BLAST Premier World Final playoff bracket set

OG upset the odds to win their group and earn a spot in the semi-finals.

The BLAST Premier World Final playoff bracket has been decided, with six teams set to continue battle in Abu Dhabi for their share of the $1,000,000 prize pool. The quarter-finals will take place in a studio environment, before the final four teams clash in front of a live audience in the Etihad Arena.

FaZe built upon a top-two finish at the Fall Final in Copenhagen by dispatching of G2 and Liquid to win their group, thus securing a semi-final berth. Joining them will be OG, the surprise package of the event so far, who took down Vitality and current world No. 1 HEROIC to earn their spot.

OG have surprised with their excellent showing thus far

The first quarter-final will pitch a Liquid side who managed a solid top-four finish at the Fall Final against Natus Vincere, who are looking to finish the year strong after a disappointing finish at the Major and falling at the quarter-finals stage in Copenhagen. Both teams defeated in-form squads, Outsiders and HEROIC respectively, on their way to the playoffs, and the winner of their match will earn a semi-final matchup against OG.

On the other side of the bracket G2 will take on Vitality, the former looking to redeem themselves after missing the IEM Rio Major and only managing a top-six finish at the Fall Final, the latter hoping to rediscover their trophy-winning ESL Pro League form after flopping in Brazil. FaZe awaits the winner of this bout in the semi-finals.

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OG's World Final qualification exposes major flaws in BLAST's Leaderboard

The event in Abu Dhabi has thrown up plenty of surprises so far, the two top-ranked teams in the world, HEROIC and Outsiders, being eliminated from the competition in joint-last place. The Danes have a reasonable excuse however, as they attended this event with Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke standing in for their best-rated player in 2022, Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund.

OG has been the protagonist of the positive story of the event, with the squad coming into the World Final facing scrutiny over their presence considering their underwhelming form throughout the year. They shut out the noise admirably, winning their group off the back of excellent performances from Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan and Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov.

The schedule for the playoffs is as follows:

Date	Matches
BLAST Premier World Final 2022
16/12/2022	Liquid 12:30 Natus Vincere	Match
16/12/2022	G2 16:45 Vitality	Match
17/12/2022	OG 12:30 Liquid	Match
17/12/2022	FaZe 17:05 G2	Match
18/12/2022	Liquid 11:00 G2	Match