Vitality dust off Astralis | BLAST Premier Fall Groups
Team Vitality, which had a rather unsuccessful previous year without any trophies, started the new season rather unsuccessfully. They were once touted as favorites for the Esports World Cup but they were dumped out by Virtus Pro, concluding their campaign in the 5th-8th bracket. Their first match in the Fall Groups against GamerLegion which should have been an easy win exposed them. It was only on the third map that Vitality was able to come out on top, which cast doubt on their form going into their match against an increasingly spirited Astralis.
Astralis on the Ascendancy
Astralis, on the other hand, have been on the rise. After Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz became an in-game leader (IGL), the team has become a regular contender for playoffs. They are now ready to contend for the major championships and to qualify for the Fall Finals at their home ground is the goal.
Map 1: Vitality Outclass Astralis on Nuke – 13-7
The match started on Nuke, and Vitality was on the CT side of the map at the beginning of the match. A pistol-retake early on in the match set the precedent for Vitality’s near-flawless defense. They went to a 4-0 lead, keeping economic dominance even though Astralis was able to secure a brief incursion. The flameZ of Vitality was especially outstanding, getting 12 kills on the ramp, which gave the team a 9-3 lead at the break.
While Astralis won the second-half pistol rounds, Vitality responded in the gun rounds, getting to 12 rounds very fast. Astralis tried to put up a fight but Vitality quickly closed out the map 13-7, and confidently moved to their selected map.
Map 2: Astralis’ Near Comeback on Dust2 – 13-11
Dust2 was like Nuke in the start of the match, where Astralis won the first pistol round, but Vitality dominated. Vitality set a 7-round point, and after winning the pistol rounds, extended the lead to 11-5 due to apEX’s great strategy.
Astralis then came back strongly to make the score 12-12. With their captain, they got the opening kills and with dev1ce’s 1v2 clutch, they got five rounds in a row. But flameZ did not miss his chance and eliminated Astralis, thus, Vitality won the map 13-11 thanks to a single mistake of the opponent at matchpoint.
Vitality progresses to the Fall Groups Finals
This win places Vitality in the Fall Finals in Copenhagen if they win one more match. Astralis, who is now in the lower bracket, will have to play against the winner of the GamerLegion vs Falcons match in order to have a shot at redemption and possibly another match against Vitality. The question remains: Can the Danes make a comeback and clinch the trophy in their own backyard?
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