MIBR shock NAVI in BLAST Premier Spring Groups

Reigning Major champions Natus Vincere open their account for the year with a shock loss to a team ranked 55 spots below them in the world rankings.

MIBR took a shock upset to open Group B of BLAST Spring by defeating Natus Vincere on Dust2 16-12. Natus Vincere generally struggled, but Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev in particular had an uncharacteristically quiet game for the reigning Major champions, managing only four kills in the first half and finishing with a 0.83 rating.

This unexpected result sends Natus Vincere down to the lower bracket, though it is far from the end of the world for the CIS side, as no one will be eliminated in the first stage of the Spring Groups.

MIBR played a bold game and it was an incredibly successful strategy for them as they went a staggering 20:8 in opening duels. Natus Vincere struggled with the aggressive approach of the Brazilians, particularly s1mple who found himself on the wrong end of the entry frag time after time.

The first half was a tight battle between the two squads, with the Brazilian squad winning their T-side pistol and converting before the CIS superstars picked up five on the bounce to get out to a 5-3 lead. MIBR began to grow into the half, finding plenty of success winning opening duels, and Natus Vincere needed two stellar retakes to get into the half at merely an 7-8 deficit.

MIBR's success in opening duels continued into the second half, and bar a four round streak early in the half, Natus Vincere really struggled to get much going on the offense. An imperious defence took hold when the score hit 11-10 in Natus Vincere's favour off the back of the aforementioned streak, with the Brazilians winning six of the final seven rounds to take home a memorable victory.

A team effort got MIBR over the line in this game, with Matheus "⁠Tuurtle⁠" Anhaia, Raphael "⁠exit⁠" Lacerda and Breno "⁠brnz4n⁠" Poletto all posting a 1.30 rating or better. Only Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov posted above a 1.00 rating for Natus Vincere, emphasising just how much of an off-game this was for the CIS team.

A special mention goes to brnz4n for his stellar showing, stepping up from the academy roster to stand-in for Marcelo "⁠chelo⁠" Cespedes in this event.