HAVU fought back in the grand final of BLAST Rising to defeat Endpoint 2-1 after recovering from a 5-13 scoreline on the second map.

Endpoint enjoyed a successful start to the event, ending the group stage with a boastful 5-1 record, losing just one map to ALTERNATE aTTaX. In the playoffs, the British side made quick work of AVEZ and Nordavind with 2-0 victories to advance to the grand final.

Meanwhile, a 4-0 start in the group stage for HAVU was soured by two consecutive losses in their final two matches, with Nordavind edging first place in the group. However, the Finnish squad bounced back immediately in the playoffs, flawlessly taking down Japaleno and ALTERNATE aTTaX to set up a clash with Endpoint.

The biggest upset of the event came in the quarter-finals, where an inform Heretics side, who had previously recorded an impressive top-six placing in ESL One: Road to Rio, blazed through their BLAST Rising group unbeaten only to fall short to ALTERNATE aTTaX, ending the tournament in 5-8th position.

HAVU recovered from a 5-13 deficit on map two to turn the series around

The grand final kicked off on Vertigo, Endpoint’s map pick, where the British side survived a comeback scare as they let a 13-4 lead slip, with HAVU eventually forcing overtime. However, Max "⁠MiGHTYMAX⁠" Heath’s troops were finally able to edge over the line, 19-17, to take map one.

Endpoint once more got off to a brilliant start on Train, but completely fell flat after switching to the T side. The Brits squandered a 13-5 advantage as the Finnish side racked up 11 out of 12 rounds to complete a fantastic defensive comeback at 16-14 and force a decider.

Dust2 was left to determine a victor, and the outcome materialised promptly. A near-perfect T side saw HAVU storm to a 14-1 lead as they wreaked havoc across the map, with Endpoint unable to find an answer. Shortly after, HAVU closed out the map 16-3, and the grand final 2-1, with Lasse "⁠ZOREE⁠" Uronen posting a 1.27 series rating.

BLAST Rising 2020Best of 3 EndpointMatchpage 1 2 22nd May 2020 HAVU 19Vertigo 17 14Train 16 3Dust2 16

Endpoint	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Thomas 'Thomas' UttingThomas	70 - 64	+6	96.3	1.23
Joey 'CRUC1AL' SteuselCRUC1AL	59 - 57	+2	72.9	1.11
Robin 'robiin' Sjögrenrobiin	61 - 60	+1	74.6	1.06
Kia 'Surreal' ManSurreal	56 - 59	-3	71.4	0.98
Max 'MiGHTYMAX' HeathMiGHTYMAX	45 - 60	-15	60.4	0.82

HAVU	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Lasse 'ZOREE' UronenZOREE	70 - 51	+19	83.1	1.28
Aaro 'hoody' Peltokangashoody	65 - 59	+6	79.7	1.09
Olli 'sLowi' PitkänensLowi	60 - 61	-1	72.0	1.08
Joonas 'doto' Forssdoto	60 - 59	+1	80.3	1.06
Eetu 'sAw' SahasAw	44 - 61	-17	68.6	0.89

The final standings for BLAST Rising 2020 looks as follows:

1. HAVU - $17,300
2. Endpoint - $8,650
3-4. ALTERNATE aTTaX - $3,250
3-4. Nordavind - $3,250
5-8. AVEZ
5-8. FATE
5-8. Japaleno
5-8. Heretics
9-12. Giants
9-12. Salamander
9-12. Secret
9-12. Movistar Riders
13-16. Apeks
13-16. Tricked
13-16. SAW
13-16. AGO

Lasse 'ZOREE' Uronen Age: 26 Team: HAVU Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1300 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.63 Apeks #56 Dennis 'dennis' EdmanKristian 'akez' KornbakkErik 'truth' Hansen DyrnesOle 'Marcelious' Kristian LanganSander 'Grus' Iversen AGO #65 Oskar 'oskarish' StenborowskiDamian 'Furlan' KislowskiDominik 'GruBy' SwiderskiMiłosz 'mhL' KnasiakMaciej 'F1KU' Miklas Endpoint #33 Robin 'robiin' SjögrenJoey 'CRUC1AL' SteuselMax 'MiGHTYMAX' HeathKia 'Surreal' ManThomas 'Thomas' Utting HAVU #29 Eetu 'sAw' SahaLasse 'ZOREE' UronenOlli 'sLowi' PitkänenJoonas 'doto' ForssAaro 'hoody' Peltokangas ALTERNATE aTTaX #48 Robin 'ScrunK' RöpkeStefan 'stfN' SeierSabit 'mirbit' CoktasarMarko 'kressy' ĐorđevićFritz 'slaxz-' Dietrich FATE #57 Nikolay 'niki1' PantaleevMartin 'mar' KuyumdjievKrasen 'Zix' MinchevViktor 'Duplicate' MitevDeyvid 'h4rn' Benchev Movistar Riders #28 Christian 'loWel' Garcia AntoranRajohn 'EasTor' LinatoLucas 'steel' LopesAlejandro 'alex' MasanetAlejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo Cano Secret #47 Martin 'PERCY' WesselGuy 'anarkez' TrachtmanFlatron 'juanflatroo' HalimiDionis 'sinnopsyy' Budeci Heretics #21 Fabien 'kioShiMa' FieyAlexandre 'xms' FortéBryan 'Maka' CandaLucas 'Lucky' ChastangNabil 'Nivera' Benrlitom Nordavind #43 Jesper 'TENZKI' PlougmannKevin 'HS' TarnNiels Christian 'NaToSaphiX' SillassenJorgen 'cromen' RobertsenHaris 'H4RR3' Hadzic Salamander #49 Patrik 'bodito' BodaÁron 'Aaron' HomokiAndrás 'coolio' FercsákKornél 'kory' SzedlárÁdám 'torzsi' Torzsás Max 'MiGHTYMAX' Heath Age: 22 Team: Endpoint Rating 1.0: 0.92 Maps played: 579 KPR: 0.60 DPR: 0.65 Japaleno #63 Fredrik 'FREDDyFROG' GustafssonJoakim 'Relaxa' GustafssonNiclas 'PlesseN' PlessenDaniel 'djL' NarancicAdam 'dezon' Wahlqvist Tricked #112 Dennis 'sycrone' NielsenAndreas 'kiR' KirsteinOliver 'kwezz' RasmussenPhilip 'Lucky' EwaldMagnus 'Toft' Toft AVEZ #61 Kuba 'Markoś' MarkowskiPiotr 'nawrot' NawrockiKamil 'KEi' PietkunKacper 'Kylar' Walukiewicz SAW #77 Omar 'arki' ChakkorChristopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesRicardo 'roman' OliveiraTiago 'JUST' MouraRenato 'stadodo' Gonçalves Giants #81 Ricardo 'fox' PachecoBruno 'BLOODZ' MourãoRenato 'renatoohaxx' GonçalvesPaulo 'pr' SilvaFilipe 'NOPEEJ' Dias