NiP and G2 off to dominant victories in BLAST Fall Group B openers

The BLAST Premier Group B kicked off with G2 playing MIBR and NiP taking on BIG in their opening matches. The top two teams from each group secure their spot in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, one step away from the World Finals later this year. Here's how the two opening matches played out.

The first game started with G2 taking on MIBR on Mirage and Inferno. One of the favorites to win the group, G2 showed us just why. The team started off slow on Mirage as MIBR strung together a few rounds on the T-side. But as G2’s players found their groove, the team was able to make a comeback on the CT side of the first half ending with a 9-6 lead. 

MIBR Academy player, Breno 'brnz4n' Poletto had a decent showing against one of the strongest teams in the tournament. His 1v3 clutch showed the youngster’s composure and understanding of the game. Despite the Academy player’s heroic’s G2 was simply too strong for MIBR. The first map ended with a 16-11 win for G2 esports. 

Inferno was an even more one-sided map, as G2 took down MIBR 16-7. With 25 kills Nikola "NiKo" Kovač led the charts for G2 esports. He also had the most damage on Inferno as well as the highest number of entry frags. His ability to get entry frags repeatedly and staying alive afforded G2 a massive advantage.

NiP and BIG was the second match-up of the day. There were high expectations in this match between the world’s 10th and 13th ranked teams. But the end result was a rather one-sided match as NiP crushed BIG 2-0 to win the series. 

NiP had a blazing start on Dust 2. The Ninjas’ map pick was clearly a favorite for them as they started off with a 12-3 half. BIG managed a decent comeback of sorts, but a 12-3 start was always going to be a tough challenge. 

Florian "syrsoN" Rische’s 1v2 clutch with the Deagle was one of the highlights of the first half. But NiP’s lead was simply too big for BIG. NiP won Dust 2 16-9. We now move on to BIG’s map pick of Inferno. 

Unfortunately for BIG, Inferno was even more of a letdown. The team had a decent first half with a 6-9 start to Inferno. But NiP’s T-side was simply too strong as BIG’s economy never recovered from the early losses. NiP won Inferno 16-6 and the series with a 2-0 score.

With their first-round victories, G2 and NiP will now face off in the Upper Bracket finals. The winner of this series will qualify for the Grand Finals. Meanwhile, BIG and MIBR move to the lower bracket.

The BLAST Premier Fall Groups has twelve teams competing across three groups. The tournament has a $150,000 prize pool with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Fall Finals. 

Stay tuned to esports.gg to know more about the BLAST Premier Fall Groups and more CS:GO content.