Astralis crash out of BLAST Fall Final after collapse against Heroic

Fielding virtually a mix team, HEROIC induced another woeful collapse from Astralis on the first map.

HEROIC have eliminated their bitter rivals Astralis from the BLAST Premier Fall Final with a 2-0 series victory, getting the job done on Vertigo (13-8) and Overpass (16-13).

Astralis suffered another collapse like yesterday’s against Complexity on the first map, taking an 8-0 lead only to lose to a 13-round streak from HEROIC. Overpass was a more hotly contested affair, but several key plays from Rasmus "⁠sjuush⁠" Beck were enough to push HEROIC over the line.

Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz will be left scratching his head as to where his team was on Overpass, the AWPer dropped 32 frags whilst the next best effort was 19. sjuush was certainly the key man for HEROIC across the series, but Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller and René "⁠TeSeS⁠" Madsen also made vital contributions.

This may be the last time we see this five compete under the Astralis banner, as HLTV have reported that the organization are closing in on the signings of Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard and Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund.

Astralis are now eliminated from the tournament, whilst HEROIC have a quarter-final bout against Cloud9 to look forward to.

Date	Matches
BLAST Premier Fall Final 2023
24/11/2023	Cloud9 15:30 HEROIC	Match

The series kicked off on Vertigo, and Astralis looked set to take their opponent's pick after they raced out to an 8-0 lead on their T side. HEROIC were uncoordinated and seemed a little lost at times, but they rectified the situation to head into the second period 4-8 down.

Astralis offered absolutely nothing on their CT side, running into a brick wall time and time again as HEROIC grew in confidence with each passing round. A stellar 1v3 clutch from sjuush was needed to ensure smooth sailing, but HEROIC eventually sealed a 13-8 win.

Next up was Overpass, and a powerful 8-4 CT showing from HEROIC set them off on the right foot. Astralis had something to offer in this offensive showing, but only due to some top-notch AWPing from device, which granted them a flurry of rounds in the middle of the half.

A pistol win for HEROIC threatened to make the series a quick 2-0, but when guns came up for Astralis, they began to fight back. device continued to lead the way with the Big Green, but Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr and Christian "⁠Buzz⁠" Andersen recovering from a woeful first-half showing certainly contributed. sjuush popped up with another magical play, however, to force overtime.

sjuush continued to provide massive impact into OT, and his contribution granted HEROIC two offensive rounds. This was enough to ensure a 16-13 win, earning HEROIC bragging rights over their regional rivals.