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BLAST Premier: World Final Semifinals Approach

Semifinals of BLAST Premier: World Championships 2023 are approaching and generating lots of hype. We break down the matches and teams remaining.

The BLAST Premier: World Final has been filled with some great Counter-Strike 2 action as some of the top teams in the world traveled to the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi to compete for their share of the $1M prize pool and the title of BLAST Premier 2023 World Champions. Only four teams remain as fans and teams prepare for the semifinals where Team Vitality, Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, and MOUZ will all compete for their spot in the Grand Finals. You’ll be able to catch all of the action live on both Twitch and YouTube.

FaZe Clan vs. MOUZ

When: Saturday, December 16th – 6:30 AM ET

Odds: FaZe Clan (-210) vs. MOUZ (+158)

Despite both starting in Group B during the Group Stage of the tournament, this will be FaZe Clan and MOUZ’s first meeting at this tournament. FaZe Clan entered the tournament as one of the favorites to win the whole thing and showed why by having a good showing in the Group, taking down Heroic in the opening match. The first map was easy to work, taking it 13-3 before going to Overtime on Ancient. In the Winner’s Match, they took down G2 Esports in a back-and-forth match. They split the first two maps before going to overtime on the 3rd, where FaZe would be victorious 16-13 to earn a bye round in the playoffs.

MOUZ had an equally challenging route to get as far as they had. Entering the tournament, they had +1300 odds to win the tournament, and now they are two match wins away from cashing in for any Counter-Strike fans who believed in them enough to bet. They started off the tournament with an extremely close match with G2 Esports, where, despite losing 0-2, both maps were close. Since the loss, they’ve been on a dominant streak, destroying Heroic in the Elimination Match, winning 2-0 with score lines of 13-3 and 13-5. In the first round of the Playoffs, they absolutely dismantled Cloud9 2-0 with more dominant map wins with scores of 13-1 and 13-7.

Team Vitality vs. Natus Vincere

When: Saturday, December 16th – 10 AM ET

Odds: Team Vitality (-325) vs. Natus Vincere (+240)

Natus Vincere seeks revenge against the tournament favorites Team Vitality, who took them down in the opening round of the tournament back in the Group Stage. Team Vitality made Natus Vincere’s work easy on the 13th, winning 2-0 with map scores of 13-8 and 13-6. They’d follow up that success with a strong performance against Cloud9 in the Winner’s Match with a 13-11 win on Anubis and a 13-8 win on Inferno. They now look to replicate their success to punch their ticket to the Grand Final.

Natus Vincere, much like MOUZ, was a long shot to even make it this far in the tournament but will not be scared of the challenge that is their rematch against Team Vitality. They entered the tournament at +1300 odds to win, and if they can beat Vitality, there’s a good chance they could take down FaZe/MOUZ. After losing to Team Vitality in Groups, they would battle with ENCE in a back-and-forth 2-1 win in the Elimination Match. They’d continue to show their resiliency by taking down G2 Esports in the first round of the Playoffs 2-1 after dropping the first map on the match in Overtime. If they can drag Team Vitality into the fire, they may be able to come out on top.