The decisive match at BLAST Open Spring 2026 had exceptional historical meaning. NAVI reached their second grand final in a row. For Vitality, it became a continuation of their dominant era.
In two recent Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournaments, NAVI and Team Vitality claimed the trophies. Vitality became the champions at PGL Cluj-Napoca, restarting their new win streak after IEM Kraków 2026. NAVI celebrated victory at ESL Pro League Season 23; however, Vitality skipped that event.
BLAST Open Spring 2026 in Rotterdam proves a nice consistency in the results improvement for NAVI. They could not reach the main event at BLAST Bounty and at IEM Kraków at the start of this year, so seeing them on top again certainly feels great for the fans. Claiming the second title in a row could be a historic achievement for NAVI, but defeating Vitality at BLAST Open Rotterdam was a tremendous challenge.
Vitality players are on the track of repeating their amazing tournament-win streak from the first half of 2025. Claiming the third one in Rotterdam is huge even for them, and, hands down, Team Vitality were truly the favorites against NAVI.
Team Vitality versus NAVI: The grand final at CS2 BLAST Open Spring 2026 in Rotterdam
These teams did not have direct clashes in the most recent tournaments. Vitality and NAVI were often seeded in different groups, as it was in the first phase of BLAST Open Spring 2026. Then, NAVI were eliminated, while Vitality battled for (and claimed) the trophies.
The general reputation of Team Vitality as the current CS2 esports powerhouses is indisputable. Expectations are high from them: the community and esports betting proclaim Vitality strong favorites over NAVI in the grand final at BLAST Open in Rotterdam.
Vitality 3:0 NAVI — Team Vitality wins the grand final and BLAST Open Spring 2026 in Rotterdam
| Banned maps | Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Map 4 | Map 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient, VIT Overpass, NAVI | Inferno, VIT pick | Anubis, NAVI pick | Dust II, VIT pick | Mirage, NAVI pick | Nuke, decider |
| VIT 13:7 NAVI | VIT 13:10 NAVI | VIT 13:10 NAVI | – | – |
Team Vitality were great on every map, specifically with their individual performance. Sometimes, it looked like they won too easily — the class gap between Vitality and NAVI was notable, even if NAVI is the second team in the world right now.
NAVI had their good moments and chances for recovery. Map scores prove this. Still, the final stomps were by Vitality.
Team Vitality defeated NAVI and claimed their third tournament win in a row.
“The game was a bit stressful towards the end; it raised the adrenaline, the energy. But, on the other notes, we felt good throughout the game, even the round we lost, with clutches… I think, throughout the game, there are a lot of things we did well. We didn’t panic, didn’t get scared. We knew we are on the top of the game, still.”
Shahar “flameZ” Shushan
Inferno
NAVI followed the pace of Vitality nicely in the first half of Inferno. Specifically, Drin “makazze” Shaqiri delivered an excellent offense, like a clutch in round 2 that helped NAVI win on low buy.
Then, Vitality dominated on the CT side of Map 1. It was a continuation of the amazing play of Robin “ropz” Kool, with his 27-13 kills-death stats and mindblowing 141 ADR. Headshots from Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut were also very helpful, as ZywOo often prepared the ground for ropz to finish a round.
Anubis
Despite having some good rounds on the CT side, NAVI were suffocated by Vitality’s pressure closer to the break. On this map, Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi joined makazze for excellent individual play in the NAVI roster — like a great positioning and smoke spam to earn a number advantage.
Vitality had a great start as CTs. ZywOo won on a low buy after Vitality lost the second pistols. William “mezii” Merriman finished another clutch for Vitality to cement their CT advantage.
Then NAVI suddenly woke up, delivering awesome rounds. Clever strategies by the coach, Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi, were felt in those well-timed rushes.
ZywOo missed too many frags, but the teammates were there for him. To eventually reverse the course of this map, Vitality pulled off a tricky boost in round 22, for an unusual scope aim. To seal the deal, flameZ won a difficult retake, and ropz smashed the offenders solo on the B site.
Dust II
The first half of the map was absolutely desperate for NAVI. The level of it was declared right in the pistols, with four kills by ropz. Vitality had perfect map control, striking NAVI from all sorts of angles.
NAVI won a retake in round 4, and they had two good rounds before the break, but the side switch continued their suffering. After winning the second pistols, NAVI fell into a losing series, starting with no time for defuse in round 6.
When it looked like everything was over, NAVI woke up and held Vitality on the map and tournament point for six rounds. Among the stood up players was b1t again — like with his 1v2 clutch in round 18. It looked like NAVI started reading Vitality’s map movements.
Still, Vitality needed only one round, and they took it even on poor weaponry. Dan “apEX” Madesclaire denied an A entrance by NAVI, and his teammates sealed the deal.
Casual wins for Team Vitality, with some overtime tension
During the group stage of BLAST Open Spring 2026 in Rotterdam, Team Vitality lost no maps and confidently marched to the playoffs. Their semifinal also looked casually simple.
At the same time, Vitality faced pretty strong opponents. In the groups, they defeated The MongolZ and PARIVISION. These teams managed to bring the second maps to overtime, which already feels like an achievement against Vitality.
Aurora Gaming were in the grand final at EPL Season 23 and in the top 8 at previous big events. They lost to Vitality on just two maps in the semifinal, with 5:13s.
NAVI are on a mission to rebuild confidence
The win streak for NAVI is also a real thing, albeit only for matches and not tournament wins like Vitality.
Natus Vincere had a great run at ESL Pro League Season 23 and won that event. They earned three victories in the groups at BLAST Open Spring 2026, including over Team Falcons and Aurora.
In the semifinal, NAVI defeated PARIVISION, which is a big deal at the moment. These opponents won BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 and reached the grand final at IEM Kraków. PARIVISION is generally considered the most successful underdog story of this season.
Surprise downfalls at BLAST Open Spring 2026
The tournament featured a few surprises, in terms of big teams being eliminated early.
- MOUZ made it from having troubles only in matches against Vitality to losing to FUT Esports at EPL Season 23 and to 9Z Team in the groups of BLAST Open Spring 2026.
- FURIA couldn’t qualify for the playoffs at two events in a row. This time, they lost to Aurora and Team Falcons.
- FaZe Clan reached the point where their early elimination is not even surprising. At BLAST Spring 2026 Season 1, they lost to Aurora and TYLOO.
- Team Spirit can’t get themselves together in 2026. At this event, they were eliminated by The MongolZ.
Both NAVI and Team Vitality decided to skip the next CS2 esports tournament, which is PGL Bucharest 2026 from April 3 to April 11.
All the top competitors gather at Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2026, from April 13 to April 19.