We are now at the halfway point of this year's BLAST Premier Spring Groups! The tension is building as we look towards the grand finals, with the first CS:GO tournament of the year set to come to an end on January 29.
BLAST Premier Spring Groups: January 23 schedule and betting odds
But there's still plenty of action yet to go, with day five of BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2023 taking place on January 23, with Group C taking the stage for the upper bracket final and the lower bracket semi final.
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
|---|---|---|
| Heroic | FaZe Clan | G2 |
| Astralis | OG | Natus Vincere |
| Team Vitality | Team Liquid | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| Evil Geniuses | Complexity Gaming | BIG |
As a refresher, the 12 teams competing in this year's Spring Groups have been separated into three Groups (A, B and C), with each Group hosting their own grand final on January 25 (Group A) and 26 (Groups B and C). The top six teams will receive an invitation to the Spring Final, while the teams ranked in 7th-12th will advance to the seeded Play-In Stage, taking place from January 27-29.
The first match of the day will see G2 Esports going up against Natus Vincere (NAVI) in the Group C upper bracket final, taking place at 2:00 PM GMT.
G2 Esports (1.72) vs NAVI (2.00)
G2 are coming into the upper bracket final following their decisive victory against BIG, securing a 2-0 win in their first match of the 2023 season. It was an excellent start for the year, with G2 demonstrating that they can maintain the strong momentum that carried them to victory at the end of 2022. The team closed out last year on the best note possible, when they were crowned the champions of the BLAST Premier World Final. It was the highlight of what was otherwise a mixed year for G2, and they're apparently keen to improve on that record this year.
NAVI meanwhile claimed victory in their January 21 match against Ninjas in Pyjamas, earning their place in the upper bracket final through a 2-1 win. While NAVI is never a team to be underestimated, they fell short of their usual standards in 2022 - with just two S-Tier event wins to their name, at BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022 and BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022. It was a far cry from their 2021 results, where they came in first place at an incredible 10 S-Tier events. Time will tell if the Ukrainian team can work their way back to their former glories.
The odds are slightly in G2's favour here, at 1.72 vs NAVI's 2.00.
Next up on January 23 is the lower bracket semifinal match between BIG and Ninjas in Pyjamas, taking place at 5:30 PM GMT.
BIG (2.30) vs Ninjas in Pyjamas (1.55)
BIG was perhaps a little outmatched in their debut to the 2023 season, with their rivals G2 claiming a decisive 2-0 victory. BIG started the match on fighting form - the first map, Mirage, was a closely-fought affair with a final score of 16-14. Things went south for BIG on Inferno however, with G2 dominating the map with a score of 16-9. The one silver lining for BIG was the strong performance of Karim "Krimbo" Moussa, who posted a rating of 1.18 according to HLTV.
Ninjas in Pyjamas similarly struggled in their match against NAVI - though they did force the match onto a third map through a strong showing on Mirage, claiming the map with a score of 17-19. Still, NAVI claimed decisive victories on both Inferno and Overpass, with scores of 16-9 and 16-8, respectively. The team had a bit of a mixed 2022, with no S-Tier event wins to their name - though they claimed a respectable 3rd-4th place at last year's BLAST Premier Fall Finals, after being knocked out of the tournament by FaZe Clan.
The odds are slightly in Ninjas in Pyjamas' favour here, at 1.55 vs BIG's 2.30.
Which Group C team are you supporting? Whoever has your backing, make sure you've claimed your free 100% bonus before the matches begin!
