Dust 2

Dust 2 is G2’s best map in the last three months with 75%-win rate. Although they previously took a loss against NAVI in the group stage, they entered the server with the prize in their eyes.

The heat map above shows G2’s T side kills as they often contested for the middle area. Opposite to the first map, their reach was limited by NAVI’s three player A stack as they only managed to win a single round in the first half on that bombsite.

Image source: BLAST, edited by Strafe Esports

For most rounds in the first half, jL was the sole defender on B which opened a path for G2 with tunnel aggression and mid to B plays. This gap was heavily used by Snax, and it became clear in the 9th round as the Kovač cousins entered an empty bombsite, effectively winning them the round and putting a dent in NAVI’s economy.

The following round, however, a noticeable shift in positions became clear with b1t reinforcing the B site, leaving the middle open. Luckily for them, G2 started with a long push without any information on Mid. The usual tunnel aggression was met with force and despite the bomb plant, NAVI pulled a successful retake highlighted by NiKo shooting his in-game leader in the head.

Both teams showed great mid-round reads and adapted to their opponents’ plays in an intense back and forth showdown, especially NAVI who had a more convincing CT side compared to Ancient.

A sloppy Aleksib

In the second half NAVI made some questionable decisions, notably right after the pistol round where they played the clock and made a snap decision to finish A with 28 seconds remaining, only to run into a three-man stack between Short and Middle. Despite only having a couple of Desert Eagles and SSGs, their sharp shooting netted them a round win and put NAVI’s economy in the bin.

Weirdly enough, Aleksib wasted their first gun round making the same mistake of running the clock and putting his team in a tight spot. While NiKo and mOENSY’s impact was notable, their win on Dust 2 lies on the back of Aleksib with sloppy mid-rounds as they struggled to find an inch of success.

Image source: BLAST, edited by Strafe Esports

Final map: Inferno

Since we’re focusing on how G2 won, we’ll overlook Mirage despite it being a close map with both teams powering up on the defense.

Inferno, however, saw malbsMd destroying NAVI on T side. The Guatemalan rifler was key in securing the last map with seven multi round kills, six in which were 3Ks. Although G2 lost the first gun round after jL and w0nderful locked the B site, Mario came swinging in the following by taking down A by himself.

G2’s default strategy consisted of huNter- and malbsMd taking over A apartments while m0NESY supported from lower or second mid. It’s textbook Inferno after all as taking space around the map is crucial, yet b1t and and iM were rock solid only allowing a single plant on the A bombsite. Luckily for G2, their effective trading was key in winning duels on B site, making it their haven for the remaining rounds on T side.

malbsMd carries the show

In the second half, malbsMd continued to impress and killed NAVI’s final attempts in getting back to the game with his mighty Deagle in the conversion. Unfortunately for Aleksib and his team, fighting with a half buy and full eco gave G2 a big advantage which they quickly seized as Mario with a Banana aggression ended NAVI’s crawl.

The MVP of Inferno, malbsMd, ended the grand final with 94 ADR, 80% KAST and a whopping 2.0 K/D. Ever since joining G2, Mario has been proving himself as the best signing recently with remarkable impact despite playing tougher positions.

Image source: BLAST, edited by Strafe Esports

So, going back and reviewing the demos, we learned that G2 outclassed NAVI in three categories: effective trading, round conversion percentage and individual brilliance. By the look of it, G2 was more prepared, and it was evident during the second and fourth map. Additionally, Aleksib’s calls were frail and had no substance nor deep thought behind them as almost every round was a gamble, and the collective effort of a team was missing.

Up next is IEM Rio where G2 Esports will continue their impressive showing. Will they succeed or will they crumble under the pressure of the Brazilian crowd? Stay tuned starting the 7th of October and be sure to check out the Strafe news for more esports related content.

Featured Image source: BLAST, edited by Strafe Esports

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