cadiaN’s return and FaZe Clan’s last chance. BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024 preview and predictions
The era of franchise tournaments from BLAST has come to an end: we have two more tournaments left to watch from the outgoing era of sponsored teams. But the World Final 2024 is still a long way off, so for now we will focus only on Fall Final 2024. The tournament will be held from September 25 to 29, and its prize pool will be $425,000. Only eight teams will play in the championship, which makes it significant, since there will be no weaker opponents, only the best of the best. G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, Falcons, Team Vitality, Team Spirit, Team Liquid and the newly formed Astralis roster will play in BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024. The teams are divided into two groups, each of which will have three teams out of four: the first place in the group can go straight to the semi-finals, and the second or third place will have to play in the quarter-finals. In this article, we will share a preview of the upcoming BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024, and also give predictions for the group stage of the championship.
Group A
Group A will feature G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, and Falcons. It’s quite difficult to determine the main favorite, as both G2 and NAVI are equally vying for first place. At ESL Pro League Season 20, both teams performed well in the group stage and advanced directly to the quarterfinals. The teams met in such lineups only in the grand final of the Esports World Cup 2024, and Natus Vincere turned out to be stronger, but then the G2 Esports lineup was just assembled and now it is more coordinated. So at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024, we can expect the coveted revenge from G2 and first place in the group.
Natus Vincere, even if they lose the match for first place, should not have problems at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024. This is one of the most stable teams on the professional scene and it will clearly still be a contender for the highest positions in the championship. The team is on the home stretch before preparing for Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 and it is not time to give up.
And if anyone will experience problems in Group A, it will be the two remaining teams – FaZe Clan and Falcons. They are in different positions, but they expect the same outcome. FaZe Clan is a favorite that has long since started to perform mediocre, and Falcons are an unsuccessful project of a super team that has not taken off and cannot compete with world giants. What unites them is that in their group at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024, they will claim a maximum of third place and will fight for relegation from the championship.
Prediction for the final position of the teams in Group A:
- 1st place – G2 Esports
- 2-3rd place – Natus Vincere and FaZe Clan
- 4th place – Falcons
Group B
The situation in Group B looks even more interesting. There are three contenders for a place in the quarterfinals here – Team Vitality, Team Spirit and Team Liquid. Only the Astralis roster stands out a little, having undergone unexpected changes. Instead of Alexander br0 Bro, the team has a new captain – Casper cadiaN Meller. This will allow Nicolai device Reedtz to focus on sniper duties again and not be distracted by IGL tasks. At first glance, this looks like a reinforcement, but it is worth considering that the transfer took place a week before BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024 and the team simply does not have enough time to prepare. So we will not expect a good performance at its first tournament, considering what kind of rivals it has in the group.
The first place in the group, despite the huge competition, should go to Team Vitality. The team is in incredible shape and has an 11-match win streak, and their only loss this season was to Virtus.pro at Esports World Cup 2024. It will be extremely difficult for teams to counter the French machine and prevent Team Vitality from winning both ESL Pro League Season 20 and BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024.
If anyone can stop Team Vitality, it is Team Spirit. If the team can overcome all of their problems, they can once again reach the level they were at at IEM Katowice 2024. At that tournament, Team Spirit was unstoppable against all of the favorites and they can once again become the best in the world. But everything will depend on their performance in the group at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024. We expect Team Vitality to still take first place in the group, but the rivalry between the teams will not end there. They may meet again in the playoffs, and there Team Spirit will have a good chance of revenge.
The dark horse of the group is Team Liquid. The team is not the strongest in it, but it can surprise the main favorites. On its best days, it is capable of defeating both Team Vitality and Team Spirit. How it will actually be, we will see at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024.
Prediction for the final placement of teams in Group B:
- 1st place – Team Vitality
- 2-3rd place – Team Spirit and Team Liquid
- 4th place – Astralis
Group B looks much more competitive than the first. It has three contenders for high positions, and in Basket A there are dying teams of FaZe Clan and Falcons. Both of these teams are waiting for predictable reshuffles, and with such a level of play they are unlikely to impose competition on G2 Esports and Natus Vincere. Nevertheless, even in the first group there will be something to watch, it is extremely difficult to predict the outcome of the match between G2 and NAVI and this game will depend only on the teams’ preparation for each other and the personal performance of each of the players. The playoffs, in turn, will be extremely interesting, we are waiting for a colorful grand final regardless of what places the teams take in the groups, they are all very equal in terms of performance.
Final Prediction for the Group Stage of BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024:
- Will Advance to the Semifinals – G2 Esports and Team Vitality
- Will Advance to the Quarterfinals – Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, Team Spirit and Team Liquid
- Will Leave the Tournament – Falcons and Astralis