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BLAST Premier Global Finals 2021 Odds and Matchup Picks – Astralis Heavy Favorites Over Evil Geniuses

Jarrod Langford

by Jarrod Langford in eSports

Updated Mar 12, 2021 · 12:54 PM PST

BLAST Premier
Heading into the BLAST Premier Global Finals as one of the favorites, Astralis will take on Evil Geniuses in their opening round match.
  • CSGO BLAST Premier Global Finals’ opening day starts with a slew of matchups starting January 19th, 2021
  • Astralis takes on Evil Geniuses, while G2 Esports will battle against FURIA in their opening matchups
  • See odds for all matchups below, along with our best bets for the BLAST Premier Global Finals

Day one action of the CSGO BLAST Premier Global Finals starts off with placing two of North America’s best teams to the test. Astralis is the favorite heading into the event, as they take on Evil Geniuses in their opening match. Pinning four powerhouse teams against one another who have separately dominated the European and North American scene at times during 2020.

Leading us into day two with some unknown variables on the table. Can Complexity and Team Liquid battle against all odds and upset two of Europe’s greats on the back of two recent roster changes? Odds are against them in this one.

CSGO BLAST Premier Global Finals Matchup Odds

Team Moneyline Handicap Total Maps
Astralis -500 -1.5 (-125) Over 2.5 (+125)
Evil Geniuses +333 +1.5 (-110) Under 2.5 (-175)
Team Moneyline Handicap Total Maps
G2 Esports -350 -1.5 (+110) Over 2.5 +100
FURIA +250 +1.5 (-150) Under 2.5 (-138)
Team Moneyline Handicap Total Maps
Team Vitality -800 -1.5 (-163) Over 2.5 (+150)
Complexity +450 +1.5 (+120) Under 2.5 (-200)
Team Moneyline Handicap Total Maps
Natus Vincere -275 -1.5 (+125) Over 2.5 (+100)
Team Liquid +200 +1.5 (-175) Under 2.5 (-138)

Odds taken Jan. 18 at bet365

Astralis vs Evil Geniuses

Playing primarily North American competition for the majority of 2020 left Evil Geniuses (EG) shocked when they faced off in BLAST Premier Fall Series. They were absolutely dismantled by NIP on Overpass and ended up losing the match in straight games. This following a disappointing loss against OG previously, knocking them out of the tournament in two matches.

EG has been spending the past month preparing for this upcoming event, but with their first initial match being against Astralis it will not be an easy one. Which player will step up and compete with Device?

That’s the question for me that will decide which angle to lean on when breaking down the match. Device leads into this event as one of the most impact awpers currently in the game. In the past three months alone, he holds a rating of 1.23 against premier European competition.

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CeRq will need to defy the odds against him and step up tremendously for EG to stand a chance. In his first two maps in BLAST Premier Fall, he was an absent player his 1.05 rating was greatly inflated from save rounds.

Overall, when you are playing a team like Astralis, every player has to be firing on all cylinders. Astralis comes into this match with extreme confidence. Gla1ve has officially switched back to in-game leading, which is allowing Magisk to go back to his role from their prime. In return, Astralis has greatly improved their map pool and has shown dominance on Dust II as of recently.

When looking at the head-to-head between these two teams, to the average better it looks like EG should be able to compete. The issue is, these head-to-heads are from 2019 and were a direct result of the Krieg Meta that was dominant at that time. EG was quite possibly the best Krieg based team in CSGO.

With the Krieg nerfed to being absolutely worthless, the results for EG went down significantly as well. Astralis post-Krieg era is a completely different team, and that is why I expect a completely different result this time around.

Pick: Astralis -1.5 (-125)

G2 Esports vs FURIA

The stars would be aligning for FURIA this event if Junior was able to get his visa approved. The fact they are now short of their previous awper HEN1, and without their new replacement Junior it should come as no surprise why G2 Esports comes in as a strong favorite.

In the previous two matchups between these teams, HEN1 significantly dominated the opening AWP duels against KennyS. Without him, FURIA will not be strong enough defensively to stop G2 from winning the map control game.

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NiKo is one of the best mid-round players in the game. This comes into play especially when you note the replacement for FURIA who has never played a match at this level. FURIA having relied heavily on an AWP anchor to solo hold bomb sites, and Honda being a stand in to fill that role is worrisome.

After the initial barrage of utility FURIA would often sit HEN1 on a lane while stacking the opposite site. When it comes down to those important three on three scenarios, pinning NiKo in those mid-round scenarios without the worry of a dominant AWP will give them a decisive advantage.

Pick: G2 Esports -1.5 (+110)

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