Vitality makes light work of Evil Geniuses in the opener of BLAST Fall
As the seemingly perpetual player break draws to a close and Counter-Strike returns with the commencement of BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023, we bear witness to a clash between two new-look teams - Vitality and Evil Geniuses. Vitality, who incorporated the burgeoning prodigy flameZ into their roster, and Evil Geniuses who decided to stick to their NA roots by promoting 4 EG Black players to the main roster. The BO3 took place on Overpass, Vertigo, and Mirage as the decider if needed.
Overpass was a surprising pick for EG as Vitality were already pretty comfortable on the map and EG core only had 4 maps to their name in the last 3 months. To make things difficult, EG started off on the T-side. The match started in an extremely one-sided affair in favor of Vitality with Magisk taking early charge of the game with his hardcore fragging. In the pistol round, EG took early control of the connector area by sending three bodies. But it comes at the cost of junior who is caught by Vitality's aggression out long. After losing the only player on A, and spotting three players, EG rushed towards the B site immediately. However, Vitality rotated in time and doesn't even allow the bomb to go down. On the second round, a full Glock B-rush was stopped by Magisk's 3K who also came up big on the follow-up buy round by another 3K. Magisk continued the onslaught with another 3K in the 4th round as he passed every test EG threw at him.
Surprisingly enough, the scariest EG looked was on their low buy rounds. After getting dismantled by Magisk round after round on the B site, EG decided to span out playgrounds in Round 6. With junior giving cover with his saved AWP, the pistols of EG swarmed in on Spinx who was too far out alone in the bathrooms. After getting the early pick, EG instantly rushed down the connector to B where Magisk was alone. Even though Magisk got only two kills before he was traded out by Junior, EG managed to get the bomb down for the first time in the game. But despite being in a 2v2, Vitality killed both of the players on the site with plenty of time to defuse the bomb.
Source: BLAST
EG finally managed to crack Vitality's defense in round 11 to avoid the clean-sweep
During the second pistol round on Overpass, Vitality leaned towards an A site push, sending four of their players towards the playground area. EG, anticipating a B site attack, positioned four players on B and left autimatic alone in the bathrooms area. Despite being the sole defender on A, Autimatic did his job excellently as he got an early pick on flameZ and bought time for his team to come back to defend the site. EG converted the next round without shedding blood as Junior, who had pushed out playground with his M4, cleaned up 4 of Vitality's players.
Vitality reached the match-point on the first buy round. Despite giving away a sound cue after falling off the short boost which allowed EG to rotate a third player to defend a late B attack, the AKs of Vitality bolstered with their efficient utility prevailed over the MP9s of EG as they were able to enter the site by getting two clean entries. As EG was getting too comfortable in the late rounds, Vitality decide to switch the pace. They sent three players out B short at 1:27 and they trade out effectively to get the bomb down in a 2v3. ZywOo then stood up for Vitality as he got a triple to close out the map.
The match then heads to Vitality's pick of Vertigo. The map kicked off in an extremely intense pistol round, as a straight B rush was called by apEX out of spawn. Vitality, after getting two trade kills got the bomb down. Despite Vitality securing two trade kills and planting the bomb, EG were in a favorable position, denied Vitality's setup by deploying a smoke and pressuring them to leave their defensive positions. In the ensuing 3v2 post-plant scenario, EG executed flawlessly, converting the round.
With extra funds from the bomb plant, Vitality opted to force-buy in the second round, acquiring an AK, a Galil, and lighter weapons. This time, they decided to test the waters on B, employing well-timed flashes and smokes to support flameZ's aggressive push. Although flameZ failed to secure an entry frag, his advancement granted vital map control as apEX and ZywOo capitalized on the opportunity, securing kills of their own. However, as apEX fell and the smokes dissipated, Vitality's momentum slowed. As the round progressed, Spinx found himself in a 1v1 situation against Walco. With only 9 seconds remaining, Walco utilized a molotov to force a victory, but Spinx cleverly planted the bomb in an unscathed area and eliminated Walco, reclaiming the round for his team.
After a flurry of ecos, EG bought back again fully on round 5. As the round started, Vitality showed a lot of presence on the A site and then quietly turned back to B. EG had a good read on the situation and already had two players to defend the site with a third player rotating over also. Taking advantage of Vitality's limited control over the bombsite, Walco stealthily entered and secured a double kill, while Junior eliminated ZywOo, forcing Spinx to save.
As the match unfolded, Vitality repeatedly exploited the B site while EG struggled to find a solution. A peculiar incident occurred in the eighth round when Vitality secured a victory without losing any players, walking into an empty B bombsite. Frustrated in their search for a third round, EG entered round 11 armed with an AWP, two M4s, a Famas, and an MP9. Recognizing the need to make a play, Junior aggressively pushed through mid, catching apEX off guard and emerging unscathed. After losing control of mid, Vitality regrouped and decided to attack B. However, Hext anticipated their move and, aided by well-timed flashes, secured two kills, shutting down Vitality's efforts.
Realizing that their plays had become too predictable, apEX adjusted the strategy. Instead of sending Spinx alone to lurk mid while focusing on B with four players, Vitality opted for a split attack. Three players pushed through mid, while flameZ and ZywOo simultaneously attacked the B site. The plan worked perfectly, with Spinx securing two entry kills, making the round an easy victory for Vitality. The remainder of the half showcased Vitality's individual prowess overwhelming EG's young stars, as Vitality claimed 12 rounds on their T side. Those three rounds constituted EG's only successes on the map, as they lost the initial pistol round in a desperate B rush. After that, Vitality convincingly closed out the map, securing a 2-0 victory in the series.
VitalityEvil Geniuses| Vitality |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan |
36 - 21 | +15 | 89.0 | 87.8% | 1.52 |
 Emil 'Magisk' Reif |
36 - 19 | +17 | 97.4 | 82.9% | 1.52 |
 Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut |
29 - 15 | +14 | 73.8 | 82.9% | 1.35 |
| Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire |
27 - 19 | +8 | 69.8 | 78.0% | 1.16 |
| Lotan 'Spinx' Giladi |
24 - 21 | +3 | 65.5 | 82.9% | 1.14 |
| Evil Geniuses |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Paytyn 'junior' Johnson |
30 - 27 | +3 | 79.0 | 65.9% | 1.07 |
 Colby 'Walco' Walsh |
21 - 31 | -10 | 58.4 | 56.1% | 0.75 |
| Jeorge 'Jeorge' Endicott |
17 - 32 | -15 | 54.0 | 65.9% | 0.71 |
| Timothy 'autimatic' Ta |
17 - 31 | -14 | 49.8 | 56.1% | 0.55 |
| Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
10 - 33 | -23 | 41.9 | 46.3% | 0.47 |
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