Astralis vs FaZe Clan – FACEIT Major London Preview

The reason we have picked this match is that the road to the quarterfinals has been completely different for both teams. One team, Astralis completely dominated the competition from the start. while their opponents, FaZe Clan barely made it to the finals after a losing streak in the initial stages. So, after this analysis will we see FaZe surviving another stage in FACEIT or Astralis demolishing them? Let’s see.

Astralis

The Danish side Astralis is currently considered to be the world’s best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and is also officially the world’s number one. In the spring and summer, Astralis won four premier tournaments but unfortunately missed out on the gold medal at DreamHack Masters in Stockholm after losing to North in the final.

The history of Astralis dates back to the golden times since their origin goes back to the days of the old Counter-Strike 1.6, known as the Finnish gang. However, the Danish line-up entitled the name Astralis, when Team SoloMid and Questionmark players formed a joint team in 2016.

In London, Astralis started the group stage on the right foot by winning three wins, but also dropping a game against NiP. In the ‘Legends Stage’. They won the first game against Natus Vincere (16-14) and Vegas Squadron (16-4), but lost to Team Liquid is overtime, 15-19. However, in the fourth and final game, Astralis made a historical record with the first 16-0 victory over Brazilian team, MIBR.

Players

• Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz, DEN
• Peter “dupreeh” Rothmann, DEN
• Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth, DEN
• Lukas “glaze” Rossander, DEN
• Emil “Magisk” Reif, DEN
• Danny “zonic” Sørensen, DEN (coach)

FaZe Clan

FaZe Clan of America is best known for its success in Call of Duty, as its Counter-Strike team was set up in 2016. However, in a short time, the organization has broken into the world’s top CS: GO charts and won several top tournaments – although the game’s frustrating gameplay has got them a respectable fifth spot in the World Rankings.

The European line-up of the current team is not only experienced but also full of surprises. For example, the Swedish CS icon olofmeister is the only player in the world who has made it to the top 8 of each major tournament. In Boston’s Major, FaZe Clan was the runner-up of the competition after losing the final to Cloud 9. With this impressive result, FaZe was allowed to start directly from ‘Legends Stage’, but started their campaign with a series of losses to BIG (5-16) and Na’Vi (12-16).

However, the team found their rhythm and won three crucial matches that saw them qualify for the quarterfinals. Mousesports (16-8), TyLoo (16-4) and G2 (chart 2-0)

Players

• Håvard “rain” Nygaard, NOR
• Finn “karrigan” Andersen, DEN
• Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, BOS
• Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács, SOL
• Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer, SWE
• Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström, SWE (Coach)

 

Players to Shine

Nicolai “device” Reedtz

When we are looking at the players that could shine not just in a matchup, but in the entire competition, we will always see device on the list. Even though Astralis, is famous for its popular team play tactics, device just can’t stop shining, in 2016 he was the third highest rated player in the world while in 2017 he was also in the top 5 ranks. No one is even close to having the highest rating as compared to device. He is one of the most consistent players and has won 7 MVP titles in one of the biggest competitions. He, for sure poses a big threat to FaZe. With a .82 Kill per round average and an astonishing 1.33 HLTV rating in the past year, device will be aiming to make headlines in the quarterfinals.

Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács

Guardian is one of the biggest reasons why FaZe is known as a super team. This player was the one to shine when Olofmeister parted ways from the team. When it comes to consistency only a handful of players can match his quality. At the ELEAGUE Major, even though his side barely lost the final, he was the one to shine with most kills for his team at the grand finale. Their last win against Astralis was at the Intel Extreme Masters XIII – Sydney where Guardian was the one to lead his team to victory.

Top performers in the Challengers stage come from Astralis in different categories,

Top rated HLTV players at FACEIT:

• 47 – ⁠Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen (Astralis)
• 44 – ⁠ Nicolai “device” Reedtz (Astralis)

Best K/D:

• +48 – ⁠ Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen (Astralis)
• +46 – ⁠ Nicolai “device” Reedtz (Astralis)

Kills per round:

• 91 – ⁠ Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen (Astralis)
• 89 – ⁠ Nicolai “device” Reedtz (Astralis)

Final Verdict

This last match of the quarterfinal is one of the biggest rivalry games in the competitive circuit of CS:GO. FaZe had a very bad start to their FACEIT campaign since they were one loss away from an early farewell from the competition. In these troubled times, the team had to make certain tactical changes, which meant giving the captains armband to the experienced Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and this change of leadership paid off for the team. After that, the team literally became an unstoppable force in the competition.

FaZe Clan will need a little more than this newly found confidence, to beat arguably the best CS:GO team in the world. They might get the right man to pull off this victory, since the former member of Astralis, Finn “karrigan” Andersen has almost always shined against his previous teammates. But this really doesn’t change the fact that, FaZe is arguably witnessing its worst form since their last title, with just a minor win at the ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018. Meanwhile, Astralis just can’t stop reaching the grand final of the majors this year.

Astralis 2-1 FaZe Clan

Odds on bookmakers

Bookmakers	Astralis Odds		FaZe Clan Odds
	European	American	European	American
EGB.com	1.38	-263	2.63	+163.00
Betway	1.35	-285	2.95	+195.00
Loot.bet	1.40	-250	3.00	+200.00
GG.bet	1.33	-303	3.28	+228.00
Bet365	1.36	-277	3.00	+200.00