G2 sweep Liquid to claim BLAST Premier World Final title

G2 clinched the organization's first Big Event win since DreamHack Masters Malmö 2017.

G2's three-year trophy drought has finally come to an end after the European side took down Liquid 2-0 to secure the BLAST Premier World Final trophy. The feat marks the organization's first piece of silverware since Champions Cup 2019 and their first Big Event triumph in five years, dating all the way back to DreamHack Masters Malmö 2017, when the organization still fielded an all-French lineup. G2 delivered the North American side a 16-7 beatdown on their map pick, Inferno, and closed out the series 16-12 on Mirage.

A 1-2 loss to FaZe in the opening series put G2 on the back foot early in the competition, but they found their way to the grand final after taking down reigning Major champions Outsiders in the Group A lower final, knocking out Vitality in the quarters and exacting revenge on FaZe in the semis. Each member of G2 delivered a championship-caliber performance in the match, but it was Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage who topped the scoreboard with 40 kills and a 1.35 rating.

Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov bagged the tournament MVP medal, making him the youngest player in history to win the award at a Big Event. The 17-year-old AWPer finished the competition with a tournament-high 1.24 rating across 12 maps to earn the distinction.

G2 finish the year with the organization's first trophy since 2019

A 1vs3 clutch from Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač kicked off the grand final as a back-and-forth exchange quickly ensued between the two sides, resulting in a 2-2 deadlock. Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač pulled off a 1vs3 clutch of his own in the fifth, which sparked G2's seven-round spree to put them ahead 9-2. Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski stopped the bleeding with a triple in the 12th and Liquid picked up the last round before the switch, but G2 were still comfortably ahead 11-4 at halftime.

G2 and Liquid traded three-round streaks at the beginning of the second period, but it wouldn't take long before Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen's men wrapped up Inferno in convincing fashion, 16-7. jks was a reliable performer and constant threat all throughout the map, besting all other players on the server with a 21-9 K-D, 95.7 ADR and 1.59 rating in the end.

Mirage opened in similar fashion to the first map with both teams trading scores before G2 embarked on yet another lengthy spree en route to a 9-3 lead. Even with all the momentum on the Europeans' side, Liquid fared better this time around and won the last three rounds before the switch as the scoreline read 9-6 in G2's favor. The North American outfit's efforts were spearheaded by EliGE's team-high 12 kills, highlighted by a quad-kill in the 13th which snapped G2's run.

G2 hit double-digits and extended their advantage to five at the beginning of the second half, but when all hope seemed lost Liquid turned on the afterburners at the most crucial moment. Powered by the collective efforts of Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic, EliGE, and the captain Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella, the North Americans breathed new life into the game and levelled the score at 11-11. Despite Liquid's best efforts at a comeback, G2 stood their ground and m0NESY delivered the final blow to wrap up the map, 16-12, and the grand final 2-0.

BLAST Premier World Final 2022Best of 3

Liquid

Matchpage

0

2

18th December 2022

G2

7

Inferno

16

12

Mirage

16

Liquid	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Jonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiEliGE	37 - 33	+4	77.5	72.5%	1.09
Keith 'NAF' MarkovicNAF	30 - 38	-8	68.8	62.7%	0.87
Josh 'oSee' OhmoSee	29 - 34	-5	59.5	66.7%	0.80
Nick 'nitr0' Cannellanitr0	26 - 39	-13	58.2	56.9%	0.74
Mareks 'YEKINDAR' GaļinskisYEKINDAR	21 - 36	-15	57.6	56.9%	0.73

G2	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Justin 'jks' Savagejks	40 - 24	+16	83.0	78.4%	1.35
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipovm0NESY	39 - 28	+11	74.2	74.5%	1.27
Nemanja 'huNter-' KovačhuNter-	38 - 31	+7	83.2	74.5%	1.22
Nikola 'NiKo' KovačNiKo	35 - 31	+4	76.2	78.4%	1.22
Rasmus 'HooXi' NielsenHooXi	26 - 29	-3	62.1	68.6%	0.97

Final standings of BLAST Premier World Final 2022:

1. G2 - $500,000
2. Liquid - $250,000
3-4. FaZe - $85,000
3-4. OG - $85,000
5-6. Natus Vincere - $25,000
5-6. Vitality - $25,000
7-8. HEROIC - $15,000
7-8. Outsiders - $15,000