Vitality overpower BIG to earn BLAST Fall Final berth

The German-majority squad will require a successful run through the Fall Showdown if they wish to secure their own place in the Royal Arena.

Vitality are the fifth team to qualify for the BLAST Premier Fall Final — set to play out in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 22-26 — following a 2-0 victory over BIG.

Vitality, who signed Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan in place of Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen over the off-season, were sent down to the must-win knockout stage following a surprising loss to Ninjas in Pyjamas in the Group A final. The team around Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire continued to look shaky at the outset of Anubis, often dropping the ball despite being in advantageous situations, but found their footing as the map went on, putting up a solid T-side to clinch the Egypt-inspired map, 16-11, before reverting back to their world-class form in time for Inferno, 16-8.

BIG's quest to earn their own appearance in the Royal Arena now rests on a successful campaign through the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown, an online competition going live on October 4-8 and offering two berths to the Fall Final. The German-majority team are renowned for their prowess in online settings, and will look to harness that once again when the qualifying tournament gets going in two months' time.

Of particular note was Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski's superb form in spite of the defeat. The Polish AWPer, who was brought into the team amidst BIG's pivot to an English-speaking lineup over the player break, ended the series atop the scoreboard after averaging a superlative 1.51 rating alongside a 52-28 K-D ratio — encouraging signs for a player whose last official prior to his signing was back in June 2022.

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BIG's pick of Anubis got the Fall Group's penultimate series underway, the Germans prevailing in the early back-and-forth brawl to build up their finances and harness a 4-2 lead on the T-side. It was only when Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi won back-to-back 1vs1 clutches in rounds seven and eight that Vitality started to inch into the lead, but the Franco-Israeli combine's decision-making ultimately cost them the half. BIG, oftentimes armed with just pistols or placed in other disadvantageous situations, regularly capitalized on Vitality's overzealous nature, enough to head into the break with an 8-7 scoreline.

Vitality stabilized and returned to winning ways once on the more favored T-side, an uptick in form by Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut — nine kills in five rounds — coinciding with his side's sprint to a 13-11 scoreline. From this point on, it was simply a case of Vitality using their momentum to snowball their way to victory on the Germans' map pick, with apEX's troops going on to win six in a row to steal Anubis, 16-11, and send the series to their choice of Inferno.

Vitality were far more in control once their Inferno pick began; the Paris Major champions took the advantage with a force-buy win in round two before fending off BIG's attempts to hop back in the driver's seat thanks to impressive marksmanship by Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif and his FAMAS. It was only thanks to sublime AWPing from mantuu, BIG's second-highest-rated player of the Fall Groups, that the Germans were able to prevent Vitality from running away with things, but the Pole was unable to be a one-man army for long, with the multinational lineup chaining together five rounds late in the half to sport a comfortable 10-5 cushion at the side swap.

It was much of the same once play resumed following the break, with Vitality again pulling off a low-investment round win, this time thanks to ZywOo and his SSG-03, to empty BIG's coffers and send the Germans down to pistols. Vitality, brimming with confidence after such a one-sided Inferno thus far, had a spot in the Fall Final in the palm of their hands, and it was a prize they refused to relinquish control of, conceding just one round en route to a 16-8 and 2-0 victory.