The Inner Circle squad kicked off their run at the BLAST Open Porto LAN tournament with a resounding 2-0 victory over Vitality. This triumph is a logical continuation of the young roster's successful streak, having won the Super DraculaN tournament before the break and currently maintaining an 80% win rate over the last three months.
The main highlight of the matchup was Inner Circle's impressive comeback on Cache. Down 7-12, the team managed to turn the tide of the game thanks to a bizarre situation. The team's captain, Viktor "onic" Babii, revealed that he tried to take a tactical pause in the dying seconds, forgetting that their limit had already been reached. As a result, the team was forced to play a very fast round. Vitality, who were playing the tournament with a stand-in, expected a slow execution and were caught off guard by the sudden pace. Winning this round gave Inner Circle the necessary emotional boost to complete the comeback.
Commenting on the result, onic could not hold back his emotions but emphasized his roster's psychological resilience. He noted that the team fully understood the status of their opponent, but on that day, they proved to be "mentally much, much stronger." According to the captain, the main goal for his young roster at their first tier-1 event is to appreciate the moment, gain invaluable experience, and fight until the end in every match, regardless of the outcome.
The victory over Vitality has already earned Inner Circle around 80 points in the VRS system, which, combined with future points from the prize pool, significantly boosts their chances of qualifying for the Major.
In the next round of the tournament, Inner Circle will face MOUZ. Despite the lack of high expectations for the current event, onic looks to the future with great optimism. He is confident that if the team continues working in the same spirit and acquires the discipline required for the tier-1 level, this roster can easily and consistently secure a spot in the top 10 of the world rankings.
As a reminder, Spinx on MOUZ's lack of "aura": "First, we need to focus on playing good Counter-Strike"
