BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024NiKo powers G2 to beat Vitality at Fall Final
G2 have taken revenge for their last meeting against Vitality in the Spring Final.
G2 have emerged victorious in the first semi-final of BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024, moving past Vitality in a tense, back-and-forth series that culminated in a stellar map of Mirage that went to overtime.
Aside from securing Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski's men a place in the grand final of the event in Copenhagen, this matchup also served as the first meeting between G2 and Vitality in over three months. The last time the two teams had met was at the Spring Final, where Vitality sent a G2 lineup featuring Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen and Nemanja "nexa" Isaković packing from the event in last place.
This time around, Nikola "NiKo" Kovač and new addition Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa were keen on turning the result around, as the star rifling duo posted respective series ratings of 1.47 and 1.43.
"This was very important to us, because this was a match where we could see where we stand," shared NiKo immediately after the series. "[Seeing] if we belong in the top two or three, a very important game for us."
The importance of this series was made clear by an odd aspect of the post-match interview; in NiKo's hands was a desk with a hole in it, left by the Bosnian superstar after coming up just short of a 1v5 in the final map of the match.
The hectic series between the world's second and third-best teams kicked off on G2's pick of Anubis, the first time the new iteration of this lineup picked Anubis in a series. Despite strong showings from malbsMd and NiKo on their pick, a rough go of things for Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov proved to be the difference-maker, with Vitality stealing away their opponent's pick 13-9.
Despite not being able to cash in on their Anubis gambit, G2 remained undeterred on Vitality's pick of Dust2, snagging seven of the last nine rounds of the first half to secure a strong lead heading into their CT-side.
Clip: A m0NESY 1v3 kicks off a streak of rounds for G2 on the defense
This time around, G2 had the good fortune of having a warmed-up m0NESY on the server, as the young Russian joined his star riflers to push his team to a 13-7 victory on Dust2.
Mirage would serve as the final map of the series, and it certainly delivered. Vitality hit the ground running on the offense thanks to fine handiwork from Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, but G2 clawed their way back in the latter part of the half, taking a 7-5 lead thanks to a 1v2 from captain Snax.
Clip: NiKo smashes his desk after nearly securing a 1v5 clutch
Vitality reclaimed the lead after securing the second pistol, and although NiKo nearly stunned them with a spectacular 1v5 clutch attempt, Dan "apEX" Madesclaire's men remained in control to claim a 12-9 scoreline.
Despite the emotions after missing out on the 1v5, NiKo kicked it into high gear in the remaining rounds of regulation and helped to drag the series to overtime, where his high-octane plays spearheaded a 16-14 win for G2.
  Vitality |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 - 50 | +2.02% | 85.3 | 68.1% | 1.21 | |
| 51 - 51 | +0.21% | 85.3 | 73.6% | 1.14 | |
| 50 - 53 | -0.46% | 70.7 | 72.2% | 1.02 | |
| 42 - 45 | -1.61% | 60.4 | 68.1% | 0.90 | |
| 26 - 54 | -3.66% | 49.8 | 66.7% | 0.71 |
 G2 |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 - 46 | +3.99% | 102.5 | 83.3% | 1.47 | |
| 66 - 46 | +2.77% | 92.2 | 84.7% | 1.43 | |
| 43 - 41 | -1.99% | 73.5 | 80.6% | 1.13 | |
| 38 - 47 | +0.57% | 62.1 | 76.4% | 0.91 | |
| 39 - 46 | -1.85% | 55.8 | 70.8% | 0.85 |
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