After failing to qualify for the last major held in Rio de Janeiro, Astralis has since then rejuvenated their roster, bringing back the legendary Device and employing the services of young prodigy Buzz to round out the roster.
Ahead of the next event, online bookie bet365 gives Astralis 1.61 odds to qualify and 2.20 odds to fail reaching the challenger’s stage. This is quite a generous line for the Astralis roster given their recent results with their current roster.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: March 30th, 6:00 A.M. (EST)
The team failed to qualify for IEM Katowice and almost failed to qualify for the BLAST Spring Final, having to go through the play-in stage. The team did have a strong showing in the ESL Pro League Season 17 group stage but failed to qualify for a playoff spot, dropping to the last chance stage after losing their two opening matches.
Despite the weak team performance, Device and BlameF continued to showcase their strong individual form posting a 1.17 and 1.12 rating respectively. Device is the highest rated player in the event that failed to advance in the playoffs.
There are eight slots to be taken from the pool of sixteen teams in RMR Group B, which is doable even for a team struggling to find their form like Astralis.
Another team vying for their ticket to Paris is Aurora. Informally dubbed as the “kings of tier 2” CSGO scene, Aurora has flourished into a formidable team capable of challenging stronger teams with one such example being pushing ESL Pro League Season 17 second placers Cloud9 to the limits in Mirage, a comfortable pick for Sh1ro and the rest of his team.
Aurora has fielded the services of Norw1 and KENSI from Forze, both of who have been excellent for the team since their joining. The core of the team has played a total of just three months together but have achieved excellent results so far.
However, despite their strong showing, the Paris RMR Group B qualifiers is a whole different beast. Group B is stacked with some of the best teams in the world. Organizations such as Heroic, G2 Esports, Team Vitality, Cloud9, and Team Spirit are all a part of Group B. Expect all of these teams to take up one of the spots available.
There are also plenty of tier 2 teams who are considered as dark horses to book their tickets to Paris through the qualifiers. Teams like Monte, 9INE, Forze, and Eternal Fire are also very competitive teams who might just as well make it to 2023’s first major.
Eight slots seems like a lot, but with the amount of talent in Group B, nothing is really guaranteed. Will Astralis make it past the grueling qualifiers?
