The 2021 BLAST Premier Fall season is just about to start. This Thursday, Fall Groups action kicks off with group A. The remaining two groups will follow, wrapping up the initial portion of the season. Top half of the teams will go straight to the season Finals, while the bottom half will have to go through the Showdown.

But, we aren’t here to talk about the season structure. We’re here for BLAST Premier Fall Groups Power Rankings! Twelve teams are divided into three groups. We’ll take out the best two teams from each group and emphasize why we think they’ll grab their ticket for the Finals right away.

• Astralis
• Evil Geniuses
• Vitality
• Liquid

Lots of people see Vitality as the winners in group A and I can definitely see where they’re coming from. ZywOo and the boys played dominantly on ESL Pro League Season 14 and just narrowly lost the grand finals to NaVi.

But, such losses can get a team down real badly! We can’t know how Vitality will react following such a disheartening five-maps thriller, but we’ll find out for sure after their opener. But, even if that tight loss did faze them, the group isn’t too difficult and they should be able to regroup in case of a surprise loss early on. Remember, it’s a double-elimination group format – extra breathing space to qualify for the Fall Finals.

ZywOo was absolutely brilliant on EPL S14. He’ll have to transition his form here if Vitality are to qualify. Yep, the perks of relying too much on your star player…

Team Liquid are not the favorites coming into this one. Astralis, despite getting eliminated in EPL’s group stage, stand as the favorites to take the second spot behind Vitality. I, for one, can’t see that happening. They just don’t look that strong with the current roster!

Who does look strong, though? Well, Team Liquid! The NA team is finally back, reaching EPL S14 quarterfinals but going down against Heroic in what was anyone’s match. It went the full length and Heroic needed overtime on Inferno to wrap things up.

Liquid are, above everything else, tenacious! In addition to that, EliGE is finally rising up for the occasion and that’s clearly visible at first glance. Liquid is a team that needs at least one outstanding fragger. During their golden days, it was EliGE who kept upping the tally. He had a short drought period, but now that he’s back, I reckon we’re going to see him perform at this level for several more months.

• G2
• MIBR
• NiP
• BIG

Group B is not an easy one! All four teams have the quality to make it into the Fall Finals. Realistically, though, the battle is going to be between G2, NiP, and BIG. Yep, I’m going out on a limb here, eliminating the South Americans right off the bat, though I do admit they have some upset potential too.

G2 should take the top spot despite going 0:5 on ESL Pro League S14. Let’s call that campaign a boulder and move on, since I reckon that’s exactly what Niko and the boys will do here. They weren’t that terrible, but results are results and five consecutive losses are not to be forgotten.

Still, a team with G2’s fragging ability and map pool depth shouldn’t have any major issues in the long run. I expect them to finish first and qualify for the Fall Finals without needing to go through the Showdown.

Ninjas in Pyjamas will be in an uphill struggle against BIG. Even though they are considered as the second-best team in the group, NiP’s oscillating form means the Germans might have a way in. They are set to fight in the opening round, while G2 goes up against MIBR.

Should NiP win the opener, playing against G2 might actually be easier than the first one. G2 have much more fragging potential, but their poor track record and questionable team morale might get the better of them.

Form-wise, REZ and Hampus are setting the tempo for the rest of the team. Device, surprisingly enough, just can’t get back to his old (read superb) form. We all know what type of a quality player he is – the Dane has to start showcasing that again… if not, NiP might struggle on BLAST premier Fall.

• NaVi
• OG
• FaZe
• Complexity

Remember, NaVi already has a spot on the BLAST Premier World Final, alongside Heroic and Gambit. But, they won’t play half-baked CSGO here since missing out on Fall Finals would mean missing out on a whole bunch of prize money.

Plus, we know NaVi never hold back! They’re always giving 120% of themselves, especially S1mple, who’s on trail to be crowned as the most valuable player of the year. Thus far in 2021, Natus Vincere have won five big events. At the moment, they’re on a hefty winning streak, having won EPL S14, IEM XVI Cologne, and StarLadder Cis RMR.

S1mple was the key player in all three of those consecutive titles, which just goes to show you what a powerhouse he is. No matter what weapon he has, you can rest assured he’s going to deliver!

Even though OG had a much better time on ESL Pro League Season 14, I’m going with Faze to snatch the Finals right away. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprise if the final match is Faze vs. NaVi, just like it was on BLAST Premier Spring Groups earlier this year.

Faze Clan was unlucky on EPL S14, narrowly missing out on the playoffs after losing to NaVi in the final round. They will be coming into this one with big expectations. Their fans will want a proper run too. Anything but direct qualification for BLAST Premier Fall Finals will be a huge disappointment.

Individually, Twistzz and broky are the two main figures in this Faze lineup. Unfortunately, the rest of the pack just can’t keep up. If it so happens that Faze fail to qualify for the Finals here, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some roster alterations.