NA stares down European goliaths in BLAST Premier Fall openers

Tier-one Counter-Strike is back and NA is back with it! We got a little warm-up during the first open qualifiers for the IEM Rio American RMR but now things are starting in full swing with the Blast Premier Fall Groups 2022. There will be plenty of Counter-Strike for NA fans to enjoy with three North American teams present.

The trio of representatives have a tough job ahead of them as they will face off against three of the favorites to top the group stage. Complexity will be staring down NAVI, Evil Geniuses are squaring up against FaZe, and Liquid will battle G2. With that being said here's everything you need to know coming into the event as an NA fan.

Complexity

NA fans, don't give up hope just yet. Complexity is a team that has failed to live up to their potential so far this year, and drawing NAVI in the first round isn't ideal but there is a silver lining. Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev will not be playing against the American wonder kids and instead Daniil "headtr1ck" Valitov will be stepping up to the plate. Now, this is not to take anything away from the young Ukrainian, but not having to play against the best player in the world in your first tier one match as a new roster is a massive relief.

With or without having to face s1mple, BLAST Premier Fall presents an opportunity for Complexity. It is not about going out and winning the entire event but showing improvement, something that the last roster could not do. If Complexity can show an improved gameplan and that their AWPer is more impactful, then they can have high hopes about the direction they are heading.

For this new squad, there is no pressure, but a good start and an impactful outing for Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli would go a long way to show the team doesn't need more revisions to its lineup.

Liquid

Liquid are in a unique position compared to its two North American counterparts. This lineup has played together, at Cologne, so we already have an idea of what to expect when compared to the new Complexity and EG lineups. Despite the lack of changes in the off-season compared to their NA counterparts, this is still a relatively fresh squad as Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis heads to his second event with NA's best.

The first match for Liquid is against a new-look G2 who have a lot to prove, so the pressure is not on them and as mentioned Liquid has one advantage. They have played an event together. This is a tough match-up, but it does present an opportunity for Liquid to try new things against G2, as they will still be feeling out their new lineup. YEKINDAR is the perfect player for this bout as the world-class fragger can take advantage of a potentially basic G2 playstyle.

BLAST Fall overall seems like a great opportunity for Liquid to shine and prove that with YEKINDAR IEM Cologne wasn't a fluke run.

Evil Geniuses

After months of inactivity, Evil Geniuses' outlook for BLAST Fall is an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a mystery. The ceiling and the floor of this roster is completely unknown, with matters being further complicated by the team having a stand-in alongside a new core. William "RUSH" Wierzba will be playing instead of Timothy "autimatic" Ta due to the latter player taking personal time off. Beyond any tangible results, the most important to look for is the identity Sanzhar "neaLaN" Iskhakov and Daniel "Vorborg" Vorborg have been working to bring to this team.

nealaN was an extremely unorthodox pickup for EG this player break, and it will be interesting to see how his calling style can mesh with the team. It is, of course, early days but if EG exit the event with neaLan's squad lacking identity or a sense of cohesion, that's an ill omen for the future.

For Jadan "HexT" Postma's first time on the big stage, EG will face off against FaZe who look to maintain their dominance post player break. It will be an extremely tough match-up that EG aren't expected to win, so the most important thing for EG is to show a spark of tier one excellence even if the result will likely be rough.

Overall, North America will likely come out of BLAST Premier Fall bruised and battered. This was expected as NA have struggled immensely in 2022, and as such the spotlight will be on the three teams to show their recent European imports have changed the teams for the battle. But, as they say in America's game — Play Ball.