Vitality vs. Astralis, Preview & Prediction - Free 12/16 CS:GO

We have a mouthwatering clash between the two top-ranked teams in the CS:GO when Vitality and Astralis face in the Group A decider match of the IEM Global Challenge 2020 on Friday. Vitality is a slight favorite in this Best of 3 encounter, and the winner of this duel will go to the playoffs, while the losing side will be eliminated.

Vitality Team Stats and Latest Results

Vitality displayed impressive performances at the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Finals and won a trophy, $225,000 in prize money, and a ticket for the BLAST Premier Global Finals 2020. The French team overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat Natus Vincere in the Grand final of the IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 Europe to secure a place at this tournament, along with $60,000. They lost to BIG in the opening game here but bounced back with a big win over Complexity. Vitality won 13 of the previous 15 matches.

In the last three months, Vitality was dominant on Overpass (85.7% win rate), Inferno (78.6%), and Dust2 (76.9%), while they were below average on Vertigo (44.4%). Vitality assembled its squad in September this year and appeared on 51 maps with a record of 32 wins and 19 losses. The lineup is made of shox (1.07 rating), RpK (1.01), apex (1.01), ZywOo (1.31), and misutaaa (1.04).

Astralis Team Stats and Latest Results

Astralis came to this tournament as the No. 2 team in the world, and only Vitality is ahead of them at the moment, so they will be highly motivated to get a win here and try to overtake them at the top. The Danish team was victorious at the DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 Europe thanks to wins over Liquid, G2, Gambit, FURIA, and mousesports to earn $60,000. Vitality beat them in the Grand final of the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Finals, but Astralis made $85,000 for second place. Astralis pretty comfortable beat Complexity in the opening round here, but BIG proved to be way stronger and handed the Danes a 2-0 loss. Astralis won ten of the last 13 games.

During the previous three months, Astralis played well on Inferno (76.2%) and Overpass (75.0%), while their “weakest” displays came on Dust2 (52.2%). Since November 2020, Astralis is playing with the current lineup that appeared on 43 maps with a record of 28 wins and 15 losses. The team members are Xyp9x (1.01), dupreeh (1.11), gla1ve (1.01), device (1.19), and Magisk (1.08).

Vitality vs. Astralis H2H Record

These rivals have met on ten occasions so far, and Astralis is leading the all-time series 6-4. However, Vitality won the previous two encounters, including the most recent one at the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Finals a few days ago.

Vitality vs. Astralis Betting Preview

The loser will be eliminated out of this tournament and it’s clear that both teams will be motivated to win and advance to the playoffs. Considering we’re dealing with the top two teams in the world, I will avoid betting on the winner here. Each of the last three H2H duels produced a maximum of three maps, and I am going with another Over 2.5 maps. This bet has more value than backing the winners because it’s going to be a close one that could go either way.

The Pick: Over 2.5 Maps (-106 @GG.BET)