It is semifinals already and with the two semifinals confirmed one can only feel excited and hope for some breathtaking counter strike. Natus Vincere take on Fnatic in the first semi final. The second semi final sees home team Astralis take on the home boy “karrigan” led Mousesports. Here is the preview to both the matches.
1. Na’Vi vs Fnatic-
Na’Vi had completely disappeared over the past month or so practicing somewhere in Ukraine to prepare for the ESL Pro League Season 10. And whatever they have been doing seems to have work wonders for them with the team showcasing some wonderful performances. “S1mple” and “electronic” are currently the top two rated players at the tournament. “flamie” has also put in some impressive performances. “Guardian” is a due a big performance and it would be no surprise to see him deliver in the semis.
Their opponents Fnatic are also seeing an upturn in their fortunes whilst also playing some good old Fnatic style Counter Strike.(Yea it includes the VAC worthy plays as well). One player to mention out is the young gun “Brollan”, who as many would say has a coming of age on the big stage. He was the highest rated player in his team’s victory over Team Liquid and also recorded the most kills. With “krimz” also starting to find his feet and “flusha” alongwith “JW” ever present Fnatic are a team very hard to play against.
Coming to vetoes, Vertigo should be banned alongwith Nuke. Expect Inferno, one of the most played map in the tournament to make a appearance.
It is hard to predict the results of a semi final when two big teams are playing against one another. But given the exceptional form “S1mple” and “electronic” are in it would be hard to predict against Na’Vi. They should win the series 2:1 but don’t rule out Fnatic by any chance.
2. Astralis vs Mousesports
The potential of the current Mousesports roster was never questioned. The only issue was the team never showed up on big tournaments and matches. This changed in the previous month when they managed to win the CS Go Asia Championship beating Ence in the Grand Finals. The second issue of not showing up against the big boys of the game has also been solved after Mouz managed to beat EG 2:1 in a Bo3 series. The win also included a 16:0 one of the rare events in professional CS and too to a top tier team. If “ropz” and “Woxic” continue to perform as they have did so far Mouz can pose a serious threat to Astralis.
But as “karrigan” would know that going up against the might Danes is no easy task . It was “karrigan” initially who laid out a success path for Astralis before the aforementioned “gla1ve” took over. The Astralis team is obviously full of star studded players with “dev1ce” being the MVP on most occasions. Don’t count “Magisk” or “Dupreeh” and the ever reliable clutch minister “Xyp9x”. Mid round calling is what Astralis excel at and with Mouz adapting a aggressive mid round pushes it would be interesting to see who comes out on top.
Astralis don’t play Mirage now and Mouz rarely play Overpass, so expect these two maps to be banned. With awpers strong on both sides Train could be picked by any one of the sides.
It will be extremely difficult for Mouz to beat Astralis given it is a Bo3 contest. They will have to be at their very best to get a shot at the Grand Finals. Expect Astralis to take this home with the rapturous crowd right behind them.
Also expect “karrigan” to have some weird and awkward moments with crowd!
