Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool starred for the European squad in the first tournament appearance as they took down Vitality to top the group.

FaZe have emerged victorious from Group C of the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, securing the top seed heading into the gauntlet stage after narrowly beating Liquid twice before claiming revenge against Vitality in the final.

ropz was the difference maker for the European squad in his debut for the team, particularly impressing in their final match against Vitality, where he posted a 1.85 rating and had immense impact throughout the map.

The first place finish in their group sees FaZe advance directly to the third round of the gauntlet stage, leaving them with two chances to qualify for the Spring Final, the first of which they'll have on Saturday, February 5 at 18:30 .

As a result of the loss to FaZe, Vitality end the group in second place, while Evil Geniuses were unable to deliver in their own roster's debut and became the first team to be sent down to the gauntlet stage after suffering losses to Vitality and Liquid.

Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski's side, meanwhile, will be kicking themselves after letting a lead over FaZe slip in the lower bracket final, with the resulting third place finish seeing them draw Natus Vincere in their own match of the gauntlet stage.

1. FaZe - Move on to gauntlet round 3
2. Vitality - Gauntlet round 2
3. Liquid - Gauntlet round 1
4. Evil Geniuses - Gauntlet round 1

The stakes will be raised heading into the best-of-three gauntlet stage as six spots at the Spring Final will be on the line, while the first round of play will feature instant elimination for the loser as they will be cast down to the Spring Showdown.

Play for the event will resume on Thursday with the first match of the gauntlet stage pitting Complexity against MIBR at 13:00 , after which Natus Vincere will look to recover from a disastrous last-place finish in Group B as they go up against Liquid.

Following that, BIG will take on Evil Geniuses, with the winners of each match advancing to the second round of the gauntlet to take on the runner-ups of each group.

Gauntlet stage round 1:

Thursday, February 3
13:00 Complexity vs. MIBR
16:30 Natus Vincere vs. Liquid
18:30 BIG vs. Evil Geniuses