Natus Vincere vs. Astralis, Preview & Prediction - Free 12/19 CS:GO

Astralis is a slight favorite in this Best of 3 encounter when they take on Natus Vincere in the semi-finals of the IEM Global Challenge 2020 on Saturday. The winner of this clash will go on to face a better side of the duel between BIG and Liquid, while the loser will have to settle with $50,000.

Natus Vincere Team Stats and Latest Results

Natus Vincere couldn’t get a win over Vitality in the Grand final of the IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 Europe despite having a 2-0 lead, and in the end, they had to settle with $30,000 and 2nd position. The Russians ended the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Finals in 4th place and earned $25,000 of prize money. Natus Vincere defeated FURIA 2-0 in the opening game at the IEM Global Challenge 2020 and then beat Liquid 2-0 as well. NaVi won 12 of the previous 19 matches.

When it comes to the maps in the last three months, Natus Vincere was decent on Train (75.0% win rate) and Nuke (70.6%), while they were average on Inferno and Overpass. NaVi is playing with the current squad since September 2020 and appeared on 68 maps with a record of 41 wins and 27 losses. The team members are flamie (0.98 rating), s1mple (1.29), electronic (1.12), Boombl4 (0.95), and Perfecto (1.02).

Astralis Team Stats and Latest Results

Astralis arrived at this tournament as the No. 2 team in the CS:GO rankings, and only Vitality is ahead of them right now. The Danish team will have an opportunity to overtake Vitality at the top after defeating them in the previous round, despite trailing 1-0. Astralis won the trophy at the DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 Europe after beating Liquid, G2, Gambit, FURIA, and mousesports and made $60,000 for their efforts. Astralis didn’t have trouble with Complexity in the opening round at this tournament, and after losing to BIG in Round 2, they managed to defeat Vitality to reach the playoffs. Astralis won 11 of the last 14 games.

In the previous three months, Astralis played well on Inferno (77.3%) and Overpass (75.0%), while their “weakest” displays came on Dust2 (55.6%). Astralis also assembled its current lineup in September this year and appeared on 45 maps with a record of 30 wins and 16 losses. The lineup is made of Xyp9x (1.02), dupreeh (1.11), gla1ve (1.01), device (1.19), and Magisk (1.07).

Natus Vincere vs. Astralis H2H Record

These rivals have met on 24 occasions before, and Astralis is leading the all-time series 12-11-1. After Natus Vincere’s two consecutive victories, Astralis secured a 2-0 win at the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Finals a few days ago.

Natus Vincere vs. Astralis H2H Record

We’re dealing with two of the top three teams in the world right now, and my only bet can be Over 2.5 maps. On occasion like this, I avoid betting on the winner because the margins between the rivals are pretty much non-existent, so I prefer going with Over. Astralis secured a comfortable win in the latest H2H encounter, and I am sure NaVi will be looking for revenge here, so I expect to see a tighter game this time around.

The Pick: Over 2.5 Maps (-1.25 @GG.BET)