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Virtus.pro came out on top in a three map grand final against FORZE to win the CIS Cup and earn a ticket to BLAST Premier Spring Showdown.

The two top seeds from the CIS Cup group stage, FORZE and Virtus.pro, made it to the grand final after victories over 1WIN and NAVI Junior in the semi-finals. Virtus.pro, who came into the grand final without losing a single map in the tournament, managed to keep their streak on their pick, Dust2, the first played in the series, but were no match for FORZE on Mirage. VP then set themselves up for victory on the attacking side of Train, winning it 9-6, before closing the map and series on the defending side to clinch a spot in BLAST Premier Spring Europe Showdown.

Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali was unable to pull off a 1vs2 clutch after planting on the B site of Dust2, giving FORZE the early 1-0 lead. It was then Bogdan "⁠xsepower⁠" Chernikov who found himself in a 1vs2 clutch situation two rounds later, which he was able to convert on for FORZE to go up 3-0. Virtus.pro got their first round on the board on a forcebuy thanks to a triple by Alexey "⁠Qikert⁠" Golubev, which they were able to follow up in a round in which it was Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis who got three kills of his own. The Latvian and Jame then spearheaded what turned out to be a one-sided half for VP, who went on to win every round henceforth to make it 11-4 at the switch.

The tables turned in the second half after FORZE managed to bag the pistol round before taking five rounds in a row, but Virtus.pro were able to get on the board in the second half thanks to YEKINDAR, who cleared the A site in a 3vs2 afterplant situation. Despite following the round up, VP weren’t able to find consistency on the CT side as FORZE ground their way back to within one, 12-13. Two entries by Dauren "⁠AdreN⁠" Kystaubayev from window to mid assured they kept the lead, further setting VP up to win their map pick, 16-12.

Virtus.pro will play in BLAST Premier Spring Showdown Group B

Virtus.pro got ahead on the attacking side of Mirage, but were quickly on the back foot after losing to FORZE’s second round forcebuy. The map then went the way of Dust2, except it was FORZE who were in complete dominance in the first half this time around, going on a ten round streak before VP could retaliate. Unable to follow it up, FORZE went up 13-2 at the half. Just like on Dust2, the team struggling behind won the pistol round, in this case Virtus.pro, but they didn’t manage to stretch the map very long as FORZE once again pulled ahead once they could afford full buys to end it 16-5.

FORZE won the CT pistol round on Train before losing to the forcebuy on the second round, although heroics by Almaz "⁠almazer⁠" Asadullin with a double and Andrey "⁠Jerry⁠" Mekhryakov with a triple swung momentum back their way in the third round. They wouldn’t be able to sustain it, though, as VP tied it back up on the fourth. After the initial strife it was AdreN and company who were up ahead on the attacking side, winning the economic game and setting themselves up early on with an 8-3 lead. A 1vs2 clutch by YEKINDAR increased the gap before FORZE reduced the distance at the end of the half winning the last three rounds, making it 6-9.

FORZE brought it back to even after winning the second pistol round, but were unable to take the lead against a fullbuy by Virtus.pro, who went on to take control on the defending side to win the map, 16-9, closing out the series and securing a spot in the upcoming BLAST Premier Spring Europe Showdown.

CIS Cup 2020 - BLAST Premier QualifierBest of 3 FORZEMatchpage 1 2 30th May 2020 Virtus.pro 12Dust2 16 16Mirage 5 9Train 16

FORZE	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Evgenii 'FL1T' LebedevFL1T	58 - 45	+13	84.3	1.22
Andrey 'Jerry' MekhryakovJerry	59 - 58	+1	89.3	1.13
Bogdan 'xsepower' Chernikovxsepower	51 - 42	+9	68.8	1.10
Almaz 'almazer' Asadullinalmazer	47 - 47	0	72.8	0.98
Dmitriy 'facecrack' Alekseyevfacecrack	44 - 55	-11	68.9	0.93

Virtus.pro	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Alexey 'Qikert' GolubevQikert	58 - 49	+9	82.7	1.18
Mareks 'YEKINDAR' GaļinskisYEKINDAR	58 - 58	0	86.8	1.12
Dzhami 'Jame' AliJame	54 - 46	+8	70.8	1.06
Sanjar 'SANJI' KulievSANJI	38 - 53	-15	63.5	0.82
Dauren 'AdreN' KystaubayevAdreN	37 - 54	-17	57.4	0.78

The CIS Cup final standings are:

1. Virtus.pro - BLAST Premier Spring Showdown
2. FORZE
3-4. NAVI Junior
3-4. 1WIN
5-6. Espada
5-6. Nemiga
7-8. Syman
7-8. Winstrike

The BLAST Premier Spring Europe Showdown groups are:

Group A
Astralis
Vitality
Ninjas in Pyjamas
ENCE
SAW Group B
fnatic
MOUZ
MAD Lions
Dignitas
Virtus.pro fnatic #3 Robin 'flusha' RönnquistJesper 'JW' WecksellFreddy 'KRIMZ' JohanssonMaikil 'Golden' SelimLudvig 'Brollan' Brolin FORZE #26 Dmitriy 'facecrack' AlekseyevAlmaz 'almazer' AsadullinEvgenii 'FL1T' LebedevBogdan 'xsepower' ChernikovAndrey 'Jerry' Mekhryakov Dignitas #38 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundRichard 'Xizt' LandströmAdam 'friberg' FribergHåkon 'hallzerk' Fjærli Espada #44 Dmitriy 'Dimaoneshot' BandurkaDmitry 'S0tF1k' ForostyankoVladislav 'FinigaN' UsovAbdul 'degster' GasanovRobert 'Patsi' Isyanov Ninjas in Pyjamas #13 Simon 'twist' EliassonFredrik 'REZ' SternerHampus 'hampus' PoserTim 'nawwk' JonassonNicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez Zamora Andrey 'Jerry' Mekhryakov Age: 22 Team: FORZE Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 851 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.68 Almaz 'almazer' Asadullin Age: 21 Team: FORZE Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 773 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66 MOUZ #4 Finn 'karrigan' AndersenChris 'chrisJ' de JongÖzgür 'woxic' EkerDavid 'frozen' ČerňanskýRobin 'ropz' Kool MAD Lions #12 Asger 'AcilioN' LarsenLucas 'Bubzkji' AndersenFrederik 'acoR' GyldstrandRasmus 'sjuush' BeckFredrik 'roeJ' Jørgensen Dauren 'AdreN' Kystaubayev Age: 30 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.00 Maps played: 1537 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.68 Dzhami 'Jame' Ali Age: 21 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 788 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.56 Vitality #10 Richard 'shox' PapillonCédric 'RpK' GuipouyDan 'apEX' MadesclaireMathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautKévin 'misutaaa' Rabier Syman #36 Rustem 'mou' TelepovRasmus 'kreaz' JohanssonSanzhar 'neaLaN' IskhakovNicolas 'Keoz' DgusDavid 'n0rb3r7' Danielyan Winstrike #27 Vladyslav 'bondik' NechyporchukAbay 'HObbit' KhassenovAidyn 'KrizzeN' TurlybekovViktor 'Lack1' BoldyrevAleksei 'El1an' Gusev 1WIN #135 Sergey 'starix' IschukAnton 'tonyblack' KolesnikovVadim 'DavCost' VasilyevDmitriy 'propleh' SenigovAleksandr 'TRAVIS' Timkiv Alexey 'Qikert' Golubev Age: 21 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 868 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.65 NAVI Junior #76 Eugene 'Aunkere' KaryatKirill 'Gospadarov' GospadarovOleksii 'Topa' TopchiienkoIvan 'kapacho' KoplenkoValeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenNicolai 'device' ReedtzJakob 'JUGi' HansenEmil 'Magisk' Reif Nemiga #32 Aleksandr 'mds' RubetsRassim 'Jyo' ValijevAnton 'speed4k' TitovAnton 'boX' BurkoIgor 'lollipop21k' Solodkov Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis Age: 20 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 711 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.70 SAW #70 Omar 'arki' ChakkorChristopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesRicardo 'roman' OliveiraTiago 'JUST' MouraRenato 'stadodo' Gonçalves Bogdan 'xsepower' Chernikov Age: 22 Team: FORZE Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 693 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.58 ENCE #23 Aleksi 'allu' JalliJani 'Aerial' JussilaMiikka 'suNny' KemppiJere 'sergej' SaloElias 'Jamppi' Olkkonen Virtus.pro #24 Dauren 'AdreN' KystaubayevSanjar 'SANJI' KulievAlexey 'Qikert' GolubevDzhami 'Jame' AliMareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis