Astralis vs. Team Liquid: DreamHack Winter betting analysis

Two of the most successful teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history will clash in a do-or-die match at the 2020 DreamHack Masters Winter Europe tournament. 

It’s Astralis and Team Liquid who will meet on the server in a deciding best-of-three game. Both teams lost their opening matches in group B, meaning that they are now stuck in the lower bracket where no more missteps are allowed. 

Astralis started out the tournament against GODSENT, going into the match as heavy favorites. Everyone expected a win from the Danes, but GODSENT answered back and took the series in a 2-1 fashion. Astralis showed some clear weak points on both Train and Nuke, which GODSENT ultimately exploited. 

Astralis has been through some shaky times in 2020, and now that both Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander and Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth are back on the starting roster, the team will have to find back its old groove to perform again. 

Just like Astralis, Liquid is in a shaky period after adding Michael “Grim” Wince to the roster back in August. The North American squad has not shown the same hunger and individual skill as in previous years, which was clear in their recent loss to mousesports. 

The match between the two former top teams will likely be decided on the veto and who has the most individuals showing up in form on the day. Liquid still has some of the most talented individuals in North America, but needs to better show it. Astralis still has the experience and tactical knowledge of the game, but needs players to perform to pull it off. 

Astralis favored to take down its rivals from Team Liquid

Even though Astralis has been shaky over the past months, they are without a doubt the favorites going into the match. Liquid has played most of its games in North America this year, where the competition isn’t at the same level as in Europe. This gives Astralis a clear strength advantage and it shows at the bookmakers. 

A win for Astralis provides an odds of 1.42, while a Liquid win gives odds of 2.65. A match between Astralis and Liquid can always go both ways, so it could still be a close one.  

The match between Astralis and Team Liquid kicks off on Wednesday, December 2.