Try shines as 9z eliminate Vitality from BLAST Premier Spring Showdown

French CS:GO fans were in for a shock on Thursday as Team Vitality crashed out of the BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown. South American CS:GO team, 9z, took down Vitality in three maps to stay alive in the tournament. This series was CSGO legend, Cédric "RpK" Guipouy's final game with Team Vitality.

Vitality is one of the most popular CS:GO teams in the world. Despite being the overwhelming favorite to win the match, Vitality lost to 9z who was playing with a stand-in.

The team’s captain could not contain his excitement on their massive upset victory against Vitality. With this win, 9z move forward in the tournament and will face Heroic in their next match.

The BLAST Premier Spring Showdown was the last event for Cédric "RpK" Guipouy on Team Vitality. The team had a string of poor results before this tournament forcing Vitality to make some roster changes. The team announced the addition of Kyojin to replace RpK. Despite having a VAC ban on his account ayson "Kyojin" Nguyen Van was recently cleared by Valve to play in official RMR events. 

9z picked Nuke against Team Vitality as it was their most comfortable map pick. However, the team stood no chance against Vitality’s iron-clad defense. Vitality ended the first half with a 12-3 score and it was only a matter of time before the French players secured the map.

Despite the loss, South American fans still had moments to relish with Try securing an ace in the eighth round. Little did they know, things were about to change.

Vitality continued its momentum into Overpass winning four of the first five rounds. However, 9z’s players started putting rounds together once they got a decent buy. The team’s A side defenses were exceptionally strong, often surprising Vitality with their positioning and movement. Despite the bad start, 9z finished the half with a 9-6 lead over Vitality. The second half started similar to the first half with Vitality winning a bunch of rounds. 

But 9z stuck its basics trading effectively and using their numbers to get the advantage on the bombsites. The team would often use cross-site flashes to force Vitality players to rotate and catch them off-position. 9z had a slow pace where the team would move together as a unit and overcome the Vitality defense. 

Shox’s aggression on the A bombsite resulted in an Ace and a victory for Vitality on the 22nd round. But it was still not enough as 9z’s playstyle was too much for the Frenchmen. 9z won Overpass with a 16-11 score and took the series to the third map on Inferno.

The loss on Overpass was a hard pill to swallow for Vitality. But the team seemed off its game on Inferno, crashing to a 0-9 start on the third map. By now, 9z could smell blood as the massive lead was an opportunity to upset Team Vitality. 

The first half ended with a 13-2 score in favor of the South Americans. Vitality tried its best in the second half to bring itself back into the game. The Frenchmen won eight rounds in the second half for a 13-10 score. However, they had little margin for error and 9z relied on its trademark aggression to seal the map.

The BLAST Premier Spring Showdown features some of the best CS:GO teams in action. But the tournament has already seen its fair share of upsets. Team Dignitas took down Team Liquid 2-0 while OG shocked Astralis with a similar scoreline. With the top three favorites already out of the tournament, the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown is now wide open.

With 72 kills to his name and a 102.4 ADR, 16-year-old Santino 'try' Rigal was a big reason for 9z's success. B1t also praised the team's coach for helping the players during the series. Team 9z will now face Heroic in the next round.

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