What to expect from BLAST Premier Global Finals 2020?

The big Counter-Strike is coming back on our screens on January 18. That’s when BLAST Premier Global Finals 2020 begins – the tournament, which will have not just to summarize last year’s BLAST series but begin the next stage in the history of the league.

The best eight teams on the outcome of the season will compete for $1 000 000. And the remarkable thing is that we will see another show where the participants will have to fight in the double-elimination playoffs. The selection process of the participants was not complicated – the champions of the past tournaments in the BLAST Series have made it to the tournament. They will also be joined by the teams, which have earned enough points in the rating system BLAST Premier Circuit 2020. But what should we expect from the first 2021 championship? The remarkable fact is that the venue is still a secret. There are two possible options: on one hand, the tournament might be hosted in the BLAST studio and, on the other hand, if the global situation with the coronavirus does not improve, the championship might be hosted online again.

Reshuffles and the coronavirus

Evil Geniuses finished the past season ahead of schedule, being unable to go to Europe due to the restrictions caused by the coronavirus. However, due to the successful performance at Spring Americas Finals, the team has received a spot in the final championship. But will the team be able to come out and go to the battlefield? It is likely that right after Christmas, Evil Geniuses will move to Europe where they will be systematically preparing for BLAST Premier Global Finals 2020.

Another matter is Team Liquid – one more North American team. Liquid has finished the season on a major note, having placed second at IEM Global Challenge 2020. However, the team announced the departure of Twistzz right after the final, he will probably move to a European team (FaZe Clan is the main option for the future of his career). Against these reshuffles, there are pretty logical rumors, which are supplied by the facts that FalleN will return to the big game, having become a sniper and a captain in Liquid. And this is the moment when the questions appear. Will the Brazilian find a motivation to make everyone talk about him as a nice player and an IGL?

FURIA is another team from North America. The Brazilians moved to Serbia a month and a half ago where they spent the last tournaments of the season. However, the roster of the team still remains in doubt because there are rumors about the transfer of the current Triumph player, junior to the ranks of FURIA.

We are also interested in the fate of the Complexity roster, in which there were lots of reshuffles in the past months. Before the start of IEM Global Challenge 2020, poizon suddenly was out of the game due to medical issues and the team had to find a stand-in quickly. A similar situation happened with the team in October when oBo decided to go to his motherland during ESL Pro League Season 12 Europe. But the situation is a bit different now – everything depends on the terms when the Bulgarian sniper will recover after the operation he was made.

The situation with the favorites

On the other side of the barricade, we have four teams, which will have the biggest chances to achieve victory at BLAST Premier Global Finals 2020 – Astralis, Vitality, Natus Vincere, and G2. Reshuffles are unlikely to happen in these teams because the end of the past season and the latest reshuffles create no need for unexpected replacements. In autumn, G2 presented NiKo and sent JaCkz to look for a new home. NAVI, Astralis, and Vitality have expanded their rosters to six players, so any unexpected situation will not be a problem.

But the state of the teams before the tournament is interesting – a month break can seriously impact the balance of power.

Who will be the main contender for the victory?

The above-mentioned teams have the biggest chances to win BLAST Premier Global Finals 2020. But is everything that obvious?

First of all, we know the match history of Astralis after the winter break. Last year, the Danes were performing not in the best way at the first championships. The situation is similar with Vitality, which managed to gain momentum in the spring stage of the season. NAVI and G2 were the ones, which made us happy with their performance last winter.

But will G2 cope with its problems? Because the team was demonstrating not the best Counter-Strike at the last events and the transfer of NiKo stopped being profitable very soon. What is more, the results of G2 are compared to the stability of NAVI, which left without victories but entered the top four on a regular basis during the last two months.

So I see Natus Vincere as the main contender to prevail. The history shows that the team starts a season successfully and last year’s results prove it. The leaders of today's rating, Astralis and Vitality return their shape for a long time, reaching their peak only after a few months of playing. However, it will become clear right before the championship, we will also finally find out a format and a venue. And it might be easier to determine the main favorite to win.