Gambit beat Complexity to book upper bracket final spot in BLAST Premier Spring Final

The CIS high-fliers march on in the $425,000 tournament with a convincing victory.

"We've got to prove that we can beat them; we've been so close in the past," Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke said in the pre-match interview. "Now it's time to f--king beat them."

Like two weeks ago, in the IEM Summer Group A lower bracket final, Complexity came close but couldn't get over the line. This time around, they were defeated in two close maps by Gambit, who are through to Saturday's upper bracket final against the winner of BIG vs. Natus Vincere.

It was yet another case of so close yet so far for Complexity, whose leads in both maps always seemed fragile. Like in the previous series, they couldn't overcome the little mistakes that a team like Gambit ruthlessly punishes. Even when they were behind, the CIS side seemed to be one step ahead.

Gambit came out the brighter of the two sides, taking a 4-0 lead on the T side of their map pick of Mirage. Complexity responded with little more than a few Desert Eagles and put some rounds together to level the score, before Gambit ended the half on a high with a four-round streak.

Things looked bright for Complexity as the second half got underway. They seized control of the game and pushed Gambit's players right up against the ropes, immediately trading back a round won by the CIS team. But then Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a trio of frags in an eco round to charge the course of the map. With the momentum generated, Gambit regained their composure and took control of proceedings, keeping their beleaguered opponents in check for a dominant 6-0 run.

k0nfig lit up the server in the first half of Vertigo, leading his team's efforts in a 9-6 half with a 20-8 score and a 128 ADR. It was an impressive CT showing from Complexity, but they still had to be kicking themselves after the end of the half for letting their foot off the gas for a while after a 6-0 start.

Gambit restored parity after winning the opening three rounds of the half, but their momentum was halted in the first gun round as Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage pulled off an ace clutch. However, the IEM Summer champions quickly regained their footing and kept their opponents at bay, weathering a very late comeback attempt to secure the map and put the series to rest.