NAVI return to form with victory over Liquid in BLAST Groups

The North American squad has been sent to the Showdown for their last chance to reach the Spring Final.

Natus Vincere advance to the next stage of the gauntlet at BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2022 after defeating Liquid 2-0. The CIS giants look to return to form after a disappointing start to the event, going 0-2 in the opening best-of-one matches in Group B.

After starting from the bottom of the bracket, Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev and co. are now set to face Ninjas in Pyjamas in the second round of the gauntlet. The winner will get the chance to fight a Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković-powered OG for a spot in the Spring Finals.

Meanwhile, Liquid go home after a last-place finish at their first event with the new lineup, which relegates them to the Showdown. Despite their disappointing placement, the squad can take some positives away after a respectable debut from their new AWPer Josh "⁠oSee⁠" Ohm and a few moments of brilliance from Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon.

Unfortunately for the North Americans, oSee didn't come online in the elimination series, only managing 28 frags across the two maps played. On the other hand, returning captain Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella managed to turn his form around in the second map of Ancient, powering his squad to a brief comeback on the CT side.

Mirage gave us a surprisingly competitive first half, with Natus Vincere barely coming out on top 8-7 before halftime. Liquid did a great job in containing the Major champions on the defense despite nitr0's struggles in the first half. After switching sides, Natus Vincere were able to reclaim the driver's seat thanks to another impressive performance from s1mple, closing the 16-10 map with a 32-11 K-D.

The first half of Ancient was a landslide. Andrey "⁠B1ad3⁠" Gorodenskiy's squad made the best out of their CT side, completely shutting down the North American offense in a one-sided 13-2 half. This time it was time for Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy to come online for Natus Vincere, easily topping the scoreboard after a great CT half. Despite a rejuvenated Liquid looking much better on the defence, Natus Vincere secured the three necessary rounds to close the map 16-12 and the series 2-0.

Natus Vincere will face Ninjas in Pyjamas on Friday at 16:30 , with OG waiting to face the winner in the last round of the gauntlet.