apEX says Vitality remain dangerous after grinding through BLAST Porto lower bracket

apEX says Vitality remain dangerous after grinding through BLAST Porto lower bracket

Dan "apEX" Madesclaire believes Vitality remain one of the most dangerous teams at BLAST Open Porto despite an unconvincing group-stage run.

Vitality opened the tournament with a shock defeat to Inner Circle , but recovered by winning three consecutive elimination series against 9z, Legacy and FUT to secure a playoff spot.

The run has also come with William " mezii " Merriman absent on parental leave and Justinas "jL" Lekavicius standing in.

Vitality recover from disastrous start

The opening defeat immediately placed Vitality under pressure.

Instead of collapsing, the team gradually stabilized and fought through the lower bracket.

Their final qualification series against FUT ended in a 2:0 victory, completing a run of three straight wins with elimination on the line.

apEX has also stepped up individually during the tournament, averaging a 1.07 rating and delivering several important performances during the team's recovery.

apEX highlights impact of his own form

The veteran captain explained that when he is contributing strongly as an individual player, Vitality become significantly more dangerous.

That extra output adds another threat alongside the team's established stars and makes it more difficult for opponents to focus their defensive setups around ZywOo or ropz .

Vitality nevertheless remain without their full starting five.

jL is temporarily replacing mezii , and apEX acknowledged that the team naturally loses some elements of its normal structure without the British rifler.

Playoffs offer another chance

Vitality 's path through the lower bracket means they enter the Porto playoffs from the quarter-finals rather than receiving a direct semi-final berth.

They will face FURIA Esports for a place in the final four.

Despite the turbulent group stage, apEX believes the team's ability to survive multiple elimination matches demonstrates that Vitality remain capable of making a deep run.