Rare Atom claim BLAST Spring Showdown berth

The Chinese squad that was recently bolstered by a pair of Europeans have finally won a qualifier after several near-misses.

phzy has been in imperious form since joining Rare Atom

Rare Atom have earned themselves a shot at BLAST Spring Final qualification by winning the 5E Arena Asia Cup Spring, taking down GR 2-0 in the final.

The Chinese organization concocted a new roster late last year after the departure of Andrew "⁠kaze⁠" Khong and company, bringing in a Chinese core that was complemented by two European signings. One such signing, Love "⁠phzy⁠" Smidebrant, has been utterly unstoppable for Rare Atom, posting a mind-boggling 1.44 rating and 1.66 impact rating thus far in 2024.

Date	Matches
5E Arena Asia Cup Spring 2024 - BLAST Premier Qualifier
31/01/2024	ATOX Finished 19:17 Rare Atom	Match
31/01/2024	Lynn Vision Finished 7:13 Rare Atom	Match
31/01/2024	NKT Finished 11:13 Rare Atom	Match
02/02/2024	Rare Atom Finished 2:0 TYLOO	Match
02/02/2024	GR Finished 0:2 Rare Atom	Match

phzy's immense form was evident throughout Rare Atom's qualification run, although they had to bounce back from a painfully close 17-19 loss to Mongolians ATOX in their opening game. They did so admirably, defeating two of the best teams in the region, Lynn Vision and TYLOO, to head to the playoffs of the tournament.

Rare Atom rematched TYLOO in the semi-final of the playoffs, and phzy single-handedly battered the Chinese side with a 1.72 rating.GR awaited in the grand final and they were brushed aside with relative ease, phzy once again shining as Rare Atom sealed a Spring Showdown spot.

Rare Atom	K - D	Swing	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Love 'phzy' Smidebrantphzy	167 - 102	+5.38%	98.2	78.9%	1.55
Kornél 'kory' Szedlárkory	117 - 121	+0.26%	82.6	71.9%	1.12
Heng 'expro' Yangexpro	116 - 117	+1.73%	73.8	68.4%	1.04
YuLun 'Summer' CaiSummer	100 - 114	-1.64%	66.5	76.0%	0.98
HaoWen 'somebody' Xusomebody	108 - 115	+0.15%	66.3	64.9%	0.96

With their victory, Rare Atom become the 11th team to qualify for the Spring Showdown. Five spots are left to be decided, with those spots going to the winners of regional qualifiers in North America, South America, West and East Europe, and Iberia.

The team list for BLAST Premier Spring Showdown is as follows:

Complexity
Cloud9
Falcons
Spirit
BIG
GamerLegion
West EU Masters Spring
East EU Masters Spring

Liquid
Ninjas in Pyjamas
HEROIC
OG
Rare Atom
/ RTP Arena Spring
Ace NA Masters Spring
Ace SA Masters Spring