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April 28, 2021
CS:GO
Will we see an Astralis comeback or more CIS dominance at DreamHack Masters Spring 2021?
DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 will take one and a half weeks with 16 teams fighting for their share of the $250.000 prize pool. Who could rise to the top and who seems to be in a downward spiral?
The new Astralis era
A lot of people are looking forward to seeing Astralis play without their former superstar, Nicolai ‘Device’ Reedtz, after his departure to NiP. He has been a consistent and strong factor for the team before, with his AWP pressure always present to take down many strong opponents. Luckily for Astralis, the DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 will not be having NiP in the line-up of teams. The team has been in a slump recently, now also having to adjust to losing a core player. Despite them still being ranked the number two in the world, the chances of them once more struggling is high. Astralis had a bad performance at the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, finishing at the bottom after being shut down by OG in the first round of the event.
This time it might turn out a little bit better though, with DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 first having a double elimination Group bracket, later turning into a single elimination playoffs bracket. Finishing top three in the group might net them a place in the next phase, which could be possible when looking at their possible opposition. First they’ll have to take down Extra Salt, the NA qualifier, in a best-of-one, followed by a best-of-three against either Complexity or Vitality. Both of these teams have also been struggling, thus giving Astralis a decent chance of progressing towards the playoffs.
Another Heroic and Gambit clash?
With the other top three teams still having quite the rivalry, there might be another clash to come at the end of this tournament. Gambit and Heroic have been placed in different Group brackets, making the chances of them topping either quite big. Both teams have been doing well in recent times, often being the sole teams able to take down the other. Gambit might have a bit of a harder time in the Group bracket however, having Natus Vincere, Spirit and Virtus Pro as CIS teams in Group A.
Being the best CIS team at the moment might mean that the others will be learning and adapting to their regional overlord. This could mean that Gambit will be harshly anti-stratted and might be toppled before making it into that top spot of the group, which would result in a shortcut to the semi-final of the playoffs bracket.
Heroic has been on a new high after taking in two new players. This of course helped them win the ESL Pro League Season 13 Finals, and they didn’t do too bad either at the Blast Premier Spring Showdown 2021. However, will the honeymoon period be over or will the team keep some good momentum going? The hard part is that teams will be reading into the new players as well, trying to find weaknesses which Heroic hasn’t had challenged before.
Other CIS challengers
Natus Vincere and Virtus Pro didn’t perform badly at all at the ESL Pro League Season 13 Finals, yet there is still some ground to cover before they can call themselves a top team again. This is quite odd actually, as their world ranking says they are still top five contenders, yet the results seem to be lacking. With all the CIS teams of the tournament in one group, this might be a hell of a battle for either of these teams to show they can make it work, but chasing a strong Gambit means they might still be a step behind. In the playoffs bracket though, there is still a good chance these teams might actually contend for the semi-final, but remember, there will only be three teams per group into the playoffs bracket.
G2 might be the team to amaze and surprise in Group A, and possibly to get quite far in the playoffs bracket as well. Recent results show a decent jump towards the top with a shared first/second place at BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2021, with the line-up really working together as one. Benching Kenny ‘KennyS’ Schrub might have been the best decision to contend with the top teams. Consistency might be an issue though, only time will tell if G2 is on the rise or if it was just a momentary power spike.
