The opening match between Vitality and Wildcard at BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1 brings together a tournament favorite and a team looking to prove themselves. Vitality arrives in dominant form, while Wildcard will aim to cause an upset. In this prediction, we break down the teams’ current form, likely map pool, and forecast the outcome.
Current Form of the Teams
Vitality
Over the past three months, Vitality has displayed excellent form, winning 46 out of 54 maps played. In the past month, they secured titles at BLAST Open Lisbon 2025 and IEM Melbourne 2025, finishing first at both tournaments. Vitality convincingly defeated teams like Falcons, Liquid, The MongolZ, and FlyQuest, winning their last five matches in a row. Additionally, they claimed the Intel Grand Slam title and are currently on an impressive 21-match winning streak.
Wildcard
Wildcard showed average results over the past three months, winning 29 out of 50 maps. In April, they failed to qualify for PGL Astana 2025, finishing 3rd-4th, but successfully passed the BLAST.tv Austin Major qualifiers, placing 1st-2nd. At CCT Global Finals 2025, Wildcard finished 5th-6th. Out of their last five matches, they won three (against 500, NRG, and Marsborne) and lost two (against Heroic and BetBoom).
Map Pool Prediction
At the ban stage, Vitality is expected to remove Ancient first, as it is their consistent ban. Wildcard will likely ban Mirage, their weakest map.
During the pick stage, Vitality will likely choose Inferno, where they have a fantastic 100% win rate with an 11-match win streak. Alternatively, they could opt for Nuke, where they also boast strong statistics (83% win rate).
Wildcard will probably pick either Inferno or Nuke, depending on Vitality’s perceived weaknesses. However, considering Vitality’s dominance on these maps, this choice will carry significant risk.
In the second ban phase, Vitality is expected to remove Train due to Wildcard’s strong win rate on it (75%), while Wildcard will likely ban Dust2, a comfortable map for Vitality.
Thus, the expected map pool will look like this:
- Bans: Ancient (Vitality), Mirage (Wildcard)
- Picks: Inferno (Vitality), Nuke (Wildcard)
- Second bans: Train (Vitality), Dust2 (Wildcard)
- Decider: Likely Anubis (where Wildcard looks weaker)
Head-to-Head Matches
Over the past six months, Vitality and Wildcard have not faced each other in official matches. Therefore, this will be their first direct encounter in 2025.
READ MORE: BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1: Who Can Stop Vitality in Copenhagen?
Match Prediction
Vitality are coming into this match in incredible form: they have titles from major tournaments, a record winning streak, and a very strong map pool. Wildcard, on the other hand, have shown inconsistent results and are facing an opponent that dominates on almost all key maps.
Even if Wildcard manage to secure their strongest map, their chances of winning the entire series remain minimal. Vitality hold a massive advantage in terms of individual skill, team chemistry, and experience.
The only potential risk factor for Vitality is the lack of proper rest: their previous tournament ended on April 27, and the new one starts already on April 30. Considering the long flight from Melbourne to Copenhagen, fatigue could have some impact on their performance.
Prediction: Vitality to win 2-0.
