Vitality have rescued their BLAST Open Porto run by dismantling 9z with a decisive 2-0 victory in the Group B lower bracket. The French powerhouse surrendered a mere eight rounds combined, taking Dust2 13-2 and Nuke 13-6.
The defeat sends the South American team home in 13th-16th place, while Vitality move forward to meet whoever falls from the Legacy versus Falcons matchup.
This win offers crucial breathing room for Vitality, who stumbled out of the gates with an unexpected 0-2 defeat against Inner Circle. That match marked the debut of stand-in Justinas "jL" Lekavicius, filling in for William "mezii" Merriman.
On Dust2, Vitality seized control early and built a dominant 10-2 cushion by the half. jL exploded onto the server with 21 frags against just six deaths, posting an exceptional 2.49 rating. Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut wasn't far behind, delivering a stellar 1.84 rating himself.
Nuke appeared headed for another blowout as Vitality jumped ahead 4-0, but 9z rallied impressively to level things at 6-6 by halftime.
However, that competitive spirit evaporated after sides swapped. Vitality stormed through the second half without dropping a single round, closing out 13-6. ZywOo was untouchable in that final stretch, racking up 13 eliminations while dying just once.
jL topped the overall scoreboard with 38 kills and a 1.96 rating, edging out ZywOo who maintained a 1.82 average throughout both maps.
