2019 marked a massive change of the CS:GO leagues, with the revamped ECS format providing an interesting experiment alongside the Pro League’s brutally skill-testing LAN group stage. Four of the eight teams in the ECS finals made it through the other gauntlet as well, suggesting they’re perhaps the best-equipped challengers to take down this title. Of course, the big story here is Astralis finally getting back into the fray, their first real taste of competitive action in a bid to defend their Season 6 title. Can they do it? Are they worth betting against? All will be revealed in due course…

The moment of truth for gla1ve and co.

Apart from the ESL Pro League groups stage, this is going to be the Danes’ first real competitive test since the Katowice major. With little to no context about their levels or preparation and “ring rust” apart from the glorified BLAST Pro Series matches played over the last few months, their performance here will shape expectations going forward.

In a field where Vitality are the closest contenders, nothing but a dominant win is acceptable for Astralis after basically relinquishing their #1 HLTV spot through inactivity. There are way too many questions swirling around about their conduct in 2019 and whether they can maintain their incredible levels of play after spending so much time away from proper competition. If they can’t thrash this comparatively weak field, we could truly be looking at the end of their dominant period at the upcoming tournaments they decided to grace with their presence.