In the second quarterfinal of the IEM Katowice 2021 Virtus.Pro and Astralis will play against each other. Given the odds, the Danish top team is the clear favorite. However, the CIS team has become stronger from tournament to tournament since the signing of YEKINDAR and is now one of the absolute top teams in the world.

Both teams lost one match each so far and showed good performances. Especially the defeat in the upper-bracket final on the part of Astralis was very surprising and disappointing. More about that in a moment.

---

Author's tip: Virtus.Pro wins

---

Table of Content

A total of 16 teams took part in the IEM Katowice 2021. Half of them were already qualified for the tournament, the other eight teams competed in the play-ins for the remaining places. The total prize money is around USD 1 million.

So far, Spirit and Gambit in particular have been quite surprising. The CIS teams came into the tournament as underdogs and have secured playoff spots. Disappointingly, BIG , G2 , Vitality and Heroic all failed to make it to the playoffs.

Date and provider

The match between Virtus.Pro and Astralis will take place on 26.02.2021 live at 6.30 p.m. (CET). ESL will provide an English stream and broadcast the match along with pre-game reports on Twitch. As usual, 99Damage will provide a German broadcast.

Virtus.Pro - Latest performance & results

After AVANGAR's successful performance at the Berlin Major, Virtus.Pro decided to swap their traditional Polish team to the then mostly Kazakh lineup. After initial problems, the team signed YEKINDAR in mid 2020 as a replacement for AdreN. This change gradually proved to be the perfect addition to the lineup and brought Virtus.Pro back to the top of the world.

The end of 2020 was followed by the first big success for the team. With victories at Flashpoint 2, DreamHack Open December and cs_summit 7, the team not only secured three big tournaments in a row, but also around $650,000 in prize money. However, the team has not yet managed to win their first prestigious tournament. In the match between Astralis and NAVI , given the odds, the CIS giant is the clear underdog.

The team did not qualify directly for Katowice 2021, but had to compete in duels with Wisla Krakow, NiP and Renegades in the play-ins. The first match day at the main event against Natus Vincere was rather disappointing and ended with two clear defeats on Dust2 and Train. Virtus.Pro thus entered the first round of the lower-bracket and had to beat NiP , Vitality and FURIA to reach the playoffs.

All games were won by the team 2-0 and after a very solid win against NiP , especially the success against Vitality was great. The team narrowly beat the French giant on two maps. In the lower final Virtus.Pro met FURIA and qualified for the playoffs against the Brazilian top team. Two great successes for the CIS team. With Astralis , the next star team is waiting in the quarterfinals.

Astralis - Latest performance & results

Astralis won the IEM Global Challenge in December after a difficult year in 2020, but so far the new year has not exactly gone according to plan. A second place at the BLAST Global Finals was another good result at the end of January. In the final match NAVI was simply too strong and subsequently also took first place in the EsportFire World Rankings.

A big disappointment for the lineup was the elimination at the BLAST Premier: Spring Groups. With losses against NiP and BIG the team did not make it to the finals and missed the direct qualification to the BLAST Spring Finals. Via the showdown, the team still has the chance to secure one of the last two remaining spots for the finals against numerous other teams.

However, the IEM Katowice 2021 started very well for Astralis . 2-0 wins against Mousesports and Evil Geniuses ensured the team's entry into the upper finals and thus direct promotion to the playoffs. The opponent in the final game was Spirit . Astralis was the clear favorite in this match and even secured the map pick of the Russians at the beginning. However, they managed to turn the game around on Train and Dust2. Remarkably, Astralis lost on the decisive map with 01:16 and had no chance. A bitter defeat for the Danish top team.

Virtus.Pro vs. Astralis - Map-Veto prediction

Nuke and Mirage are practically fixed as bans. Between Virtus.Pro and Astralis , the tip for the maps could be Train and Inferno. Vertigo and Overpass are possible deciders. A pick on Dust2 on the part of Virtus.Pro would also be a good possibility.

Virtus.Pro vs. Astralis - Prediction

Between Virtus.Pro and Astralis it's tough to pick a winner. On the one hand, Astralis is the most successful team in the history of this game and is usually on top in decisive matches. On the other hand, Virtus.Pro could convince with strong performances and achievements. Due to the low win odds, we put between Virtus.Pro and Astralis our bet on the underdog around star player YEKINDAR and believe in an upset. The stake is 6 units and the odds are around 2.40.

---

The author estimated the odds at 40/100 and the tip is therefore at high risk. Please always keep in mind that sports betting is not a money-making business, but should remain entertainment. Only bet with money that you are capable of losing. Through our preliminary reports we offer you a detailed summary and analysis of the latest events and try to increase your chance of winning - information is key.

Information is provided without guarantee! All forecasts are based on the personal opinion of the author!

Information powered by Liquipedia