BLAST Premier Fall Finals defending champions Team Vitality is set to open the coming 2024 edition of the tournament at center stage as they face Astralis in a best-of-three clash. Coming fresh off their Intel Extreme Masters 2024 Cologne win, it seems that Vitality is expected to be a massive showrunner in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals as they seek to deliver a much-needed victory to keep their place at the top of the HLTV standings.

After beating Natus Vincere in the final of the IEM Cologne 2024, it does seem that Vitality has the best chance to keep up the same pace in their games and come up with a winning run in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals. However, the team will be facing one of its toughest rivals in Astralis as the team seeks to settle a score after their Fall Groups showdown as well.

Still, Team Vitality remains as the hot pick to claim the lion’s share of $200,000 and an instant qualification spot for the BLAST Premier World Final. The team will have to brave a very competitive Group B, which is composed of Team Spirit – who won the BLAST Premier Spring Final, Team Liquid – who emerged as the top seed in Group D of the Fall Groups, and lastly, Astralis.

A Dominant Run in the Fall Groups

Vitality ensured that they will be ready for the coming action by making a statement in the Fall Groups. The team defeated GamerLegion in the opening round with a 2-1 finish and later dominated their clash with Astralis in a 2-0 victory, who would later wound up for a rematch in the group’s Grand Final with the hopes of stealing Vitality’s thunder.

However, Vitality would not let up, not even after Astralis went up 1-0 in the clash when they won 13-10 on Vertigo. The French squad would go on to bounce back up right away by winning Mirage 13-10 to tie the series, and later dominating the final map, Nuke, in a 13-7 victory to pull away for a promising win.

Vitality emerged as one of the four top contenders to look out for in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, joining G2 Esports, Team Spirit, and Team Liquid – with the latter two now set to be their opponents in the coming games as well. This is why Group B is expected to be a “death group” with all of the intense competition coming around.

Setting Expectations in the Rivalry Clash

Team Vitality is still poised as the favorite to win in their opening match against Astralis, which takes place tomorrow. The team has won four straight games over Astralis, dating all the way back to the Spring Groups. Since the launch of CS2 last September 2023, Team Vitality holds a 5-1 record over Astralis.

This just says a lot about the coming showdown as Vitality is highly favored to win in the opening match. The team will have to win at least two or three (if they lose to Astralis) in order to qualify for the next round. A win in the group stage overall will see them secured for the semis, while a runner-up finish will place them as a high seed in the quarterfinal, and a 3rd-place ending will bring them as low seeds for the same stage. The stakes are high as Vitality hopes to defend its title and establish its dominance in the game heading into the final months of the CS2 season.