by G2 Esports have destroyed Team Liquid 2-0 in the BLAST Premier World Final in Abu Dhabi, on the back of outstanding performances from Justin “jks” Savage and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov.
G2 came into the BLAST Premier World Final as $10 outsiders with esports betting sites, after a sub-par performance in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, and they only qualified for due to their BLAST Leaderboard finishing position.
However, G2 took the first map and their map pick (Inferno) 16-7.
They kept the momentum going with a very close victory on map two (Mirage) 16-12, ending Team Liquid’s nine-game win streak on a map they are no.1 in the world on.
The win in Abu Dhabi was the first tournament win for G2, as well as their first map victory in a S-Tier grand final in over 1000 days.
For the G2 in-game leader, Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, this win tops off a very emotional week for him after his father passed away as the team were travelling to Abu Dhabi earlier in the week.
HooXi has won his first S-Tier event as a Counter-Strike professional, surpassing his career-best finish of a quarter-final exit with Copenhagen Flames in the PGL Major Antwerp.
As for the young rising star on this roster, m0NESY, he was brilliant throughout the World Final, as well as in the grand final, earning him the HLTV BLAST Premier World Final MVP, becoming one of the youngest to ever win an MVP, as a 17-year-old.
Jks was awarded the player of the match for the grand final, with a series-high rating of 1.35 out of 2, ending with a +16 kill/death difference for the series.
Now that G2 have broken through and won their first tournament with this new, super-team roster, 2023 could be the year for the BLAST Premier World Final champions.
