Astralis vs Team Vitality CS:GO betting tips – IEM Katowice 2020

ASTRALIS VS TEAM VITALITY CS:GO BETTING & MATCH DETAILS
CSGO Betting Odds:	Astralis $1.36 at 888 Sportsbook | Vitality $3.00 at 888 Sportsbook
When:	February 25, 2020 at 15:30 CET
Where:	International Congress Centre – Katowice, Poland
Watch Live:	Twitch

ASTRALIS VS TEAM VITALITY IEM KATOWICE 2020 BETTING PREVIEW

A place in the third round of the upper bracket is on the line this Tuesday as Astralis take on Team Vitality at the 2020 IEM Katowice CS:GO World Championship.

Astralis cruised by Cloud9 in the opening round of Group A with a commanding 16-7 win on Overpass. On Train, however, the Danes met some resistance from the North American-South African side, who kept Astralis on their toes for most of the match.

Both teams had their periods of prosperity in the opening rounds on Train, which saw the scores tied at 12-12. Cloud9 fell flat moving forward, however, and allowed the Danes to pocket the four remaining rounds to seal a 16-12 win and a 2-0 series result. Nicolai “device” Reedtz and Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth shone bright with 1.57 and 1.52 ratings respectively, while their teammates all finished the bout with positive numbers.

Astralis remain outright favourites to hoist their third trophy in Katowice, yet there is a long way to go on the road to the summit. Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander’s squad are now set to play what can be regarded as their toughest match of the year, as it will be EPICENTER 2019 champions Team Vitality standing in their way this Tuesday.

The French juggernauts started their IEM Katowice venture with an exciting clash against the new generation of Ninjas in Pyjamas, who travelled to Poland with high ambitions. Fielding a young and talented roster led by an experienced coach in Björn “THREAT” Pers, the Swedes started the series strong and pocketed six out of the first seven rounds on Vertigo. However, the French squad were not ready to give in yet.

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and company rallied to win six of the next eight rounds, ending the first half only one down at 7-8. Vitality kept pressuring Ninjas in Pyjamas and took home five more rounds on T-side, securing a commanding 12-9 lead. NiP retaliated and picked up three rounds in quick succession, but Vitality responded with four rounds of their own to seal the first map at 16-12.

On Nuke, both teams had their moments and produced a couple of streaks, yet it was Vitality who were always one step ahead. Alex “ALEX” McMeekin played a pivotal role in 16-10 win with his 29 kills and great leadership. He ended the second map with a 1.66 rating and had a respectable 1.43 rating across both maps. The British in-game leader also finished the series with the most damage (102.2), most kills (51) and the most first kills (12).

ASTRALIS VS TEAM VITALITY IEM KATOWICE 2020 BETTING PREDICTIONS

This will be the first meeting between Astralis and Vitality in over four months, after their clash at DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019 at the start of October. That match in Sweden ended in a convincing 2-0 win for the Danes, and all signs point to a similar result in Poland.

Although their most recent match took place a while back, neither side have made any roster changes since. They have not needed to – Astralis are a powerhouse as is, while Vitality are getting better with each passing month.

Esports bookmakers have Vitality priced at $3.00, which implies Astralis should have a fairly easy time coming away with a win. However, if Vitality can play at the same pace as they did against Ninjas in Pyjamas, and if their star player, ZywOo, can step up and play to his full potential, we would not exclude the possibility of a three-map series.

With $2.00 offered on over 2.5 maps, we will take our chances and trust Team Vitality to make Astralis work for the win.