Astralis vs. Vitality, Preview & Prediction - Free 1/23 CS:GO

The two highest-ranked teams in the world will face in the Upper bracket final of the BLAST Premier Global Final 2020 on Saturday. Astralis is a slight favorite in this Best of 3 encounter when they take on Vitality. The winning side will progress to the Grand Final, while the loser will drop to the Consolidation Final.

Astralis Team Stats and Latest Results

Astralis closed 2020 with a trophy at the IEM Global Challenge 2020 and $200,000 in the pocket. They defeated Complexity, Vitality, Natus Vincere, and Liquid in the Grand Final to clinch the title. The Danish team lost the opening map in both matches at this tournament but bounced back and beat Evil Geniuses and G2. Astralis won ten of the previous 12 matches.

In the last three months, Astralis displayed fine performances on Inferno (78.9% win rate), Train (75.0%), and Vertigo (70.0%), while they were below average only on Nuke (42.9%). Astralis is playing with the same squad since November last year and appeared on 56 maps with a record of 39 wins and 17 losses. The lineup consists of Xyp9x (1.03 win rate), dupreeh (1.10), gla1ve (1.00), device (1.23), and Magisk (1.07).

Vitality Team Stats and Latest Results

Vitality didn’t experience the best of times at the IEM Global Challenge 2020 as Astralis stopped them early on, but they did impress at the IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 Europe when they won a trophy and $60,000. The French side beat Spirit, MAD Lions, Heroic, Complexity, and Natus Vincere in the Grand Final after coming back from a 2-0 deficit. At the BLAST Premier Global Final 2020, Vitality defeated Complexity and Liquid without dropping a map in the process.

During the previous three months, Vitality was excellent on Inferno (83.3%) and Overpass (83.3%), while their “weakest” displays came on Nuke (53.8%). Since October 2020, Vitality is playing with the same lineup that appeared on 31 maps and recorded 20 wins and 11 losses. The team members are shox (1.11), RpK (1.03), apex (1.02), ZywOo (1.31), and misutaaa (1.04).

Astralis vs. Vitality H2H Record

These rivals have met 11 times before, and Astralis leads the all-time series 7-4. They won the most recent duel at the IEM Global Challenge 2020 after Vitality’s two wins in a row and Vitality’s 1-0 lead in that match.

Astralis vs. Vitality Betting Preview

Six of ten Best of 3 H2H encounters produced a maximum of three maps, which was the case in each of the previous four. I expect to see the same scenario in this one, especially considering the high stakes and a place in the Grand Final. So, don’t overthink about backing the winner here – just go with Over 2.5 maps at excellent odds. It’s going to be an extremely close game that could go either way.

The Pick: Over 2.5 Maps (-103 @GG.BET)