Vitality defeated 9z 2:0 in Group B Lower Round 1, keeping their tournament run alive at BLAST Open Porto 2026. The collective dominated Dust2 13:2 before closing Nuke 13:6, eliminating 9z from the event.
Justinas “jL” Lekavicius delivered the best performance of the series with a 1.96 Rating 3.0, while Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut followed closely at 1.82.
Tournament context
Both collectives entered the series after losing their opening matches. Vitality were sent to the lower bracket following a surprising 0:2 defeat against Inner Circle, while 9z lost 0:2 to MOUZ.
The match was also a rematch from IEM Cologne Major 2026, where 9z defeated Vitality 2:1 during Stage 3. This time, another defeat would immediately end the tournament run for either side.
Vitality continued to play with jL as a stand-in for William “mezii” Merriman, who is missing BLAST Open Porto while on paternity leave.
How the match unfolded — Vitality vs 9z
Series score: 2:0 in favor of Vitality
- Dust2 (9z pick) — 13:2
Vitality completely controlled the map choice of 9z from the beginning. The collective built a 10:2 lead in the first half and did not allow 9z to win another round after the side switch.
Three consecutive rounds were enough for Vitality to close Dust2 13:2 and move within one map of survival.
- Nuke (Vitality pick) — 13:6
9z showed more resistance on Nuke and kept the opening half even at 6:6.
That was the final round they won in the series. Vitality produced a perfect second half, taking seven consecutive rounds to close Nuke 13:6 and complete the sweep.
Cache, which had been left as the deciding map, was not needed.
Player of the Match — Justinas “jL” Lekavicius (Vitality)
- K–D: 38–18
- ADR: 98.0
- Rating 3.0: 1.96
jL finished as the highest-rated player on the server and produced his best performance since joining Vitality as a stand-in. The result was a major turnaround from his debut against Inner Circle, where he finished the 0:2 defeat with a 0.88 Rating 3.0.
ZywOo was almost equally dominant against 9z, recording 37–16, 107.5 ADR and a 1.82 Rating 3.0. Shahar “flameZ” Shushan added a 1.28 rating, while Robin “ropz” Kool finished at 1.12.
No player from 9z reached a 1.00 Rating 3.0. Franco “dgt” Garcia led the collective at 0.91, while Ignacio “meyern” Meyer finished at the bottom with a 0.72 rating.
HE’S AN AWPER#BLASTPremier @ropz pic.twitter.com/CVTxJZ9aFQ
— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) August 29, 2026
VRS results
- Vitality — +46 pt → 1,748 pt, #8 → #7
- 9z — -12 pt → 1,661 pt, #9 → #10
The victory moved Vitality one position higher in VRS, while 9z dropped from ninth to tenth following the elimination.
What’s next?
Vitality advance to the Group B lower bracket semifinal, where they will face the loser of Inner Circle vs MOUZ on August 30.
The winner will advance to the lower bracket final and move one series away from securing a place in the BLAST Open Porto 2026 playoffs. Another defeat will eliminate Vitality from the tournament.
For 9z, the loss ends the Porto run in 13th–16th place after back-to-back 0:2 defeats against MOUZ and Vitality.
