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BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2022 kicks off as eight CS: GO teams from all over Europe and the Americas gather in Lisbon, Portugal, to compete for a grand prize pool of $425,000. The tournament, which commenced on June 16, 2022, will end with its Grand Finals scheduled for June 19, live at the Altice Arena.
The Spring Finals 2022, being part of the BLAST Premier's annual tournament circuit, will send its winner directly to the World Final 2022. Six out of the eight CS: GO teams that qualified made it on the basis of their performances at the Spring Groups 2022. But the remaining two teams were decided based on their success in the Spring American Showdown and European Showdown 2022.
Natus Vincere (NAVI) vs BIG : Who will be the final team from Group B to qualify for CS: GO's BLAST Premier Spring Finals playoffs?
As the BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2022 proceeds to Day 2, Natus Vincere will meet BIG in a Bo3 (Best of 3) series to compete for the final spot in the tournament's playoffs. After a defeat in their opening matches of the Group Stage, NAVI and BIG have now found themselves in Group B's elimination tie.
The winner of this matchup will qualify for the tournament's quarter-finals as the third seed from Group B, and will compete in the double-elimination playoffs for a chance at the title of BLAST Premier Spring Finals winner.
Predictions
Both Natus Vincere and BIG had a disappointing start to their Spring Finals 2022 campaign as they failed to convert their opening fixture into a victory. NAVI were pushed to the lower brackets of the Group Stage after a 2-1 defeat to OG, whereas BIG were overthrown by ENCE by a 2-0 scoreline.
Prior to the tournament, NAVI underwent a roster change that witnessed the departure of their in-game leader, Boombl4. They later brought in sdy as a replacement, with electroNic taking up the mantle of the IGL. However, NAVI are yet to prove their strength in CS: GO with their newest lineup.
BIG, on the other hand, have a strong lineup to support their tournament aspirations. However, they fell to ENCE in the opening match after two close-cut matchups on Mirage and Nuke. Similar to NAVI, BIG have also undergone minor changes to their roster in recent times, with gob b returning to the team to take on the role of head coach.
Although BIG has a strong presence on paper, both the mental and physical conditions of their roster are still unclear. Their newest player, Krimbo, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, with the team confirming his recovery only a day before the Spring Finals 2022. Similarly, gob b also tested positive for COVID-19, with Nils "k1to" Gruhne taking his place instead.
In conclusion, NAVI stands as the clear favorites to win this matchup. Players like s1mple and b1t possess the firepower to lead the team to a victory. A close matchup against OG goes to prove that NAVI are on the right track to building synergy within their new structure.
Head-to-head
Since 2020, NAVI and BIG have faced each other in a total of 11 maps. NAVI have emerged victorious in 7 of those, while BIG has 4 wins to their name. Their only encounter in 2022 was during the PGL Major Antwerp 2022, where NAVI defeated BIG in a Bo1 matchup in the Legends Stage.
Having dominated the CS: GO pro circuit in 2021, NAVI have accumulated several wins over BIG. Their only defeat to BIG that year came in the ESL Pro League Season 14 where BIG claimed a 2-0 victory over them.
Recent results
Natus Vincere dominated 2021 as the most successful CS: GO team in the world. However, they failed to continue that success in 2022. Their best performance in recent times was at the PGL Major Antwerp 2022, where they finished runners-up to FaZe Clan.
NAVI witnessed a top 4 finish at the IEM Katowice 2022, winning 5 out of their 6 matches. Meanwhile, their performance in ESL Pro League Season 15 led them to a 5th-8th place finish.
BIG competed in far more CS: GO tournaments than NAVI throughout 2022. However, their season so far has been filled with disappointing outcomes that they aim to recover from. After bagging a 17th-20th finish at IEM Katowice 2022, BIG went on to finish 13th-16th in ESL Pro League Season 15.
Although BIG qualified for CS: GO's Antwerp Major as the second seed in the European RMR-A, their tournament run came to a halt in the Legends Stage, as they finished 12th-14th. BIG's best performance of the season came in IEM Dallas, where they claimed a top 4 finish.
Potential lineups
Natus Vincere
- Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev
- Denis "electroNic" Sharipov
- Ilya "Perfecto" Zalutskiy
- Valerii "b1t" Vakhovskyi
- Viktor "sdy" Orudzhev
- Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi (coach)
BIG
- Johannes "tabseN" Wodarz
- Tizian "tiziaN" Feldbusch
- Florian "syrsoN" Rische
- Josef "faveN" Baumann
- Karim "Krimbo" Moussa
- Fatih "gob b" Dayik (coach)
- Nils "k1to" Gruhne (temporary coach)
When and where to watch
Fans of CS: GO can watch the BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2022 live on BLAST Premier's official handles across YouTube and Twitch. NAVI will face off against BIG in Group B's decider matchup on June 16, 2022 at 08.30 pm IST/ 08.00 am PDT/ 11.00 am EDT.
