dev1ce talks Astralis on Vertigo, Renegades and Avangar upsets

Astralis took down Team Liquid in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Starladder Berlin Major, and Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz seemed to be very pleased with his team’s performance, specifically with their new approach to tactics.

dev1ce spoke to WIN.gg on his team’s performance on Vertigo, a surprise pick that ended in a 16-8 stomp in their favor. 

“We had a lot of time to prepare,” dev1ce said. “We didn’t really know how they were going to play. We kind of felt like we were going to surprise them, in hindsight it was a really good choice”

The Vertigo pick was entirely planned according to dev1ce, and it showed in his team’s final scoreline and in his individual performance. dev1ce landed a total of 23 kills to just 13 deaths for a rating of 1.56. 

dev1ce also spoke on his team’s break after ESL Cologne, and stated that the squad’s intent was to get an earlier vacation and also to get a head start on preparing for Berlin. So far, it seems like the extra preparation is paying off for Astralis. 

Astralis took the second map, Overpass, over Team Liquid 16-13. This resulted in a clean 2-0 series victory for the Danes. dev1ce performed exceptionally on Team Liquid’s map choice as well, securing a 25-16 K/D ratio. 

Next up for Astralis will be NRG Esports, who are fresh off a hard-fought semifinal match against Natus Vincere.

On the other side of the bracket will be two teams that few thought could make it this far: Renegades and AVANGAR. dev1ce was particularly complimentary of both underdog teams.

“It’s always great to see these runs at the major. You know what they’re going through, we’ve done it the same,” dev1ce said.

After defeating Team Liquid, Astralis has by far the greatest pedigree of those left standing in the Berlin Major. Should they defeat NRG in the semifinals they’ll assuredly be favored in the final. It could soon be a return to the Astralis era.