Update (November 26th): UK CS player Mezii won his first tier one Counter-Strike event in his debut competition for Vitality, as the underdogs swatted away Faze 2-0 to win the Blast Premier Fall Final 2023 in Copenhagen.
A fired up Vitality started their chosen map in the strongest manner, with rifler Shahar “flameZ” Shushan dropping 23 kills to open the series and win 13-3.
Faze took charge in the second game and were up 7-3 at half time but had no answer to tournament MVP Mathieu “zywoo” Herbaut when he became unstoppable as a Counter-Terrorist, dying just six times in the second half.
A late charge from Faze almost saw the game go to over-time but Vitality managed to win 13-11 to end Faze’s 18 game unbeaten streak – the third longest in CS:GO/CS2 history.
This was Mezii’s first official appearance for Vitality since leaving Fnatic for the European side 18 days ago.
He was the sole player from the United Kingdom at the tournament, although James Banks, Freya Spiers and HenryG were all in attendance as broadcast talent.
Here’s what Mezii had to say to James Banks after the win:
Update (November 26th): Mezii and Vitality will grace the grand final of the Blast Premier Fall Final 2023 today after a drawn-out win over Cloud9 in the semi-finals yesterday.
They face Faze today with the winner lifting the trophy, but it will be no easy task for Vitality – Faze are unbeaten across 18 games since Counter-Strike 2’s official launch.
Overtime was needed to seperate Vitality and Cloud9 in the first map, with Mezii’s side narrowly snatching a 16-13 win off the back of a strong CT performance.
Cloud9 took the second map on Nuke 13-9, another close game where momentum swung back and forth throughout.
But an inspired performance from Vitality’s Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi won the final map and the series – Spinx dropped 24 kills to squeeze a 13-11 victory.
Mezii contributed 37 kills across the three maps, also striking with a fantastic three-man spraydown while holding B site on Inferno.
Tournament favourites Faze won their semi-final convicingly, advancing with a 2-1 win over Complexity to reach their fourth consecutive final.
The grand final starts at 4pm GMT today.
Original Article (November 24th): UK Counter-Strike pro player William ‘mezzi’ Merriman has fired his side to the Blast Premier Fall Final 2023 semis. after recently joining Team Vitality.
His team won Group B in the tournament, which is taking place in Copenhagen’s Royal Arena.
The news comes a few weeks after mezii left Fnatic for Vitality.
Vitality started this tournament with a convincing 2-0 win over Danish side Heroic, and then fast-tracked their way to the final four by beating world number five Complexity Gaming 2-1 in a decider match.
English rifler mezii – the sole UK player in the tournament – did not have the best two games of his career, but still contributed to his team’s success with 55 kills across five maps.
He said on social media after the match that it was a “rough game” for him personally and that he was excited to play in front of the fans this weekend.
He exited Fnatic in the last year of his contract to replace four-time major champion Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif, transitioning from being an IGL at Fnatic to playing as a rifler for Vitality.
Who will Mezii and Vitality play next at the Blast Premier Fall Final 2023?
The win over Complexity shot Vitality to the top of Group B, meaning that they now face the winner of the quarter final between Cloud9 and Heroic.
Mezii’s side will be full of confidence after already beating Heroic once this tournament, but if Cloud9 reach the semis, then it will be the first time Vitality have played the Russian side since August.
Cloud9 did however play against Fnatic in October, where mezii 25-year-old dropped 60 kills in a 2-1 loss.
Other teams remaining in the Blast Premier Fall Final 2023 include Complexity and Navi, the winner of which will face Faze Clan in the other semi-final. Meanwhile, Astralis and NiP have been knocked out.
The semi finals of the Blast Premier Fall Final 2023 will take place on Saturday November 25th and the grand final will follow on Sunday November 26th.
UK broadcast talent at the event include James Banks, Freya Spiers and HenryG.
Last month, it was announced that Blast will be bringing its Counter-Strike Blast Premier Spring Final 2024 to Wembley Arena in London.
Reece is a sports journalist who has previously worked with the likes of BBC Radio Solent, Southern Daily Echo, Salisbury Radio, VAVEL and many more. He is currently studying a degree in Sports Journalism at Solent University.
