BLAST Premier: Fall Final gets started in Copenhagen

Natus Vincere and Team Vitality recorded sweeps in their opening group-stage matches Wednesday at the BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024 competition in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Eight teams are battling in this week's $425,000 Counter-Strike 2 tournament, with the winner earning $200,000 and advancing to the World Final taking place from Oct. 30-Nov. 8 in Sentosa, Singapore.

NAVI swept Team Falcons in Group A, winning 13-5 on Anubis and 13-10 on Ancient. G2 Esports also won their opener in Group A, sandwiching a 13-7 win on Dust II and a 13-9 victory on Mirage around a 13-6 loss to FaZe Clan on Inferno.

Vitality crushed Astralis in Group B, winning 13-0 on Inferno and 13-4 on Dust II. Team Liquid rallied to win its opener over Team Spirit, losing 13-3 on Dust II before pulling out 13-11 and 13-10 victories on Nuke and Anubis, respectively.

The top three teams from each group make the playoffs. The group stage winners advance to the semifinals, while the runners-up will be the high seeds in the quarterfinals and the third-place teams will be the low seeds. All matches are best-of-three until Sunday's best-of-five grand final.

Thursday's schedule:

--Team Falcons vs. FaZe Clan

--Natus Vincere vs. G2 Esports

--Astralis vs. Team Spirit

--Team Vitality vs. Team Liquid

Group A standings:

1. Natus Vincere, 1-0, plus-11

1. G2 Esports, 1-0, plus-3

3. FaZe Clan, 0-1, minus-3

3. Team Falcons, 0-1, minus-11

Group B standings:

1. Team Vitality, 1-0, plus-22

1. Team Liquid, 1-0, minus-5

3. Team Spirit, 0-1, plus-5

3. Astralis, 0-1, minus-22

BLAST Premier Fall Final results (prize money, BLAST Premier points):

1. TBD, $200,000, World Final qualification, 3,200 points

2. TBD, $85,000, 2,200 points

3-4. TBD, TBD, $40,000, 1,300 points

5-6. TBD, TBD, $20,000, 600 points

7-8. TBD, TBD, $10,000, 400 points

--Field Level Media