NaVi vs. Astralis - Who Will Advance to the IEM Cologne Final?

The penultimate day of IEM Cologne will begin very soon. During this day, the participants of the grand final of the tournament will be determined. The first semi-final will be the confrontation between Natus Vincere and Astralis. Who will emerge victorious?

Maps

The map veto in this match is very flexible due to the general permaban. Both teams do not play Vertigo, which means that both teams will have a chance to ban a strong opponent's card in the first stage. At the same time, NaVi can easily dodge uncomfortable maps and force Astralis to play Mirage or Dust2, since one of these maps will definitely be vetoed, which is disadvantageous for the Danes. However, the exact same thing could happen to NaVi as they might have to play Nuke or Overpass, but in that case, Overpass is a problem due to lack of experience. Therefore, the veto map looks slightly better for NaVi. The most likely veto options are Mirage-Nuke-Ancient, Nuke-Overpass-Ancient, Dust2-Nuke-Inferno.

The Shape

NaVi is in amazing shape. After the Blast Spring Final, it began to seem that the replacement did not destroy the team but, on the contrary, built a new strong team. ElectroNic, as a captain, showed his level of understanding of the game and transferred it to the rest of the team without losing points in his personal performance. However, sdy still remains the main problem for NaVi. Rifler progresses but still fails in important matches, which can stop NaVi in the semi-finals.

Nothing has changed in the game shape of Astralis. The team has an average rating of 5.6, which would be acceptable if the sniper was the best player on the team. Farlig is still in the middle of the table and often falls to a rating below 5. Only blameF has no problems and consistently remains the best player on the team.

Conclusion

Astralis' victory over Natus Vincere in the semi-finals will be one of IEM Cologne's biggest sensations. However, this can only happen if all Danes are included in the game, as well as taking the role of the Farlig leader. In all other cases, NaVi is the clear favorite and gets a ticket to the grand final. Detailed pre-match statistics can be viewed here.