Falcons booked a playoff place in BLAST Rivals Season 2 after a 2-0 win over Spirit in the Group A opening round, taking Dust2 in overtime and closing the series on Inferno.
The first map, Spirit’s pick Dust2, turned into a tug of war with two 6-6 halves and an overtime that ended 16-13 in the Falcons’ favor.Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin put the team on his back on the CT side, logging two aces and ending the map with 31 kills. Falcons rode that momentum and posted a strong 1.54 CT-side rating overall.
For Spirit, the bright spot was Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov, who had a 1.28 rating on Dust2 and a positive impact despite the loss. Other Spirit players struggled to find consistency with only Danil “donk” Kryshkovets posting a rating above 0.90 on the map.
On Inferno, Falcons picked their own battleground and never looked back. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov dominated with the AWP and finished the map with a 1.72 rating and a nearly 9 percent positive swing, helping Falcons close the series in 21 rounds.
With the result, the Falcons advance to the Group A upper bracket final, where they will play for seeding against Passion UA. Spirit drops into the lower bracket and will face The MongolZ for a spot in the playoffs, a match that will decide whether Spirit stays alive in the event. The MongolZ matchup is listed on the schedule and will be a key test for Spirit in the elimination stage.
Spirit were coming into this week off a run of strong results that included a win over MOUZ, a streak that had raised expectations for their Rivals performance covering Spirit’s prior run. Falcons now have a chance to lock in a higher seed and avoid the lower-bracket route, a position that rewards the series win and the standout performances from their young Russians.
The bigger picture is simple. Falcons get breathing room and seeding control in Group A. Spirit must regroup quickly if they want to fight back through the lower bracket and into the playoffs. Fans should watch the upcoming Passion UA match for a clearer idea of how the group will shake out.
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Source: HLTV
