Are viewers expected to see any surprises?
On the second matchday of the BLAST Premier Showdown, with Spirit, Gambit and FURIA, three absolute top teams will play against three big underdogs to advance to the finals. Anything else than three clear victories on today would be surprising.
Game 1: Spirit vs. Extra Salt - 12.30 p.m. (CET)
Spirit is the second big surprise of the new year besides Gambit. The semi-final at the IEM Katowice 2021 was a huge success for the CIS team and the following duels at the Pinnacle Cup were solid as well. Spirit should clearly win this duel against Extra Salt. The North American international team, which consists to a large extent of the former Cloud9 lineup, also showed good performances recently. Currently, the team is undefeated for 10 games, but has only played against Tier-2 teams.
Game 2: Gambit vs. NASR - 3.30 p.m. (CET)
In this duel, the signs are very clearly in favor of Gambit. The Russian top team secured the first place in the EsportFire world ranking just last week and is currently playing great. In the ESL Pro League, the team lost in the final match against Heroic, but is currently one of the absolute world leaders and should have no problems against NASR.
Game 3: FURIA vs. MIBR - 6.30 p.m. (CET)
This clash of the two Brazilian teams will probably be the most exciting of the second matchday, but a victory on the part of FURIA is still to be expected. MIBR could not really convince in the last weeks and months and was also rather weak in the ESL Pro League.
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