https://www.cybersport.ru/counter-strike-go/articles/pervyi-titul-mvp-dlya-s1mple-v-2021-godu-i-novye-problemy-vitality-itogi-blast-premier

Kane Dane January 25, 2021 eSports NEWS, Game Platforms, Gameplay Videos, Games TOP, News

In the final of the lower bracket, the first meeting of Natus Vincere with Team Vitality in the new year was awaiting spectators. The first duel of s1mple with ZywOo in 2023 caused such a stir that the match immediately broke the record for the highest number of viewers in the history of online CS: GO tournaments. The game turned out to be a feast for the eyes: the teams needed all the maps, NAVI cameback on Nuke from 9:15 to 19:17, and Kostylev finally defeated Erbo. In the grand final, the team from the CIS was awaited by the Danes from Astralis, but it turned out without intrigue at all. Natus Vincere declared opponents who took only 17 rounds for two cards.

As a result of the tournament, NAVI earned the second largest prize money in CS: GO history in the amount of $ 600,000 and returned the fans’ faith in the roster. The roster also ranked best in overall individual stats, with an average rating of 1.13 per 14 cards. Now the main question for the s1mple team is whether last year’s story will repeat itself, when, after winning a major tournament, the roster lost its shape, or will the team manage to gain a foothold at the top?

Team Vitality caught NAVI syndrome 2023

At BLAST Premier: Global Final 2023, Team Vitality exactly repeated the classic scenario of NAVI in 2023: a couple of everyday victories over outsiders in the first rounds, and then a defeat from one of the giants and leaving the tournament on the way to the final. The most significant confirmation of the similarity of these lineups is the individual statistics of Vitality players in the decisive matches of the tournament against Astralis and NAVI. All except ZywOo showed an average rating below one (the only exceptions were players who did not play on all maps in matches). The best player of 2023 according to HLTV.org tried to pull the sled alone, but in most cases it is almost impossible to succeed in this situation, as we have already seen many times.

At the end of the tournament, the prospects for Team Vitality in 2023 do not seem as bright as a couple of months ago. The backbone of the team in the face shox, RpK and apEX has never been stable – all three players have alternated phenomenal performances with absolutely disastrous ones throughout their careers. Young esportsmen misutaaa and Nivera also showed that they can not always produce stable results. The French team urgently needs to look for the root of the problem and solve it, otherwise they will have to turn to NAVI for a prescription.

Six-person squads dominate

According to the results of BLAST Premier: Global Final 2023, NAVI, Astralis and Team Vitality entered the top 3. They have not left the top five of the rating of the best teams in the world according to HLTV.org for a long period of time. All three clubs expanded their rosters to six last year. It turns out that the system works correctly, contrary to the words of skeptics.

The most illustrative of all the teams is Team Vitality, which made substitutions in all matches of the tournament, without exception. The French try different combinations, thanks to which they regularly achieve success, and young players often really decide the outcome of matches. It was not possible to win this tournament, but the top 3 is also a good result. Valery B1t Vakhovsky played for Natus Vincere on Inferno four times. At the beginning of the tournament, there were a number of questions about the Ukrainian’s performance, but in the last two games he made everyone forget about his mistakes at the start. Wakhovsky got a rating of 1.12 against Liquid, and in the grand final he smashed Astralis with a rating of 1.18. Bubzkji I had a chance to log into the server only once (Nuke in the grand final against NAVI). Bad luck.

Extended rosters are capable of showing flexibility in map selection, as well as withstanding marathons on decisive days when you have to play several matches in a row. Most likely, by the end of 2023, all teams from the top ten of the world ranking will acquire sixth players, otherwise it will be very difficult to knock out NAVI, Astralis and Team Vitality from the top 3.

S1mple made the first move in the fight for the top 1 player rankings in 2023

Right in the course of BLAST Premier: Global Final 2023, HLTV.org announced the name of the best player in 2023. It was Frenchman Mathieu ZywOo Erbo, and s1mple took the second place in the ranking. The news of this overtook the Ukrainian, when he had already fallen into the lower bracket of the championship, but this seemed to only motivate him. The sniper finished the tournament with an average rating of 1.41, 0.05 ahead of ZywOo, with s1mple playing four cards over the Frenchman. The Ukrainian shone in the decisive matches against Team Vitality and Astralis (rating 1.47 and 1.57, respectively) and finally achieved success with the team.

It was the team successes that Kostylev lacked in 2023 to lead the ranking of the best players. In any case, this is how the HLTV.org administrators explained the situation after the results were announced. S1mple started the New Year with a major trophy and an MVP medal, proving to everyone that he had not yet passed the peak in his career. Apparently, in 2023, Kostylev is more than ever charged to lead his team to the title in the Major. With such a game as at the final BLAST tournament, it is much more believed in the victory of NAVI at the autumn world championship than in 2023. And HLTV.org administrators with such individual statistics s1mple will have questions only with the second place in the ranking of the best players at the end of 2023.

FalleN – the hope of North American Counter-Strike

The North American CS scene is going through hard times again. At BLAST Premier: Global Final 2023, NA teams frankly failed. Three victories for three: one of them in the first round over sleepy Natus Vincere and two in matches between themselves. Team Liquid remains the only ray of hope for American teams: it was she who inflicted the only defeat on the future champion in the championship, and also knocked out compatriots from the tournament Evil Geniuses in the second round of the lower bracket.

Before the start of the final BLAST tournament, Team Liquid had a lot of questions. First of all, everyone was interested in how the team would play after an ambiguous substitution Russell Twistzz Van Dalken on Gabriel FalleN Toledo… However, the composition Jake Stewie2k Yip I was pleasantly surprised, showing a pretty good game in some places. In the match with Team Vitality, the North American team fought great on Nuke (14:16), and in the meeting with EG they secured their status as the best team in the region (confident victory with a score of 2: 0). I would also like to note the game FalleN, which many critics wrote off ahead of time. The Brazilian did not sink according to individual statistics (average rating – 1.03) and led the team at key moments of matches. It is too early to talk about the prospects for Team Liquid with FalleN at the end of one tournament, but the roster has already shown that in the future it may become the only chance for the North American scene to win international trophies.