NaVi vs. Astralis Betting Predictions – Odds, Picks and Value

Well, it’s time boys and girls! It’s time to kick things off in the IEM Global Challenge playoffs section. The semifinals are scheduled for tomorrow, which means we don’t have a lot of time for pep-talk. Let’s focus on the stuff that matters; in this case, that’d be NaVi vs. Astralis picks!

Yep, one of these two will join the winner of BIG vs. Liquid in the grand finals. We’re up for a grandiose matchup, with Astralis and NaVi playing for the third time in two weeks. Obviously, both teams belong to the top of the competitive CSGO food chain. Both sets of players know each other very well, both coaches will know what they want to do ahead of this one… In short, this one has all the makings of a CSGO esports spectacle!

NaVi vs. Astralis Betting Predictions

Astralis are the favorites coming into this match. Most CSGO bookmakers have Astralis to win somewhere around -130 to -150, which is about right considering both teams’ forms and recent head-to-head encounters.

The latter might be important for our NaVi vs. Astralis picks since there were two head-to-head matches in the last ten days. However, that’s not the case since both teams took one win. If there’s something these h2h matches did show us, it’s that these clashes can really go either way. We’re looking at two strong contestants here; whoever wins will be the favorite in the grand finals… so it’s practically the deciding Global Challenge matchup we’re talking about here!

Form

Well, we have to state the obvious here first – Astralis wins this department because of their superb run in recent weeks. Sure, NaVi isn’t far behind either, but Astralis’ DreamHack Winter title and BLAST Premier grand final run make them the superior team here. Plus, the way they’ve dealt with Vitality shows us what they’re capable of. Their sixth man experimentations are finally yielding solid results, prompting the dilemma of whether or not they’ll use it against NaVi too.

Thank you for such a good game of Counter-Strike @AstralisCS @TeamVitality 😢#IEM pic.twitter.com/z22XnGryb3

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) December 18, 2020

What about NaVi? How’s 2020 been treating them? Well, apart from their IEM XIV World Championship title, there’s nothing else worth mentioning. Yes, they did win WePLay! Clutch Island and Gamers Without Borders event, but they’re not really that prestigious for a team of NaVi’s caliber.

With S1mple onboard, NaVi should be winning event after event, but things just haven’t been going their way. IEM XV Global Challenge is the last opportunity to make things right and save 2020. A title would cement their spot near the top of the food chain and give them much-needed morale ahead of January-bound BLAST Global Finals spectacle.

Map Pool Stats

Unfortunately, map pool stats don’t bring good news for our NaVi vs. Astralis picks. There’s just no separating these two. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nuke gets to be the deciding map here… assuming Astralis takes Inferno again, and NaVi secure Train.

Even if it does come to Nuke as the third map, things won’t be straightforward for Astralis. The map that used to be their safe haven no matter who’s on the receiving end is at just a 62% win rate over the last three months. To put things into perspective, NaVi has a 71% win rate… so yeah, map pool stats don’t show a clear picture here.

Individuals

Which way should this one go? Thus far, we know Astralis is in slightly better form, head-to-head matches are on an equal footing, and map pool stats don’t really give any concrete information. Can individual talent turn the odds in one team’s favor?

Well, it could if we’d only look at things from an individual perspective. If that was the case, then NaVi would be the favorite in each and every match, courtesy of S1mple’s brilliance. But, competitive CSGO is much more than the sum of five individuals… and Astralis’ success over the years is the perfect example.

NaVi vs. Astralis Picks

That’s it, that’s our NaVi vs. Astralis picks right there, fellas! A match-winner on Astralis perfectly wraps this one up. Sure, there are other alternatives available, some offering splendid value, but a hefty match-winner ought to do the trick here.

I feel this one is going to be a lot more one-sided than most people tend to think. Don’t get me wrong, we’re used to seeing tight encounters between these two, but I feel like Astralis has that swaggy winning stride in their step, especially following their remarkable win against Vitality.

Watching this match is going to be a real pleasure, no doubt about that. Let’s hope our NaVi vs. Astralis picks come through as well!