CS:GO Blast Fall Groups 2022 predictions
Tier one CS:GO is back! It’s been roughly a month since FaZe and Natus Vincere played in one of the most epic grand finals ever and now, finally, the wait is over and it's time to once again spend hours and hours in front of the screen watching the best teams in the world fight it out.
Blast Premier Fall Groups starts the new season - a season where many teams have a lot to prove, some with new lineups compared to last season. How will G2 look with a new IGL? If s1mple misses out on more tournaments, which team can beat FaZe? Will Vitality finally look like a team again? And for us swedes, is this the season in which NiP finally lives up to their potential and learns how to close games?
I'm so hyped and I know I'm not the only one!
It’s also time for more fantasy CS:GO to play and below here I will dive into the groups and give my thoughts on what to expect and I will try to predict the outcome of the tournament.
Group A
Teams: Vitality, OG, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis.
This is for sure the most stacked group and by looking at the teams it really feels like this can end in so many different ways. I’m currently leaning towards only owning one player from this group just because of how I rank the teams.
OG has looked really solid with degster (184$) in the lineup and I do think they can take down Vitality in the opening match. degster always delivers a good K/D and looks like a solid pick from this group.
Other players I'm considering are BlameF (201$) and REZ (160$).
My prediction:
1) OG
2) Vitality
3) NiP
4) Astralis
Group B
Teams: Natus Vincere, Complexity, G2, Liquid.
If the rumours are true NaVi will play this tournament without s1mple and if that’s so the Ukrainian/Russian will lose so much in firepower that I could see them lose to G2 and Liquid. Team Liquid actually looked solid when having YEKINDAR (181$) in the lineup and I see them as one of the dark horses in this tournament together with OG and BIG. G2 failed their experiment with aleksiB as IGL and will now go with Hooxi (110$) (confirmation soon?) and that move feels like a smart one, Hooxi is one of the most underrated IGL:s out there and his micromanagement and quick decision making midrounds often made CPH Flames look better than what they should’ve looked like with that roster. If he can work the same magic with NiKo (189$) and mONESY (172$) I really do think G2 can do some damage this season.
Complexity will get smashed by every team they play so I would avoid picking players from that team.
My prediction:
1) G2
2) Liquid
3) NaVi
4) Complexity
Group C
Teams: FaZe, Evil Geniuses, BIG, Heroic.
Who can stop FaZe - the dominant team from last season that looked unstoppable in the biggest tournaments? With their young core and the hunger to stay on top I do think FaZe will come out strong to this new season and actually any player from this team, with the only exception for Karrigan (138$), is a solid pick.
Heroic and BIG are two teams that feel hard to know what to expect from. Heroic looked really weak in IEM Cologne, losing 2-0 versus NiP and MOUZ with jabbi (159$) having a hard time finding his timings and positions. If Heroic has solved that during the break they always have a chance to lift the trophy but I guess it’s just a wait and see before i touch any player from the danish #1.
BIG is a team I actually think have a chance at reaching top five in the world within 12 months and when I build my team I always look at syrsoN (170$) - he always delivers and racks up a lot of points from the K/D bonussystem.
My prediction:
1) FaZe
2) BIG
3) Heroic
4) Evil Geniuses
What should your strategy be?
Looking at how this tournament is scheduled we have BO1:s in the group stage and one day dedicated for each group which means only Group A will play on the first day and so on. With only two sells and a “Building Phase” between the group stage and the knockout stage I would recommend you to try to get as many points as possible during the group stage just because players always score higher points in BO1:s than in BO3:s. Take a look at the schedule and min/max your team and try to have at least two players play at each day during the groups.
The first player I picked, and so should you, is Hooxi. For only 110$ he opens up so much in the budget and with him you could have five other players that’s really strong.
Group winners will receive padded points based on how they scored in their three games - that should be on your mind when you build your team.
Three players to avoid!
Avoid: Electronic (180$) s1mple (201$) neXa (162$)
Electronic’s price tag makes him a really bad pick, if s1mple misses out NaVi will have a tough time and if so I wouldnt wanna have Electronic taking that much out of my budget.
s1mple has been putting out hints that he will miss out from the tournament and if he does, you´re stuck with a replacement (headtrick) for 201$ which would be far from ideal.
neXa has been really weak and in that price range I can find so many players that would be a better pick for you.
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