The Eleague CS GO Premier has sorted through the crowd to produce the two best teams in the finals.With Astralis and Faze being in the finals, we undoubtedly have strongest teams in the CSGO scene competing for the top title. The winning team in today’s match might just mean the beginning of a new era in Counter Strike. Will it be the Faze era? Or the Danish era? After SK’s downfall, the top slot is wide open, both Astralis and Faze are well poised to grab it.

But before we think further, both the teams have a daunting task on their hands. They are matched off against each other in the finals of the $1,000,000 Eleague CS GO Premier. A win in this tournament would go a long way in establishing themselves as “The Top Team” in CS GO. Both teams have their pros and cons and we will try to examine them in this article.

Let’s take a look at the match-up. The two teams have met each other thrice post the Major. Faze has won two maps, while Astralis won one in Overtime ( 19-15 on Overpass). Both the teams are extremely close and there is very little separating the two. That is what makes this final a very exciting one as we are almost sure to see the full three maps. While each team has their own set of strong maps, the second rung of maps for both teams are common and it is anyone’s game on these average maps.

The biggest advantage for Astralis in this match-up comes in their deep map pool. The Astralis team has always been known to have a really deep map pool. While their strongest maps are well known to all in the form of Overpass & Train, the other maps are not bad for the Danish roster either. While for the Faze roster, they will rely heavily on their firepower which is just improving with each passing day. Faze overcome their shortcomings in the map pool with their individual skills.

First we take a look at each of the maps and how the two teams fare on these maps. We have maps such as Cobblestone which Astralis last played in May to Mirage which is the home ground for Faze. A lot depends on the veto and it is important to understand how the teams will perform. Everything that is written is done so assuming both teams perform well today. There can always be off-days for certain players which will definitely impact the results.

Overpass

Astralis is one of the best teams on Overpass and Train. Their Overpass is too well known and they have been dominant on the map for a long time now. Despite being the team to defeat on Overpass, their No.1 ranking on the map has not wavered. Astralis love picking Overpass and hence is their most played map in the recent months. With regards to their game, the terrorist side is very aggressive and they have been known to turn around huge deficits on the T side. Overpass is generally considered a CT map, but for Astralis and their first pick duo of Device and Dupreeh the ‘T’ side is the stronger side.

Faze are also surprisingly quite decent on Overpass considering how well they have fared on it in the recent matches. It would not surprise us to see Faze win against Astralis, they definitely have the firepower needed to do so. But the familiarity with the map and Astralis” ability to adapt themselves to their opponents on this map might just prove to be too much. Astralis have fine-tuned their performance and their T side on Overpass. If Faze lose the first pick, which Astralis have been very successful, there are high chances they won’t be able to rebuild their economy. The results on this map would come down to some incredible individual performance by Niko and Rain. If that happens, Faze can win this map but otherwise, it looks unlikely.

Statistics for Overpass :

Astralis Faze K/D 2/0 3/2 Win % 100% 60% Pistol Round Win % 100% 80%

Train

Train is the map that is Astralis’ secret weapon. They do not want to always play the map as has been evident from their vetoes. It is mostly because Astralis themselves refuse to recognize it as one of their strongest maps. Yet when they have to play on the map, they come up with really strong performances. The Astralis lineup has been known to make really strange and yet successful pushes on the CT side of Train. This stems mostly from the confidence that the players have not only in themselves but their teammates as well. Not only does this give them a lot of information about their opponents positions, but in most cases, they secure themselves a good advantage either by frags or by a good flank.



Train is one of the worst maps for Faze in general. The team has hardly played the map and they don’t have a good record on it when they do either. They recently won against NIP on Train 16-5, but that is not something to boast about. NIP as a team are definitely not as good as Faze in terms of individual skill. However Faze also have had very close matches and a loss to Gambit, something that should put doubts over their superiority on Train. Faze have been inconsistent on this map and barring the off chance win against a few teams, they generally have been absent on this map. Meanwhile, train remains one of the strongest maps for Astralis and one that we don’t expect Faze to possibly win.

Statistics for Train :

Astralis Faze K/D 3/2 2/3 Win % 60% 40% Pistol Round Win % 40% 50%

Mirage

Mirage is a risky map for Astralis in the sense that it is not a strong map exclusive to the team. In the current meta, Mirage is one of the most played maps. Almost all the teams like to play on Mirage and it is in a good place right now. Even though Astralis are theoretically strong on the map, it does not mean that they can easily win on the map. Coming against Faze, this situation seems extremely unlikely. Other teams have definitely worked hard on the map and the recent results show something similar for Astralis as well. They have a 44% win rate on Mirage in the last three months. It aptly summarises their performance on the map which is just around 50-50. If faced against a good team, Astralis will find themselves stretched to the limit.

Speaking of good teams, Faze are the kings on Mirage. They have played the map an astounding 13 times and have won 11 of these matches. Their dominance on Mirage comes mostly from Karrigan, who is extremely comfortable on Mirage. He was one of the key members to making Mirage a strong map for Astralis. One of the biggest advantage for Karrigan would be the knowledge of how the Astralis players play. He knows how the players’ mindset works, having played and led the Astralis team for a long time. Faze are extremely comfortable on this map and if this map is put into the match, we should expect an easy win for Faze.

Statistics for Mirage :

Astralis Faze K/D 4/5 11/2 Win % 44.5% 85% Pistol Round Win % 22.3% 65%

Cache

Cache is the unlikely good map for Astralis. The Danish roster does not usually play Cache. However, they have been forced to play on the map due to other teams’ vetoes. They have only played this map 3 times in the last three months. All the three matches have been against good teams such as Liquid, SK and Gambit (@Malmo). Considering how close the matches were irrespective of who won the matches it would be safe to say that Astralis is decent on Cache. They do have a mental block against Cache however as it has been the thorn in their side for a long time. There was a time when Astralis would always permanently ban Cache. Right now that perma-ban has been Cobblestone, which leaves Cache as a map which they have to get better on. If forced to play on Cache, Astralis can definitely put up a decent performance, but we should not count Cache to be an extremely strong map for the team.

Faze is not better than Astralis on Cache either. While they have had a few matches, their results are actually slightly worse than that of Astralis. They have been frequenting the map in the recent days of October and if nothing, they definitely have had a lot more practice on the map. This map would be a coin toss as both the teams in Astralis and Faze are quite mediocre and equal on Cache. It is a map that requires a relatively stronger T side, but without any strategies and practice, it’s not an easy map for either team.

This map would be extremely risky and either team can potentially pull up a good performance on the map. If this map is put into the match, we will expect a very even and close match.

Statistics for Cache :

Astralis Faze K/D 2/1 3/3 Win % 67% 50% Pistol Round Win % 67% 50%

Inferno

Astralis is very good on this map, but not unbeatable. The biggest factor for this map would be who gets the first kill. Astralis have an impressive 80% win rate after getting the first kill. Inferno is definitely a better map for Astralis as compared to the previously mentioned Cache. They are a lot more comfortable on this map especially on the CT side of the map. Their coordination and team communication manifest itself beautifully on this map. However, they are faced off against Faze, which is one of the best teams on Inferno right now.

Astralis are not unbeatable and Faze is definitely the team that can beat them on the map. Faze statistics for Inferno are somewhat similar to that of their Mirage with Inferno being a very dominant map for the roster. This is Niko’s playground, one in which he feels extremely comfortable against any opponent. Faze have a 42% win rate even on rounds when they lost the first player. That speaks up for their positioning on this map and the read of their opponents. Inferno is a map that can turn tables based on the positioning of the players and how they coordinate with each other. Faze seem to have perfected that and a 42 % first loss win rate is quite high.

Statistics for Inferno :

Astralis Faze K/D 8/4 8/2 Win % 66% 80% Pistol Round Win % 45% 70%

Nuke

Nuke remains one of the favorite for all Danish teams. The Astralis roster is no different and they will happily take Nuke as their map if given a chance. Astralis have a very strong CT side, one which chokes their opponents into a bad economy. On a map like Nuke, Astralis have some good in game decisions on when to rotate, use nades etc. Timing on Nuke is extremely important and that is something that Astralis seem to have perfected on Nuke. Nuke should easily go to Astralis considering that their opponents are Faze.

Faze can potentially have a good map, but that heavily depends on how good their t side is.If they manage to break the Danish economy, they can potentially put up a good performance. However if not, it’s unlikely that Faze win the map against Astralis.

Statistics for Nuke :

Astralis Faze K/D 2/0 3/2 Win % 100% 60% Pistol Round Win % 100% 80%

Cobblestone

Astralis have not played Cobblestone since May 2017. This is their permanent veto and we do not expect it to change anytime soon. Cobblestone is a very open map, but repeated failures on this map have put Astralis on the block. Instead of trying to work out their problems, they have decided to target their focus on the remaining maps. We don’t expect this map to be played, but in case it is Astralis are just not the team to win it.

Faze themselves are not known for their Cobblestone either. However, their recent showing on Cobblestone when they defeated Heroic 16-3 was definitely impressive. It might be their secret map to win ( in case Astralis let it through). Overall we don’t expect Cobblestone to be played at all. If it is played, we think Astralis will defeat themselves just because of their huge mental block on the map.

Statistics for Cobblestone :

Astralis Faze K/D NA 1/1 Win % NA 50% Pistol Round Win % NA 50%

Final Thoughts

Astralis and Faze have fought their way into the finals. Both the team deservedly are in the finals after going through weeks of group stage matches. Faze definitely have come from the stronger group and have eased their way into the finals. Their victories have been decisive and dominant. Facing off against teams like EnVyUs, NaVi and G2 Faze have done their work for them.

Astralis have had a relatively easier path to the finals as they were facing off against teams such as Liquid ( on Overpass), Cloud9 and Heroic. While Liquid is a good team, facing against Astralis on Overpass is a daunting task. That should not take away anything from the performance of the Danish roster. They have been incredible in their teamwork and the way they play around each other.

Astralis will rely heavily on the duo of Dupreeh and Device to outperform themselves in order to win the match. Xy9x, however, has not been performing well recently and is a drawback for the team. Of course he does contribute in other ways and mostly as a support player, but his lack of frags makes him a liability.

Faze on the other have been improving after every match. The star-studded team is just beginning to come together and is the best team in the scene right now. What initially started as a huge buy-in of star-studded players is now slowly turning into the best team in the world. The most well-known players on the team are not even the top fraggers on the roster, and that is something that should scare every opponent. Check out this video where Device himself calls Faze the best team in the world right now.

Device thinks Faze is the best team

We think Faze have the better map pool, surprisingly, against Astralis. Their dominance on Inferno and Mirage definitely helps them in the veto stage. Traditionally Astralis has always been known to have a stronger presence due to their map pool. This match definitely puts them at a disadvantage for a change in the veto stage. They have been just about mediocre and despite having the “perfect team” they have been unable to exert their dominance.

It’s time for the Faze era to begin as we head into the dusk of 2017.