Spirit earned a place in the BLAST Open Porto playoffs after beating G2 2-0, taking Dust2 13-6 and Cache 13-9. The result sends the Russian team to the top-six stage at the Super Bock Arena while leaving G2 with another lower-bracket route to Porto.
The Group A stage began in Copenhagen before the playoffs move to Portugal. The earlier BLAST Open Porto bracket left room for a first-loss recovery, and Spirit won the upper-bracket semifinal to hand G2 its first defeat of the group stage.
Spirit controlled Dust2 from the T side
Spirit opened the series on its own Dust2 pick and quickly took control of the attacking half. G2 was forced into repeated saves as Spirit found its way onto the sites, but the eventual winners started down 0-3.
Six straight rounds flipped the score to 6-3, and Spirit added three more rounds through eliminations to take a 9-3 lead into halftime. G2 managed three rounds on each side, but Spirit closed the map during the gun rounds for a 13-6 win.
tN1R led Dust2 with a 16-12 scoreline and a 1.69 rating. G2’s best individual performance came from r1nkle, who posted 19 kills and a 1.16 rating, while every other Spirit player finished above a 1.14 rating.
Danil “donk” Kryshkovets supplied one of the series’ sharpest moments, opening an ace round with two kills through a Mid smoke before finishing the play with three more on B.
G2 could not hold Cache
G2 picked Cache, and Matúš “MATYS” Šimko began the defense with a pistol-round triple using the USP. Spirit still found the better rhythm, building an 8-4 advantage by halftime. G2 finished with four CT rounds and five T-side rounds, while Spirit collected eight rounds on T and five more as CT.
After G2 used a deagle round to try to start its offense, donk answered with two opening kills through a Mid smoke and then secured three kills on B for an ace, pushing Spirit to an 11-6 lead. Spirit later used a counter-boost in Mid, where donk caught two G2 players preparing their grenades and ended the round before the setup could develop. The play gave Spirit match point at 12-7.
donk took over the second map with a 21-12 scoreline and a 1.69 rating. sh1ro added an 18-10 scoreline and a 1.33 rating, while HeavyGod was G2’s highest-rated player on Cache at 1.16. G2 took two more rounds, but Spirit finished Cache 13-9 before overtime could enter the picture.
Spirit’s numbers told the story
Spirit finished the match with a 1.21 team rating compared with G2’s 0.83. The full match statistics show the series’ individual totals:
| Player | Team | K-D | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| donk | Team Spirit | 31-23 | 1.45 |
| tN1R | Team Spirit | 32-24 | 1.36 |
| sh1ro | Team Spirit | 29-18 | 1.24 |
| zont1x | Team Spirit | 19-22 | 1.04 |
| magixx | Team Spirit | 17-24 | 0.98 |
| r1nkle | G2 Esports | 29-22 | 0.90 |
| MATYS | G2 Esports | 27-27 | 1.00 |
| NertZ | G2 Esports | 25-25 | 0.97 |
| HeavyGod | G2 Esports | 17-26 | 0.82 |
| huNter- | G2 Esports | 9-29 | 0.44 |
An unofficial VRS projection favors Spirit
An unofficial VRS projection moves G2 from No. 7 to No. 8 after an 11-point loss, leaving the team at 1,701 points. Spirit remains projected at No. 1 after gaining three points for a total of 2,000. VRS updates once per month, and the estimate may not account for every factor used in the official calculation.
Both teams still have another match in Group A
G2 will play the winner of Natus Vincere versus paiN in the Group A lower-bracket semifinal on Sunday, August 30, at 13:30. A win would keep G2 alive in the fight for one of the playoff spots at the Super Bock Arena.
Spirit’s group-stage run is also not finished. The team is scheduled to face the winner of M80 versus FURIA in the Group A upper-bracket final on August 31 at 11:00, with playoff seeding on the line.
Spirit now has its playoff place secured, but the upper-bracket final can still improve its position in Porto. Tell us what you think of the series in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
