OG go undefeated in BLAST Group B, secure highest seed in gauntlet stage

After Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković led the way on the first two maps, Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså took over the game in a rematch against Astralis.

OG have secured the highest seed in Group B of the BLAST Premier Spring Groups after an uncontested run through the best-of-one phase of the tournament, beating Astralis twice and MIBR once on the way to first place.

The European squad, who are playing their debut tournament following the swap of Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen and nexa between G2 and OG, are now one series victory away from locking in a spot at the Spring Final. They have two chances to do so, the first of which will come in round 3 of gauntlet stage on Saturday, February 5.

valde powered OG to first place with a 30-bomb against Astralis

The newest addition to the team, nexa, was key in their first two victories on Ancient, while in the last it was valde who stepped up to the plate on Inferno. The duo are currently the highest-rated players of the event at 1.52 and 1.39, respectively, with Nikolaj "⁠niko⁠" Kristensen and Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan featuring in the top five with a 1.24 rating each.

OG have left Astralis behind in second place, with the Danes moving on to the second round of the knockout gauntlet, followed by MIBR in third place and Natus Vincere finishing in last place of the group following a disastrous first day in the new season, which saw them concede a map each to the Brazilians as well as to Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander & co.

1. OG - Move on to gauntlet round 3
2. Astralis - Gauntlet round 2
3. MIBR - Gauntlet round 1
4. Natus Vincere - Gauntlet round 1

Group C is set to follow, featuring four debuting teams. In the first match, Vitality will be making their first appearance with Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen, Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif, and Danny "⁠zonic⁠" Sørensen against the new Evil Geniuses roster boasting new additions in Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip, Timothy "⁠autimatic⁠" Ta, and William "⁠RUSH⁠" Wierzba.

After that, FaZe will take on Liquid in another bout between two new teams, with the former having bolstered their lineup with Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool and the latter having undergone a big overhaul, seeing the return of Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella to the North American side along with the additions of Josh "⁠oSee⁠" Ohm and Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon.

Group C

Sunday, January 30
15:00 Vitality vs. Evil Geniuses
16:00 FaZe vs. Liquid

FaZe #10 Finn 'karrigan' AndersenHåvard 'rain' NygaardRussel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenRobin 'ropz' KoolHelvijs 'broky' Saukants OG #16 Nemanja 'nexa' IsakovićValdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåNikolaj 'niko' KristensenMateusz 'mantuu' WilczewskiShahar 'flameZ' Shushan Josh 'oSee' Ohm Age: 22 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 1021 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.63 Nick 'nitr0' Cannella Age: 26 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.00 Maps played: 1321 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.66 Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn Vangså Age: 26 Team: OG Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1201 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.65 Emil 'Magisk' Reif Age: 23 Team: Vitality Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1325 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.63 Richard 'shox' Papillon Age: 29 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 1953 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.66 Vitality #3 Dan 'apEX' MadesclairePeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenEmil 'Magisk' ReifMathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautKévin 'misutaaa' Rabier Evil Geniuses William 'RUSH' WierzbaTimothy 'autimatic' TaJake 'Stewie2K' YipVincent 'Brehze' CayonteTsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov MIBR #56 Marcelo 'chelo' CespedesRaphael 'exit' LacerdaAdriano 'WOOD7' CeratoMatheus 'Tuurtle' AnhaiaJhonatan 'JOTA' Willian Nemanja 'nexa' Isaković Age: 24 Team: OG Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 1200 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.63 Danny 'zonic' Sørensen Age: 35 Team: VitalityC Nikolaj 'niko' Kristensen Age: 23 Team: OG Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 1184 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66 Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen Age: 24 Team: G2 Rating 1.0: 0.97 Maps played: 957 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.65 G2 #4 Aleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenAudric 'JACKZ' JugNikola 'NiKo' KovačNemanja 'huNter-' KovačIlya 'm0NESY' Osipov Liquid #223 Richard 'shox' PapillonNick 'nitr0' CannellaKeith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJosh 'oSee' Ohm Jake 'Stewie2K' Yip Age: 24 Team: Evil Geniuses Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 1479 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.68 Timothy 'autimatic' Ta Age: 25 Team: Evil Geniuses Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 1122 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.67 Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussen Age: 28 Team: Vitality Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1865 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.65 Natus Vincere #1 Oleksandr 's1mple' KostylievDenis 'electroNic' SharipovKirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovIlya 'Perfecto' ZalutskiyValeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy Robin 'ropz' Kool Age: 22 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 1031 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.62 Astralis #8 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderKristian 'k0nfig' WieneckePhilip 'Lucky' EwaldBenjamin 'blameF' Bremer Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossander Age: 26 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 0.99 Maps played: 1584 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.66 Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan Age: 18 Team: OG Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 341 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.67 William 'RUSH' Wierzba Age: 27 Team: Evil Geniuses Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 1369 KPR: 0.66 DPR: 0.67