Six professional teams, a total prize of one million dollars and the best team in the world in competition: “Astralis” are the leaders of the world table of Counter-Strike and will compete for the title of winners of the BLAST Pro Series, in the final that will be held in Lisbon at the Altice Arena on December 15. Recently distinguished as “Best Team of the Year” in electronic sports by ‘Esports Awards 2018’, the Danes “Astralis” will contest the prize of the national stage with the teams that complete the TOP 6 of the best teams in the world: “NaVi”, “NiP”, “FaZe Clan”, “Cloud9” and “MIBR”.
The reason we have picked this match for you is that it is battle of the best team in the world, Astralis against Natus Vincere, the third-ranked team in the global ranking. Both of these teams had a great impact on the competitive circuit of CS:GO as we end 2018. Let’s see which of these team will end the year as the better side.
Astralis
Recognized as the best team in the world by the leading international analysts of CS: GO, Astralis has confirmed: “its era” in the competitive scene of Counter-Strike.
With a style of tactical, accurate and rational gameplay, the Danes showed in the last major championship that they are here to win almost every competition this year. Even supporting “bizarre” statistics like “The first 16 × 0 in a major” on top of teams like MiBR and also an invincible run in nuke that hasn’t been witnessed before: 18 times playing without losing any match in LAN, Astralis are the kings of CSGO competitive scene.
It is also worth mentioning the beautiful phase of dev1ce and the good retrospective of the team in other competitions. All these factors guarantee Astralis # 1 in the global ranking and with space to consecrate themselves as the most tactically superior team of the competitive circuit of Counter-Strike Global Offensive.
The competitive CS: GO scene is used to a team dominating the circuit for a season. We saw it with FaZe Clan, with the old SK Gaming (now MiBR) or with the legendary Fnatic of olofmeister. Now it’s Astralis’ turn.
While it is true that the Danes have long been on the top of CS: GO teams, they are now shining more than ever. According to GosuGamers, Astralis ranks first ranking of teams of the shooter from Valve.
Making every title “Theirs”
In fact, the trajectory of Astralis in 2018 is almost perfect. From January to November, they have only yielded a second place and two third places in the last 12 tournaments they have played. The rest count for victories. In this way, Astralis carries a whopping figure of more than two million dollars in prizes this year.
In December Astralis added another title in the collection. Playing at home, the Danes beat Team Liquid and lifted the 8th season champion trophy of the ESL Pro League of Counter-Strike Global Offensive in Odense, Denmark.
Considered the best team in the world today, Astralis confirmed the favor and won Team Liquid in the final by 3 to 1, leaving behind on the scoreboard. With the title, the Danes took home not only the $ 250,000 offered for the championship but also the $ 1 million Intel Grand Slam bonus for having won four tournaments in a row.
Natus Vincere
Named by myself and many Vincere s1mple, Natus Vincere has evolved progressively in the last tournaments of CS: GO and currently ranks second in my ranking. Considered “underdog” by many people, Na’Vi developed a great rhythm of play during its last competitions and was shown important piece in the scene.
Almost a year after hiring electronic finally the pieces fit together, developing one of the most powerful duals in CS: GO current scene: electronic and s1mple. Of course, “Na’Vi era” is far from happening, given the inconsistency of the collective, but it is a fact that, if inspired, Na’Vi can overthrow any team in any championship.
For the next months, it is worth watching the adaptations of this lineup, which will have to reinvent itself to remain at the top of this list.
This year, the Ukrainian organization has won ESL One Cologne 2018, CS: GO Asia Championships 2018 and 1st StarSeries i-League Season 5. The side finished 2nd at the FACEIT Major: London 2018 where they were completely outplayed by their upcoming opponents, Astralis. Na’Vi was the best team in the BLAST Pro Series: Copenhagen 2018 held in November.
However, the team is prone to show signs of inconsistency in most awkward times like getting beaten by a tier 2 team like BIG at the Intel Extreme Masters XIII – Chicago and losing to Gambit at the ESL One New York.
Simple carrying Natus Vincere
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is the man behind Na’Vi’s success this season. He has been the MVP of every competition the team won this year. It his efforts that have gotten Na’Vi to third place in the global ranking. We are not saying that Na’Vi is a one-man team, however, on most occasions, the team has failed to perform if s1mple hasn’t delivered 110%.
This is a huge disadvantage against a well-structured side like Astralis. Their lineup is not composed of the best players, but they are still No.1 in the world ranking owing to their exceptional chemistry and teamwork. Astralis will surely prevail against this inconsistent lineup of Natus Vincere. Na’Vi will have a mountain to climb against the best team in the world.
Final Verdict
Astralis Victory
Odds on bookmakers
| Bookmakers | Astralis Odds | Natus Vincere Odds | ||
| European | American | European | American | |
| EGB.com | 1.27 | -370 | 3.06 | +206.00 |
| Betway | 1.35 | -285 | 3.80 | +280.00 |
| Loot.bet | 1.36 | -277 | 3.80 | +280.00 |
| GG.bet | 1.25 | -400 | 3.95 | +295.00 |
| Bet365 | 1.28 | -357 | 3.50 | +250.00 |
Shehryar is a professional eSports analyst with a particular affinity for CS:GO, LoL, and DOTA. He covers major eSports events across the world for WagerBop.
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