NaVi and Gambit set up CIS derby with 2-0 wins at BLAST Premier

The BLAST Premier Spring Finals Day 3 featured two lower bracket matches and two matches in the upper bracket. The two eliminations from the lower bracket saw NiP and G2 esports survive the scare. In the upper bracket, Gambit took on Complexity while Na’Vi were up against BIG on Day 3 of the tournament.

Gambit had a solid start to Mirage, but Complexity won four rounds in a row to bring some balance to the game. A 9-6 T-side lead for Gambit on Mirage was always going to be a tough lead to crack. Complexity had a strong start yet again on its T-side in the second half, but Gambit secured 7 of the last 8 rounds to win the map. Vladislav "nafany" Gorshkov and Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov topped the charts for Gambit, but it was the team effort that helped the team secure the win.

Mirage was Complexity’s map pick and now we move on to Gambit’s map choice. The team has been phenomenal on Vertigo so far in 2021 and this series was no exception. However, It wasn’t easy as Complexity was well-prepared for Vertigo. 

The team started strong winning the first six rounds with ease. Complexity was up 9-4 at one point in time, but Gambit managed to claw back the last two rounds. A 6-9 first-half score was just enough for Gambit as they had the perfect read on their CT side. The team won eight of the first ten rounds in the second half displaying their understanding of the map and Complexity's playstyle.

While Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov and Nafany performed well, as they usually do, it was Abay "Hobbit" Khassenov that topped the chart for Gambit. The veteran player, with years of experience, found himself in positional advantages compared to Complexity. Constantly out-maneuvering the opponents, Hobbit was able to finish the map with an impressive 89.8 ADR.

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BIG picked Dust 2 as its map, no surprises here. The German team has always preferred Dust 2 with AWPs and Rifles playing a big role on the map. This time though, it was a mistake.

Na’Vi thrashed BIG 16-2 on Dust 2. It was a one-sided match with every Na’Vi player turning up 'BIG' on this map. Perfecto, in particular, had some clutch moments that could have seen BIG secure more round victories. 

Na’Vi picked Inferno as its map choice and this map was much closer than Dust 2. BIG started off with a 4-1 lead (already more rounds than Dust 2) and finished the map with a 9-6 score. 

But Na’Vi’s T-side was unstoppable. With two of the best riflers on its roster, Na’Vi stormed off to a 16-14 win. BIG had a few round victories, intermittently, on the CT side. But it was not enough as Denis "electronic" Sharipov and Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev secured 21 and 23 kills respectively.

The victories for Na’Vi and Gambit means the two teams will play in a CIS derby on June 18th. The winner of this match will advance to the BLAST Premier Grand finals. Meanwhile, Complexity and BIG are now in the lower bracket where one loss will send them out of the tournament.

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