The Serbian in-game leader put on a vintage performance with 27 frags in his OG debut.

MIBR’s upset victory over Natus Vincere to open the BLAST Premier Spring's Group B no doubt made Brazilian fans rejoice, but the biggest feel-good story of the day came in the second match with former G2 IGL Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković — who is out to prove himself after a trade with Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen landed him in OG —, leading his new team to a win not only as the shot caller, but also by topping the scoreboard.

Read more nexa: "I want to prove that I am a great in-game leader, not just a decent one"

Two clutches by nexa in the first half, a 1vs3 to win the pistol round and a 1vs2 in the final round, kicked off and put an end to a very fought-out CT side in which Astralis kept up the pressure to remain within three before switching sides.

nexa could not have asked for a better start with OG

Doubles by Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså and Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan kept the international squad cruising ahead after the second pistol round, and although Astralis managed to win the third round in the half to stay in the game, nexa and his men pounded the Danes’ defenses as the Serbian player ended the 24 rounds (16-8) with 27 frags and 108.6 ADR.

The European squad will now play MIBR in the Group B upper bracket at 18:10 while Natus Vincere and Astralis will meet in the first round of the group’s lower bracket a little bit later, at 19:15 , ahead of the consolidation and group finals that will round out the second day of group play.

BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2022Best of 1 AstralisMatchpage 8 16 29th January 2022 OG 8Ancient 16

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Benjamin 'blameF' BremerblameF	18 - 19	-1	80.8	1.16
Kristian 'k0nfig' Wieneckek0nfig	14 - 19	-5	72.2	0.92
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	11 - 20	-9	58.8	0.79
Philip 'Lucky' EwaldLucky	13 - 17	-4	45.3	0.76
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	5 - 18	-13	30.4	0.36

OG	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Nemanja 'nexa' Isakovićnexa	27 - 9	+18	108.6	1.88
Nikolaj 'niko' Kristensenniko	21 - 12	+9	94.1	1.45
Mateusz 'mantuu' Wilczewskimantuu	18 - 11	+7	72.4	1.35
Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn Vangsåvalde	15 - 15	0	65.0	1.10
Shahar 'flameZ' ShushanflameZ	12 - 14	-2	58.0	0.93

OG #16 Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåNemanja 'nexa' IsakovićNikolaj 'niko' KristensenMateusz 'mantuu' WilczewskiShahar 'flameZ' Shushan Astralis #8 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderKristian 'k0nfig' WieneckePhilip 'Lucky' EwaldBenjamin 'blameF' Bremer Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Nemanja 'nexa' Isaković Age: 24 Team: OG Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 1200 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.63 Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan Age: 18 Team: OG Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 341 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.67 Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn Vangså Age: 26 Team: OG Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1201 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.65 Natus Vincere #1 Oleksandr 's1mple' KostylievDenis 'electroNic' SharipovKirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovIlya 'Perfecto' ZalutskiyValeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen Age: 24 Team: G2 Rating 1.0: 0.97 Maps played: 957 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.65 G2 #4 Audric 'JACKZ' JugNikola 'NiKo' KovačNemanja 'huNter-' KovačAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenIlya 'm0NESY' Osipov MIBR #56 Marcelo 'chelo' CespedesRaphael 'exit' LacerdaAdriano 'WOOD7' CeratoMatheus 'Tuurtle' AnhaiaJhonatan 'JOTA' Willian