Astralis have stunned the world number ones.
NAVI took on Astralis in the opening match of the BLAST Premier World Finals 2024. The International squad has been the team to beat in 2024 ever since their EWC win. Meanwhile for Astralis, it has been roster change after roster change as the team struggles to set up a consistent system. Casper "cadiaN" Møller's return failed to impress at the Fall Finals, but Astralis came into the World Finals ready to impress.
BLAST Premier World Finals - Astralis vs NAVI - Match Recap
- Astralis removed Anubis
- Natus Vincere removed Vertigo
- Astralis picked Nuke
- Natus Vincere picked Mirage
- Astralis removed Dust2
- Natus Vincere removed Ancient
- Inferno was left over
Astralis had the surprise factor in the veto thanks to their pick of Nuke. While it was a map they felt comfortable floating ever since this roster was formed, this was the first time they'd actually show what they had in the store.
Astralis vs NAVI Rosters - World Finals
Astralis | NAVI |
|---|---|
| Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz | Valerij "b1t" Vakhovsjkyj |
| Victor "Staehr" Staehr | Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen |
| Martin "stavn" Lund | Justinas "jL" Lekavičius |
| Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard | Mihai "iM" Ivan |
| Casper "cadiaN" Møller | Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov |
| Casper "ruggah" Due (C) | Andrij "B1ad3" Ghorodensjkyj (C) |
Map 1 - Nuke - device masterclass powers Astralis
Astralis opened Nuke with intensity. Stavn and jabbi’s quick headshots secured the pistol round, and Staehr helped extend the streak. NAVI first showed resistance in Round 5, forcing device into a 1v2, but he clutched it, putting Astralis up 5-0.
NAVI finally broke through in the next round, with Aleksib and iM securing double kills. Leading from the front, Aleksib’s multifrags brought NAVI back, leveling the score at five rounds. But NAVI needed a pistol win to stay competitive, and Astralis had other plans.”
Astralis dominated NAVI on CT side, with device going nuclear. From the pistol round, Astralis held control. Device notched 20 kills, with stavn at his side, bringing them to match point. In round 18, NAVI found a chance as b1t took down stavn in heaven, opening A site and taking the first round. NAVI looked set to go back to back, but in the postplant, jL lost the round by jumping into jabbi’s sights. Aleksib faced a 1v2, but device clinched the win.
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Map 2 - Mirage - Astralis annihilate NAVI
The NAVI side put a better foot forward on Mirage, opening with a 4-0 lead. But that was all they could muster as Astralis got back into their Nuke groove. Their CT side was solid with jabbi leading the charge. A last gasp round for NAVI gave them yet another 7-5 half, but Astralis looked thoroughly in control.
Switching over to the attack, the Astralis side just kept firing on all cylinders. jabbi's dominated across the server and Astralis quickly found match point. One final round went the way of NAVI, thanks to b1t's triple kill, but Astralis on just pistols executed a perfect A-execute to close the series out 2-0.
After that surprising victory, Astralis guarantee themselves a playoffs appearance at the event. NAVI, meanwhile, drop down to the lower bracket, awaiting the loser of FaZe vs MOUZ. A tough opponent regardless of the result, but the onus will be on NAVI to shed the ring rust. Blad3 said before the event that winning in Singapore would mean too much confidence for NAVI. Right now the opposite looks set to be the case.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for more BLAST Premier World Finals coverage directly from Singapore.
