The upcoming BLAST tournament, the Premier Spring Groups series, have announced the initial group seedings & matches. The twelve team event kicks off on Thursday 4th February, with all teams being 'partner' teams of DreamHack.
Wasting no time getting the heavy hitters into action, the tournament kicks off with Astralis taking on the stalwart team of Ninjas in Pyjamas. Followed by OG attempting to overcome BIG, in Group A. Each group will have three days of matches, then a break day, and then the next group will play out their three days, culminating with the Grand Final on February 14th.
The teams have been sorted into three groups, which are;
Group 1:
OG,
Astralis,
BIG
Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP)
Group 2:
G2,
Evil Geniuses,
Vitality,
Complexity
Group 3:
MIBR,
Team Liquid,
Natus Vincere (Na'Vi),
FaZe
With each group being stacked in its own way, this is certainly looking like an event with surprise exits for some teams early on. Na'Vi are fresh off their victory at BLAST Premier Finals, Vitality also recently had success at BLAST Premier Fall, with BIG winning three events in 2020. All the teams are fired up, and with expectations for some teams flying high with viewers, this event will certainly sort the men from the boys. Group 2 has already been dubbed a 'contender for the group of death' by BLAST themselves.
The schedule & first matches announced are, using UTC/GMT times;
Group A
February 4
1530 - Astralis v NIP
1830 - OG v BIG
February 5
1530 - Winners match
1830 - Elimination match
February 6
1530 - Consolidation Final
1930 - Grand Final
Group B
February 8
1530 - Complexity v Vitality
1830 - G2 v Evil Geniuses
February 9
1530 - Winners match
1830 - Elimination match
February 10
1530 - Consolidation Final
1930 - Grand Final
Group C
February 12
1530 - MIBR v Natus Vincere
1830 - Liquid v FaZe
February 13
1530 - Winners match
1830 - Elimination match
February 14
1530 - Consolidation Final
1930 - Grand Final
All matched are planned for Best of 3, including the finals. Teams who lose their first match will be placed into a lower bracket, to have a second chance to progress in the tournament.
You can find more information about this event, and BLAST events in general, at their twitter located here.
