MIBR win BLAST Premier: Spring American Finals opener

The $250,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event has four teams competing for a berth in the $1.5 million BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020, scheduled for next January. MIBR advance to a Friday match against the winner of the Wednesday showdown between Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses.

Behind a 49-kill performance from Fernando "fer" Alvarenga, MIBR swept FURIA Esports 2-0 on Tuesday as the BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 American Finals got underway. The $250,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event has four teams competing for a berth in the $1.5 million BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020, scheduled for next January.

MIBR advance to a Friday match against the winner of the Wednesday showdown between Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses. FURIA will face the Liquid-EG loser on Thursday in the lower bracket of the double-elimination event. The tournament will proceed with one match each day through the final on Sunday. All matches are best-of-three. Along with the spot in the BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020, the winner will earn $160,000 and 1,600 BLAST Premier points, while the runner-up will receive $65,000 and 800 BLAST Premier points.

The BLAST Premier Spring Finals, a $750,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, was originally scheduled to be played in Moscow, but it was moved online and split into two regions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The eight-team, $500,000 European region, which began play Monday, features a double-elimination playoff bracket with all matches best-of-three. The champion will claim $335,000, and the top two finishers will secure spots in the BLAST Premier: Global Final.

The first map of the all-Brazilian FURIA-MIBR matchup, Inferno, was a back-and-forth affair. FURIA took the first four rounds before MIBR took the next six. MIBR led 11-7 before FURIA bounced back for a 12-11 lead. MIBR finally sealed a 16-14 win by taking the last two rounds. MIBR was a bit more comfortable on Vertigo, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and winning 16-9.

In addition to fer, who logged a plus-15 kill-death differential, MIBR got 44 kills and a plus-11 K-D differential from Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe. Henrique "HEN1" Teles led FURIA with 41 kills and a plus-7 K-D differential. BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 American Finals prize pool, with money and BLAST Premier points:

1. $160,000, 1,600 points 2. $65,000, 800 points

3. $15,000, 600 points 4. $10,000, 400 points

--Field Level Media

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