Only four teams remain in the Counter Strike: Global Offensive Premier Fall Finals and there is a star-studded lineup for the tournament's semi-finals.
Juggernauts FaZe Clan have blown hot and cold in the last six months but qualified directly for the semi-finals of the CS:GO BLAST Premier Fall Finals after topping Group A with a 2-0 record and on Saturday they face Ninjas in Pyjamas, who defeated Natus Vincere in the quarter-finals.
In the other semi-final, Heroic, fresh from a strong showing at the IEM Rio Major, prepare to take on Team Liquid, who topped Group B and progressed directly to this stage of the competition.
It is set to be an intriguing day of CS:GO action with two sides set to book their respective spots in Sunday's Grand Final.
The last two teams remaining will be battling it out for $200,000 in prize money and a BLAST World Final qualifying berth as well as 4,000 BLAST Premier points.
Heroic on course to make another final
What: Team Liquid vs Heroic
Where: Copenhagen, Denmark
When: 14.30, Saturday 26th November 2022
How to watch: CS:GO BLAST Premier Twitch channel
Odds: Team Liquid 1/1, Heroic 8/11
Heroic are 8/11 to come out on top in the first CS:GO BLAST Premier Fall Finals semi-final encounter and it is easy to see why.
First and foremost, playing in front of a home crowd should be doing wonders for the Danish side, who have the potential to become a real force in the world of CS:GO in the near future with youngsters like Martin "stavn" Lund and Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard in their roster.
And the team should be high on confidence right now after their superb showing at the CS:GO IEM Rio Major.
Playing in the most recent major in Brazil, Heroic posted a 3-1 win-loss record in the tournament's Legends Stage, finishing above the likes of Natus Vincere, Fnatic and eventual champions Outsiders.
They then managed to defeat Team Spirit and FURIA in the quarter-finals and semi-finals before falling short at the final hurdle.
But they should have learned a lot from that Grand Final defeat and now know how to cause a stir in a major tournament.
It is fair to say that Heroic came through the tougher of the two groups in the first phase of the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, beating Ninjas in Pyjamas before losing to FaZe Clan.
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They followed that with a disciplined win over G2 Esports in the quarter-finals, impressing on Mirage and Vertigo, and they look the better bet to defeat Team Liquid.
FaZe Clan can ease past Ninjas in Pyjamas
What: FaZe Clan vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
Where: Copenhagen, Denmark
When: 18.00, Saturday 26th November 2022
How to watch: CS:GO BLAST Premier Twitch channel
Odds: FaZe Clan 4/11, Ninjas in Pyjamas 2/1
It has been a weird campaign for FaZe Clan, who have dropped down to eighth spot in the HLTV world CS:GO rankings but now find themselves on the brink of a major final.
Finishing bottom of the Legends Stage at the IEM Rio Major with three defeats from three games was deeply concerning for a side of FaZe Clan's stature but they have responded well in Copenhagen.
Playing in the tougher group, FaZe managed to win both of their matches against OG and Heroic without dropping a map, having racked up a round differential of +36.
They look as though they are getting back to their best and that is bad news for the rest of the CS:GO circuit.
When in form earlier this season, FaZe Clan managed to pick up titles at the ESL Pro League season 15, the PGL Major Antwerp 2022, the IEM Cologne and the SteelSeries Nova Invitational.
The second half of the season has not been as strong but they are rediscovering form at just the right time and it would be a bold move to oppose them.
Ninjas in Pyjamas picked up the one win in the group stage and it came against the worst team in the section - OG - and although they pulled off a huge result when beating Natus Vincere in the quarter-finals, it was a tight tussle.
They won 16-10 on the first map, lost the second map 22-19 and then won the final map 16-10.
That result surely took a lot out of the team and a 2-0 FaZe win against them looks a decent bet at 5/4.
