Ahead of BLAST Open London 2025, which will take place from August 27 to September 1, 2025, we are set for an exciting clash between the experienced Vitality and the ambitious M80. The French squad is going through a period of inconsistency after competing at top-tier events, while the Americans arrive in excellent form after a streak of victories in their region. Will Vitality’s experience be enough to stop M80’s momentum, or will the young North American roster surprise once again?
Current Form of the Teams
The French giants come into BLAST Open London 2025 after a busy schedule. Over the past three months, they have played 42 maps and won 31. In August, they consistently remained among the top finishers: 3–4th place at IEM Cologne 2025, 3–4th at BLAST Bounty Season 2, and 4th at Esports World Cup 2025. However, their recent results look shaky: two wins against TYLOO and Liquid, but three defeats — against Falcons and twice versus The MongolZ. This suggests issues in adapting to aggressive opponents.
The North American side has shown impressive consistency: 66 maps in the past three months with 52 wins. In the last month, they dominated regional tournaments: first places at PrizePicks NA Revival Series 7 and 8, Thunderpick World Championship 2025 NA, and Ace NA Masters Season 2 (securing a spot at BLAST Premier Rising Event). Only at CCT S3 NA Series 1 did they stop at the semifinals. In their last five matches, M80 claimed four victories (Getting Info, BLUEJAYS, Verstappen peek, Marsborne) and lost only to Wildcard. The team is clearly in peak form.
Map Pool
In a best-of-three series, the likely sequence is:
- First ban Vitality: most likely Ancient, their weakest map.
- First ban M80: Nuke, a stable ban for them almost every time.
- Vitality’s pick: Dust2 (perfect choice with 100% win rate over 8 maps). Inferno or Nuke are possible alternatives, but Dust2 looks the safest.
- M80’s pick: Overpass (played 14 times with a 93% win rate) or Ancient, but since Vitality will likely ban Ancient, Overpass becomes the choice.
- Second ban Vitality: Inferno, to deny M80 the chance to play one of their strongest maps.
- Second ban M80: with Dust2 already picked by Vitality, Train could be the next logical removal to shape the pool.
- Decider: Mirage, where both teams have experience but no clear statistical edge.
Predicted map pool:
- Vitality — Dust2
- M80 — Overpass
- Decider — Mirage
Head-to-Head
In the past six months, Vitality and M80 have not faced each other. This makes the match particularly intriguing, as their styles could clash unexpectedly, and preparation for the opponent will play a decisive role.
Match Prediction
Vitality boast more experience against top-tier opponents, but their recent form has been inconsistent. M80, on the other hand, arrive confident after a series of regional titles, albeit against weaker opposition. In the map pool, things look balanced: Vitality are strong on Dust2, while M80 excel on Overpass. The decider Mirage will likely become the key battleground, where Vitality’s experience could tip the scales.
Prediction: Vitality to win 2–1, but M80 are expected to secure their map pick and push the series to the limit.
