BLAST Rivals Spring was almost a repeat of IEM Melbourne. A lot of top teams entered the tournament, Team Vitality and Team Falcons reached the Grand Final, and Vitality won after a very difficult battle that required five maps to conclude.
Vitality vs. Falcons
Vitality and Falcons know each other well at this point. Each of them has their favorite maps and a wide range of tactics. With them, they tend to overwhelm lesser teams, even when those teams have formidable players on their rosters.
To reach the Grand Final of BLAST Rivals Spring, Vitality won group A and then defeated Team Spirit in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Falcons won group B and then defeated MOUZ in the semifinals. The playoffs victories were not entirely free but they weren’t as tough as you’d expect at this competitive level.
In the Grand Final, Vitality removed Ancient while Falcons removed Anubis. The two teams then quickly picked their favorite maps: Inferno for Vitality and Dust II for Falcons. Train, Mirage, and Nuke were the other three maps.
Strangely enough, Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov performed so well on Inferno that his team managed to put an end to Vitality’s incredible win streak on this map.
But when everyone expected Falcons to win on Dust II, Vitality proceeded to do the same and equalized.
On Train, the battle ended rather quickly again thanks to Vitality’s exceptional CT side. Mirage was a struggle for Falcons, who won 9 rounds in the first half but then needed overtime to win.
On Nuke, we all knew in advance what to expect and Vitality didn’t disappoint. They were just a bit better in the key rounds, which allowed them to win 8 – 13.
Once again, Vitality’s victory would not have been possible without Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut’s phenomenal performance. His 90 – 66 score and his clutches should bring him another Player of the Year award at the end of 2025.
