On the first day of BLAST Fall Finals 2023, we saw four exciting matches in which there were no surprise results, and in the derby of the day, Cloud9 managed to beat Natus Vincere 2-1 and show that the new lineup definitely has the potential for great things.
The tournament opened with a 16th consecutive victory for the best team in the world in a match where FaZe Clan easily outclassed Ninjas in Pajamas. FaZe turned a convincing 10-2 halftime lead by Vertigo into a 13-6 victory, and after stealing a pick from their opponent they celebrated 13-9 on Nuke, their map of choice.
Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov's debut for Na'Vi went without a win, but the young player showed a lot and was by far the best individual in his team with 62 frags and a 1.30 rating. On the other hand, the most excited was Denis "electroNiC" Sharipov, who is definitely glad to no longer be in the role of IGL. Kiril "Boombl4" Mikhailov did great in the new team and showed that he definitely belongs in the Tier 1 counter.
Cloud9 took the lead with a victory in the final round of the regular portion of the map on Anubis, only for Na'Vi to respond with a 13-9 win on the Ancient map. Inferno decided the winner, and the excellently played CT side of the Cloud9 team, where they took an 8-4 lead, allowed them to celebrate 13-9 in the continuation and register an important victory that ensured their passage to the playoffs.
In Group B, Vitality routinely recorded a 2-0 victory (13-6 Nuke, 13-9 Inferno) against Heroic, who were forced to play in a completely inadequate lineup with changes and former players, due to which it was seen that they came to the tournament unprepared, and Vitality knew how to take advantage of that and avoid the disastrous start they experienced in Sydney.
At the end of the day, we watched a spectacle between Complexity and Astralis, in which the American team tied 14 rounds for a big victory on the Overpass map. Ancient opened the duel, and Complexity achieved a 13-9 victory at the peak of the Danish team. Astralis took advantage of the CT side on the Overpass and took a 10-2 lead at halftime, only to extend the lead to 12-2 and come within one run of the tie.
Instead of giving up, the players of the Complexity team make a heroic turn and with a perfect game in the continuation of the match completely shut down Astralis, reach a 12-12 tie and take all four rounds in overtime for a 16-12 victory.
The schedule of tomorrow's matches, after which two teams will be eliminated from the tournament, while two teams will secure a top 4 finish:
10:00 Ninjas in Pajamas - Natus Vincere
13:00 FaZe Clan - Cloud9
16:00 Heroic - Astralis
19:00 Complexity - Vitality
