by Tuesday, July 2 – 12:20 CEST
Tuesday’s clash between Astralis and Berlin International Gaming (BIG) at ESL One Cologne 2019 might appear one-sided on paper, but it should prove to be a much closer contest than the odds suggest.
Astralis come into the match after a disappointing ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals campaign, where they exited in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 loss to the eventual champions, Team Liquid. The Danes looked a shadow of their former selves in Montpellier, with the quality of their teamplay nowhere near as good as it was a few months ago when they were at their peak.
Astralis started the tournament with a 16-9 win over Cloud9, followed by a 2-0 win over Heroic, but the fun stopped in the match against NRG, where they lost 2-1 and were relegated to the lower bracket. Fortunately for them, they managed to get deep enough in the tournament to get directly promoted into the Quarterfinals, where they were eventually defeated by Team Liquid.
Astralis have made no roster changes of late, but it looks like they have lost their mojo. ESL One Cologne is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the CS:GO esports scene and with Astralis looking more vulnerable than ever, every top-10 team will be looking to get their revenge against the former world no.1 side.
BIG recently attended the Moche XL Esports 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal, where they played only one match – a BO3 match against Virtus.pro which they somehow managed to lose in two straight maps. While that performance was far from praiseworthy, BIG did manage to qualify for the European Minor a few days prior, which will lead the top two teams into StarLadder Major 2019.
In the closed qualifiers, BIG played three matches. They won the first one against Sprout, lost the second against Fnatic and ended their qualifiers with a 2-0 win against Virtus.pro to secure their spot in the EU Minor.
Astralis vs BIG CS:GO betting predictions
BIG have no business being priced as high as +550, which is where some esports bookmakers have them. Sure, their form looks terrible, but it is safe to say they have had eyes on this tournament for quite a while now. With Astralis looking very beatable, BIG have every right to hope for an upset.
All in all, these odds don’t make much sense. Astralis are clearly struggling for both form and morale, while BIG will have the home crowd advantage. Expect the locals to keep it close and cover the rounds handicap with ease.
Prediction: BIG +6.5 rounds – -120.48 at BetOnline
