The world no. 1 team got the job done despite not playing up to their end-of-2021 form.

Natus Vincere have joined Vitality, G2, FaZe, and OG as teams that have secured their spots at the $425,000 BLAST Premier Spring Final in June after defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0 in the last-chance match.

The CIS side showed weakness throughout the tournament, losing BO1 matches to MIBR and Astralis in the first week and a BO3 to Ninjas in Pyjamas in the second one, but performed well in the crucial matches. When elimination was on the line in games against Liquid and the rematch versus Ninjas in Pyjamas, Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev and co. took 2-0 victories and ultimately did what they had to at the group stage — securing a spot at the Spring Final.

NAVI march on to the Spring Final

"It is a slow start of the season, but we are happy with the result, we got to the Final," Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov said in a post-match interview, explaining that they will focus on preparation for the upcoming IEM Katowice after getting over the first hurdle in 2022.

Read more NAVI collapse against NIP in BLAST Groups

Multikills from Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen were the only thing stopping Natus Vincere from running over Ninjas in Pyjamas on the T side of Nuke, the first map of the series. The Danes' efforts translated to three rounds on the defense, but that was way too little for Ninjas in Pyjamas to mount a comeback on the offense, dropping the map 16-6.

It seemed like the series was going to be a complete whitewash as Natus Vincere took an 8-0 CT lead on Overpass, Ninjas in Pyjamas's map pick. Just like on Nuke, Love "⁠phzy⁠" Smidebrant had a slow start, but he got himself and his team on the board with a 1v1 clutch in the ninth round. Ninjas in Pyjamas salvaged the half with some quick hits, but struggled to establish themselves on CT initially.

Some heroics from Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner and another clutch from phzy kept Ninjas in Pyjamas's head above water and they slowly built momentum. Seven rounds in a row went their way and the score was tied at 14-14, but Natus Vincere's B hit stopped the streak, broke Ninjas in Pyjamas's economy, and allowed the favorites to push it across the line before overtime.

BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2022Best of 3 Natus VincereMatchpage 2 0 6th February 2022 Ninjas in Pyjamas 16Nuke 6 16Overpass 14

Natus Vincere	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostylievs1mple	50 - 28	+22	99.0	1.59
Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiyb1t	48 - 26	+22	86.9	1.48
Ilya 'Perfecto' ZalutskiyPerfecto	40 - 33	+7	94.2	1.37
Denis 'electroNic' SharipovelectroNic	33 - 32	+1	66.7	1.13
Kirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovBoombl4	31 - 30	+1	67.8	1.00

Ninjas in Pyjamas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Patrick 'es3tag' Hansenes3tag	35 - 39	-4	79.9	0.99
Hampus 'hampus' Poserhampus	35 - 45	-10	84.8	0.85
Fredrik 'REZ' SternerREZ	30 - 40	-10	73.0	0.82
Nicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraPlopski	28 - 41	-13	59.7	0.74
Love 'phzy' Smidebrantphzy	21 - 37	-16	42.8	0.57

Kirill 'Boombl4' Mikhailov Age: 23 Team: Natus Vincere Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 1039 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.68 OG #15 Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåNemanja 'nexa' IsakovićNikolaj 'niko' KristensenMateusz 'mantuu' WilczewskiShahar 'flameZ' Shushan FaZe #10 Finn 'karrigan' AndersenHåvard 'rain' NygaardRussel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenRobin 'ropz' KoolHelvijs 'broky' Saukants Patrick 'es3tag' Hansen Age: 26 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 1245 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66 Ninjas in Pyjamas #7 Patrick 'es3tag' HansenFredrik 'REZ' SternerHampus 'hampus' PoserNicolas 'Plopski' Gonzalez ZamoraLove 'phzy' Smidebrant Natus Vincere #1 Oleksandr 's1mple' KostylievDenis 'electroNic' SharipovKirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovIlya 'Perfecto' ZalutskiyValeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy Vitality #3 Dan 'apEX' MadesclairePeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenEmil 'Magisk' ReifMathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautKévin 'misutaaa' Rabier MIBR #46 Marcelo 'chelo' CespedesRaphael 'exit' LacerdaAdriano 'WOOD7' CeratoMatheus 'Tuurtle' AnhaiaJhonatan 'JOTA' Willian Astralis #8 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderKristian 'k0nfig' WieneckePhilip 'Lucky' EwaldBenjamin 'blameF' Bremer Love 'phzy' Smidebrant Age: 19 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 397 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.63 G2 #4 Audric 'JACKZ' JugNikola 'NiKo' KovačNemanja 'huNter-' KovačAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenIlya 'm0NESY' Osipov Liquid #56 Richard 'shox' PapillonNick 'nitr0' CannellaKeith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJosh 'oSee' Ohm Fredrik 'REZ' Sterner Age: 24 Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 1273 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.67 Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev Age: 24 Team: Natus Vincere Rating 1.0: 1.25 Maps played: 1492 KPR: 0.86 DPR: 0.64