The final game of Group D, also the final game of the Group Stage of ESL Pro League Season 17, features Team Liquid and Astralis
It’s hard to imagine given the circumstances, but not too long ago these teams were playing in the back-to-back Grand Finals of this exact competition. Now the two face each other with very different stakes at hand, and with the power balance firmly in the hands of the American side. To be fair, both Astralis and Team Liquid have been struggling, but Liquid have just been much more consistent over the last couple of years. So here’s our in-depth preview of the match, and whether you’re into CSGO betting or just love the game, you’ll probably enjoy it.
Team Liquid
The American squad has faced more than the share of hiccups we would have expected them to have on their way to the Playoffs. They have only won games against ATK and Rare Atom thus far, losing to the latter initially and Team Spirit later on. Even though they’re far higher up in the rankings, they’ll have to devise something special in order to beat what looks like a determined, resurgent Astralis — especially since they came into the tournament as one of the favorites to go one step beyond last year’s disappointing Grand Final loss.
Players
Nick “nitr0” Cannella
- HLTV Rating: 0.99
- Impact Rating: 0.98
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.1%
- Average Damage Round: 70.6
- Kills Per Round: 0.66
Joshua “oSee” Ohm
- HLTV Rating: 1.14
- Impact Rating: 1.12
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.9%
- Average Damage Round: 75.6
- Kills Per Round: 0.73
Keith “NAF” Markovic
- HLTV Rating: 1.09
- Impact Rating: 1.08
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73.4%
- Average Damage Round: 81.1
- Kills Per Round: 0.72
Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski
- HLTV Rating: 1.08
- Impact Rating: 1.23
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.3%
- Average Damage Round: 83.2
- Kills Per Round: 0.75
Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis
- HLTV Rating: 1.14
- Impact Rating: 1.29
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 68.7%
- Average Damage Round: 82.7
- Kills Per Round: 0.74
Player to Watch
YEKINDAR has been a treat to watch for the most part with his aggression, and if he can keep some of his more questionable moves off the table, he can top the charts with ease.
Astralis
The Danes have fought tooth and nail to get to this point, and given their record against Liquid at ESL Pro League, they might just have a slight psychological advantage. The two-time EPL winners haven’t won one (or even come close) in a long time, and given the state of their team, even a Playoffs appearance would do wonders for their current morale. Astralis undoubtedly has the talent to pull it off, especially with their newer players firing on all cylinders, but their stalwarts need to be more consistent.
Players
Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth
- HLTV Rating: 1.01
- Impact Rating: 0.96
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.1%
- Average Damage Round: 74.4
- Kills Per Round: 0.66
Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander
- HLTV Rating: 0.98
- Impact Rating: 1.04
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 70.0%
- Average Damage Round: 74.3
- Kills Per Round: 0.66
Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz
- HLTV Rating: 1.16
- Impact Rating: 1.28
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.3%
- Average Damage Round: 80.4
- Kills Per Round: 0.78
Benjamin “blameF” Bremer
- HLTV Rating: 1.23
- Impact Rating: 1.23
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 74.0%
- Average Damage Round: 85.8
- Kills Per Round: 0.77
Christian “Buzz” Andersen
- HLTV Rating: 1.04
- Impact Rating: 1.04
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 69.8%
- Average Damage Round: 74.9
- Kills Per Round: 0.66
Player to Watch
With Buzz joining the ranks of in-form Astralis players alongside blameF and dev1ce, it’s an even tougher thing to have to pick one. We’ll go with good old devve.
ESL Pro League Season 17 Group D: Team Liquid vs Astralis Predictions
Even though Liquid are by far the favorites to win this, we’ll take a little risk and go with Astralis for this one, 2-1 to the Danes.
Maps
Astralis will probably opt for Inferno while Liquid go for Overpass, and the last one might just be Mirage.
Score
Map 1: Astralis to win with Liquid >12.
Map 2: Liquid to win with Astralis
Map 3: Astralis to win in Overtime .
Top Fragger
We’ve chosen dev1ce, and we’ll stick with him. He’ll probably just about edge YEKINDAR out in terms of frags.
Match Links
ESL’s Twitch and YouTube channels will both broadcast the game. The match is set to begin at 12:30 ET/11:30 CST/10:30 PT.
