BIG and Astralis in BLAST Premier: Spring Group A

The BLAST Premier: Global Finals concluded less than two weeks ago, and already we’re getting to see the BLAST Premier circuit kick off in the new year. Six participants for the Spring Finals will arise from three separate Group Stages. The other six teams will only get a spot at the Showdown. This weekend, we can already see Group A’s BIG, Astralis, OG, and NiP in action.

Taking a look at the recent few months, two clear favorites emerge in this constellation. The Double Elimination format may give the others a fighting chance, but the best teams of this group should be safe even in repeat matches. The Ninjas in Pyjamas and OG definitely pack a lot of talent, but there is just no way past Astralis and BIG at this point.

These two teams obviously aim for the first place of their group. After the events of recent weeks, Astralis should definitely have the upper hand. After all, Natus Vincere aren’t here to spoil the party. But they still might have to face the BIG Clan – which, historically speaking, didn’t always end in the favor of the Danes. They last met at the IEM Global Challenge, which ended in a 2-0 victory for BIG. But a lot of time has passed since, and the earliest results of 2021 put to question whether the German team would be able to repeat such a series.

At DreamHack Open January, BIG let themselves be thrown out by Team Spirit. After setting such high expectations over the course of the last 12 months, they  underperformed massively. But maybe they just need some more time to get back into shape after the winter break. Facing OG in their Opening Match, they do get a little breather before heading back into the larger fight – but a confrontation with Astralis seems to be unavoidable.

DO NIP AND OG STAND A CHANCE?

The Ninjas have now struggled for months to even remain in the international Top 20. After making last place in their cs_summit 7 group, the management was finally ready for a change. Simon “twist” Eliasson, who had represented the NiP brand ever since 2019, now unfortunately has to make way. His permanent replacement has not been announced as of yet. In the meantime, Erik “ztr” Gustafsson from the Young Ninjas project has been promoted to the main roster and will play substitute at BLAST. Even if he turns out to be a better player than twist, the change-up will definitely hurt the team for now. Going up against Astralis and BIG, they shouldn’t stand a chance. For a team that has been struggling for months, OG might also be too strong to overtake.

But OG are also not really in shape right now. At cs_summit, they took losses from Fnatic and Heroic, who themselves barely managed to scratch Virtus.pro. This really isn’t a great sign going into a group alongside Astralis and BIG. After all, only two teams can book their tickets to the Spring Finals – and we all have reason to believe that we already know who this will be.