Cloud9 defeat BIG to secure BLAST Premier Spring Final berth

Cloud9 built upon their runner-up finish at ESL Pro League by securing a spot in Washington.

The BLAST Premier Spring Final spot on offer in Europe has gone to Cloud9 after they defeated BIG 2-1 in the final of the Showdown, recovering from a narrow 14-16 loss on Inferno by winning Vertigo 16-11 and Mirage 16-3.

The series began on BIG’s pick of Inferno and as the 16-14 scoreline suggests, there was little to separate the two teams. It was the immense impact of Marcel "⁠hyped⁠" Köhn and Karim "⁠Krimbo⁠" Moussa, combined with an unusually quiet map from Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov, that allowed BIG to eke out a narrow victory.

On Vertigo it was a more straightforward affair as Cloud9 were simply imperious on their defense, often powered by the much improved Ax1Le. This made up for their wasteful offense, which too often let advantageous situations slip.

The decider of Mirage was completely one-sided as Cloud9 blew BIG off the server with a 13-2 offense, which made the second half a formality and secured their spot in Washington.

There is no doubt that Cloud9 have brushed off the early difficulties they experienced after adding Timur "⁠buster⁠" Tulepov; they have now won 16 of the last 17 matches they have played, their only loss coming to FaZe in the final of ESL Pro League. The new man was in superlative form on Mirage but the whole Cloud9 roster found impact across the two maps they won, at times seeming untouchable when it came to even duels. Should the squad continue at their current tilt, they will be candidates for the trophy at any tournament they attend.

As for BIG, they have been in mixed form since adding hyped, at times displaying an excellent level such as in their narrow loss to HEROIC at ESL Pro League, but also suffering from lows like losses to Apeks and HEET. hyped has certainly shown promise, but what is also exciting is the growing stature of Krimbo, who has been putting up some strong carry performances in recent times to match his prowess in late-round situations. BIG will, however, need to find more consistency moving forward.

Cloud9 join a stacked lineup at the Spring Final that now includes six of the top seven teams in the world. The final spot will be decided this evening as Imperial take on paiN in the Americas Showdown.

Date	Matches
BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2023 Americas
02/04/2023	paiN 23:20 Imperial	Match

The team list for the BLAST Premier Spring Final is: