Spirit Survives Astralis Onslaught With Incredibly Close Reverse-Sweep

In the Group B Elimination Match at BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024, Team Spirit faced off against Astralis, who've been in the middle of a bit of controversy due to an emergency substitute ruling pulling in their new signing, Casper "cadiaN" Møller, as the IGL. 

Team Spirit found themselves in this elimination match after an on-form Team Liquid stunned them with a comeback, while Astralis got humiliated by Vitality with a 2-0 win, where one of the maps actually ended 13-0. 

Read More: Astralis' Captain Swap Debacle & BLAST Decision Explained With New Twist

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On Astralis' map pick of Ancient, Team Spirit won the Pistol Round, but then Astralis instantly responded to tie up the score 1-1, then extended their lead to 2-1 before losing a round to Team Spirit's pistols as teams got tied 2-2. 

Astralis stabilized with some solid round wins, taking a 5-2 lead. That means that in the 7th round on the first map, Astralis scored more round wins than they did in the entire two-map series against Vitality, and that's the last time I'll mention cadiaN's debut with Astralis in this report...

Team Spirit finally pulled one back in the 10th round for a 7-3 scoreline in favor of Astralis. However, Astralis responded instantly and broke Spirit's economy, then closed out the first half with a 9-3 lead.

As teams switched sides, Astralis got off to a strong start on the CT side, winning the Pistol Round and then converting for a huge 11-3 lead. Astralis then won the first rifle round and converted again in the 16th round to win Ancient 13-3. Before this match, Team Spirit had a 17-6 record on Ancient against top-tier opposition.

The second map was Team Spirit's pick of Dust2; the squad started on the T side and found a Pistol Round win to open, then converted for a solid 2-0 lead. Team Spirit then strung a couple of more round wins together before Astralis responded in the 5th and then another in the 6th. However, Spirit bounced back to secure an 8-4 lead as teams switched sides.

With Astralis on the T side of Dust2 in the second round, Team Spirit managed to win the rather awkward Pistol Round to get the ball rolling and converted another for a 10-4 lead. Team Spirit didn't give Astralis much room to move, choking out the Danish side on Dust2 with a 13-5 win and forcing the third and final map, Mirage.

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On Mirage, Team Spirit got started on the T side and on a positive note, winning the first-half Pistol Round and then converting for a 2-0 lead. With unarmored pistols (for the most part), Astralis pulled one back, thanks to an insane four kills from Victor "Staehr" Staehr. Spirit responded in kind and then pulled ahead a bit with a 4-1 lead on Mirage before Astralis again pulled off a miracle round to close the gap.

Astralis kept damaging Spirit in low eco rounds and kept saving the two AWPs for both dev1ce and cadiaN, creating some odd rounds and saves.

Astralis tied up the Mirage score 5-5 early on. By the skin of their teeth, Spirit managed to clutch the last two rounds in the first half, giving themselves a 7-5 lead as teams switched sides.

With a bit of momentum on their side, Team Spirit managed to pick up a close Pistol Round in the second half of Mirage but couldn't convert against the force buy of Astralis, who didn't lose a single person in the 14th round.

Spirit hit back right away to take a 9-6 lead in a back-and-forth half, where Astralis then responded with a plant on the B site and a clean win. The Danish side pushed Spirit to the brink, damaging their economy, tying up the map 9-9, and even forcing a final Tactical Pause from Spirit.

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— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) September 26, 2024

Astralis then took the lead after a fantastic call by cadiaN on the B bombsite in a post-plant situation and then converted against Spirit's eco for an 11-9 score in favor of the Danes.

Spirit then pulled one back with a brilliant retake on the A site to open up the map yet again, forcing Astralis to pause and discuss their next moves. With a quick opening kill from Danil "donk" Kryshkovets and then stopping the bomb from getting planted, Team Spirit tied up Mirage at 11-11.

Spirit then secured a 12th after a solid defense on the B site, putting themselves on map point. Astralis, with a low buy, made a meal of the last round, but Spirit managed to close it out in regulation, surviving with a 13-11 win. Spirit, therefore, wins the series 2-1.

Team Spirit moves on to the quarterfinals of BLAST Fall Final 2024 playoffs as the Low Seeds at the Forum Copenhagen in Denmark, while Astralis is sent packing.

Check out our Pick'Em choices and Fantasy roster player picks for the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 and see how your predictions compare to mine.

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