Vitality managed to extend their BLAST Open Porto run after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Legacy in the Group B lower bracket, taking the series 16-14 on Nuke, falling 9-13 on Mirage, and closing out 13-8 on Dust2.
The match was marked by struggling terrorist sides throughout, with Vitality clearly experiencing adjustment issues as Justinas "jL" Lekavicius fills in for William "mezii" Merriman. Dan "apEX" Madesclaire's squad will need to iron out these problems quickly, as they face FUT on Monday with a playoff spot on the line.
Legacy will rue their missed opportunity after throwing away a commanding 10-2 advantage on Nuke, which could have sealed a swift two-map victory. Santino "try" Rigal put in another impressive performance for his new roster, but it wasn't sufficient to overcome Vitality when they finally found their rhythm on the deciding map.
The opening map saw Vitality struggle badly, particularly Robin "ropz" Kool (1-10 K-D) and Shahar "flameZ" Shushan (1-9 K-D) during a catastrophic first half. Legacy looked dominant with standout plays from Vinicius "n1ssim" Pereira's opening quad-kill, followed by try's triple in a 3v5 situation, and Eduardo "dumau" Wolkmer's quad-kill extending their 10-2 lead.
However, the Brazilian side completely fell apart after halftime. Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut's 1v3 clutch shifted momentum, and Bruno "latto" Rebelatto narrowly missed a potential 1v3 ace clutch due to a leg shot. Vitality clawed their way back to force overtime and ultimately claimed the map.
Mirage saw Legacy's terrorist struggles continue despite winning the pistol round. They fell behind 2-7 before rallying late in the half and after the swap, with dumau posting a 2.06 rating and try delivering a crucial triple to lock down a 13-9 victory.
Dust2 finally saw Vitality's attack click into place, with apEX leading the charge in a balanced first half. Legacy's economy crumbled on their T side, questionable buy decisions preventing them from establishing stability. The trio of ZywOo, flameZ, and apEX capitalized ruthlessly to seal the 13-8 win.
