The most interesting event for the last year on the cs scene begins, only the best teams remain and five incredibly cool matches await us. It all starts with the quarterfinals and the first pair of VP-Astralis teams.
VP:
After the first match, it was unexpected to see them in the playoffs. A 10-15 win over CoL gave the team confidence in their abilities. It often happens that a team gets lost on the map, but there comes a moment when they take themselves in hand and start playing flawlessly. It should be noted the inclusion of Sanzhi, for him this tournament develops especially for the defense side, when he can defend the site in solo. VP should not be made an obvious outsider in this match and the grid as a whole, because there are plus or minus equal teams. During the break before the matches, they will have time to discuss cards and prepare for Astralis.
Astralis:
Against the background of Navi, Gambit and G2, the weakest team at the moment, which shows something mainly due to their experience of Lan tournaments. The lack of WUAs make the chances of winning against teams with a good sniper much lower. We beat Heroic, where there was a principled game, and the heroic showed that on LAN they still do not show what was online, they did not have those movements around the map and ingenious moves, due to which they smashed everyone online. There was a tense match with the faces, but it was affected by the fact that the latter had a very weak attack, while the Danes were pouring from a good whore. So far, the Astralis do not have the structure of the game that would allow them to reclaim the top 1, the lack of a stable sniper also plays a role in the team's results.
Mappool
We will not consider Nuke and Mirage, because these cards will definitely be in the ban, but we must say that Nuke is the best card for the Danes at the moment.
Dust 2
Astralis played 2 matches on it in the framework of this tournament, 2 victories over Faiz and Navi. Their game does not look like their strong card, constant mistakes and lost rounds, and the absence of main AWP reduces their effectiveness on this map.
For VP, this is an average map, on which many rounds are taken for defense. They played it 3 times, 2 wins of 19-15 over BiG and Col and one defeat to BiG13-16, where they won back from 5-10, but could not close the map.
The average map for both teams, it will be quite dangerous to take it to your pick.
Inferno
A pleasant card for both, Astralis played Inferno twice in this tournament: 2 matches against Geroik and Navi 16-11 and 5-16. A historically strong card for Danes in any composition, there is always a large pool of rounds for both sides and they know where and at what moment they can change their game.
VP plays this map well, has good connectivity, Sanji feels confident on the CT side, and Jayme has a lot of room for a sniper rifle.
Overpass
Competitive map for both teams. Astralis beat Heroic showing a normal attack on the map, the team worked on it, but that game cannot be drawn to conclusions, because their rivals made a lot of mistakes individually and Astralis, due to this, easily entered the sites.
The VP has rounds disassembled, they often play the same card. Jame also gets a lot of space here, the attack has his own developments, which are allowed to gain rounds. Probably the best card for breaking the total by rounds in this match.
Vertigo
Nice card for Astralis, played it right from the start and the Danes have a good structure on it, besides Dupree loves this card, it can become a good pick against VP in the quarterfinals.
The VP has little experience lately, and the one that is not very positive. At the moment, this is the most vulnerable map in their map pool, but it will definitely not be pockets with 0, because at least something the team can do on this map.
At the moment, this is the most vulnerable map in their map pool, but it will definitely not be pockets with 0, because at least something the team can do on this map.
Ancient
A terrible game Astralis with a shooting range of 1 scene, the map is poorly prepared, a lot of random movements and a lack of understanding of what is happening. Playing it against VP will definitely be a mistake.
VP played this map against NiP, and that match made it clear that the team had been working on it for a long time. There is a good structure and rounds that work, now probably only Navi Enshent is better. They can calmly protest against the Astralis.
According to the map pool, the situation is more inclined in favor of VP, they do not play the best card of the Danes, while having an Enschent in their pick, only Vertigo is problematic, but there may not be everything unambiguous. Otherwise, on many maps, the strengths are equal or the VP has a slight advantage.
Outcome
Bookmakers make the Danes a favorite, but for this stage the odds are too high for them and it is not worth taking the Astralis victory for 1.6-.165 in a match where they have no clear advantage. It is better to look towards the VP's handicap or their victory, the team has every chance of reaching the final.
