In the opening phase of this tournament, two of the world’s greatest CS teams go head to head as we see Astralis play against SK in an opening BO1 group stage match. As the round robin system will see all the teams in a group face off against each other, SK vs Astralis should be an explosive opening game in the initial stage of this tounrament.
IEM Oakland 2017 – Oracle Arena, Oakland, California – Saturday 16th November 2017 – 18:00 CET
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Draw
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SK Gaming
Astralis
SK Gaming’s Form
SK Gaming are the most dominant Brazilian team to ever play Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Currently ranked 2nd in the world Fallen and his crew look to replicate the massive levels of success that they have been used to getting in the past. With 4 players on this roster having 2 Major Championships under their belt, the wealth of experience and tactical nuance that SK have to offer is incredible. This makes them an incredibly formidable opponent. Recently SK took home 1st place at the EPICENTER tournament in St. Petersburg whilst playing with Boltz as a stand-in.
Outside of exiting in the group stages of the Eleague premier, SK have had a solid run of form recently. Finishing 3-4th at ESL one New York, winning ESL One Cologne and securing a victory at the ECS Season 3 LAN Finals. SK Gaming will be looking for nothing other than a victory at this tournament so that they can re-establish their reputation as the best team in the world.
Astralis Form
The Danish side Astralis look to outsmart their enemies with an incredibly strategic playstyle implemented by IGL glaive. The Danes are ranked 4th in the world at the moment and were the reigning Major champions after winning the Eleague Atlanta Major in 2017. Despite certain members of the team showing difficulty in their ability on an individual level.
Glaive has stated in interviews that he hopes a looser interpretation of his tactical game plan could be the shake-up that Astralis need to return to winning form. Astralis’ performances have been slightly lacklustre since their victory at the Eleague Major but they have been consistently placing top 4 at significant LAN events. These events include; the ECS Season 3 LAN Finals, the PGL major Krakow, EPICENTER and a 2nd place finish at the Eleague Premier 2017. Astralis are likely to be looking for a place in the finals of this tournament as a way to renew confidence in their uniquely strategic playstyle.
Head to Head Record
Both teams have played against each other several times this year, Specifically on LAN in a BO1 format. Of the 4 BO1’s that teams have competed with each other, SK Gaming have won 3 games to Astralis’ 1. Their most recent matchup was at EPICENTER where SK beat Astralis 2-0 in a BO3 semi-final, albeit with a different SK gaming roster.
Betting Odds and Prediction
Betting odds will be added as soon as GG.bet provide odds on this matchup
Our Top Betting Tip
Our top betting tip for this match would be SK Gaming to win this match. Of course, this outcome is entirely dependent on SK’s ability to play well with Felps and which map is selected after the veto process. Ultimately, if SK can show the same high level of skill that they’ve been displaying in the earlier portions of the year, then the Brazilians should be able to edge out the win over the Danes.