Match Prediction: Team Vitality - Natus Vincere
The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 playoff stage is heating up, and we’re continuing to share our match predictions.
One of the most anticipated clashes awaits us: Team Vitality vs Natus Vincere. Both teams are CS icons in their own right, and watching them play is always a treat for any fan. In this preview, we’ll take a closer look at both rosters and try to determine who has the edge in this high-stakes matchup.
How the bookies view it: Team Vitality Favorite
Let’s start by checking how the bookmakers view this matchup and what odds they’ve set.Team Vitality is the clear favorite, with odds starting at 1.15. Meanwhile, Na`Vi sits around 4.81, which shows a surprisingly wide gap — especially for a clash between such high-profile teams.
With the betting picture in place, let’s dive deeper into the matchup and break down what to expect from both sides.
Team Vitality form. What result can be expected from Team Vitality
Let’s start our breakdown with the favorites of this matchup — Team Vitality.
We’ll take a look at their recent results, including both victories and losses across various tournaments.
Place | Tournament | Format | Type | Rival | Score |
1st | Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2025 | Offline | S-Tier | MOUZ | 3:0 |
1st | BLAST Rivals Spring 2025 | Offline | S-Tier | Falcons | 3:2 |
1st | Intel Extreme Masters Melbourne 2025 | Offline | S-Tier | Falcons | 3:2 |
1st | ESL Grand Slam Season 5 | Offline | Points | IGS | 4/5/0 |
1st | BLAST Open Spring 2025 | Offline | S-Tier | MOUZ | 3:2 |
1st | ESL Pro League Season 21 | Offline | S-Tier | MOUZ | 3:0 |
1st | Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 | Offline | S-Tier | Team Spirit | 3:0 |
5th–8th | BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 | Offline | S-Tier | Eternal Fire | 0:2 |
1st–8th | BLAST Bounty Spring 2025: Closed Qualifier | Online | A-Tier | Virtus.pro | 2:0 |
5th–8th | Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 | Offline | S-Tier | FaZe | 1:2 |
1st–2nd | Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR A | Offline | A-Tier | FaZe | 2:0 |
3rd–4th | BLAST Premier: World Final 2024 | Offline | S-Tier | G2 | 1:2 |
5th–6th | Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 | Offline | S-Tier | MOUZ | 1:2 |
1st | Match of LeGends: Double Down (Showmatch) | Offline | – | NAVI | 2:1 |
2nd | BLAST Premier World Leaderboard 2024 | Mixed | Points | – | 12275 |
3rd–4th | BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024 | Offline | S-Tier | G2 | 1:2 |
5th–8th | ESL Pro League Season 20 | Offline | S-Tier | Eternal Fire | 1:2 |
1st | Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024 | Offline | S-Tier | NAVI | 3:1 |
1st–4th | BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2024 | Offline | S-Tier | Astralis | 2:1 |
The first half of 2025 has been completely dominated by Team Vitality. Starting with Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025, the team hasn’t lost a single tournament — claiming seven consecutive trophies.
So it’s no surprise that this roster is considered one of the main favorites not just for this match, but for the entire tournament.
Player | Time on team | Maps played | Rating 2.1 |
apEX | 6 years 8 months | 1235 | 1.01 |
ZywOo | 6 years 8 months | 1237 | 1.32 |
flameZ | 1 year 11 months | 297 | 1.13 |
mezzi | 1 year 7 months | 243 | 1.05 |
ropz | 5 months | 90 | 1.20 |
The team’s coach is XTQZZZ who has been with the roster for 1 year and 8 months. He has coached 538 maps with a win rate of 65%.
Natus Vincere form. What result can be expected from Natus Vincere
Now let’s do the same with Natus Vincere — take a look at their recent tournaments and results.
Place | Tournament | Format | Opponent | Score |
5th - 8th | PGL Astana 2025 | Offline | Astralis | 1:2 |
2nd | ESL Grand Slam Season 5 | Offline | IGS | 2/2/0 |
7th - 8th | IEM Melbourne 2025 | Offline | Liquid | 0:2 |
5th - 6th | BLAST Open Spring 2025 | Offline | Team Spirit | 0:2 |
5th - 8th | ESL Pro League Season 21 | Offline | The MongolZ | 0:2 |
3rd - 4th | IEM Katowice 2025 | Offline | Team Spirit | 0:2 |
3rd - 4th | BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 | Offline | Team Spirit | 0:2 |
1st - 8th | BLAST Bounty Spring 2025: Closed Qualifier | Online | Astralis | 2:0 |
9th - 11th | Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 | Offline | HEROIC | 1:2 |
3rd - 5th | Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR A | Offline | SAW | 2:0 |
7th - 8th | BLAST Premier: World Final 2024 | Offline | Grp. S. | 0/2 |
1st | IEM Rio 2024 | Offline | MOUZ | 3:1 |
L | Match of LeGGends: Double Down | Offline | Vitality | 1:2 |
2nd | BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024 | Offline | G2 | 1:3 |
1st | BLAST Premier World Leaderboard 2024 | Online/Offline | Grp. S | 14700 |
1st | ESL Pro League Season 20 | Offline | Eternal Fire | 3:2 |
2nd | IEM Cologne 2024 | Offline | Vitality | 1:3 |
5th - 6th | BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2024 | Offline | Complexity | 2:0 |
1st | Esports World Cup 2024 | Offline | G2 | 2:1 |
2nd | BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024 | Offline | Team Spirit | 1:3 |
9th - 12th | IEM Dallas 2024 | Offline | HEROIC | 0:2 |
9th - 12th | ESL Pro League Season 19 | Offline | FaZe | 0:2 |
1st | PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 | Offline | FaZe | 3:2 |
In recent tournaments, Natus Vincere have struggled with consistency. The team just can’t seem to find a clear path to victory — sometimes they underperform, and other times they seem to overthink their own game plan.
That said, a win in this matchup could be exactly what they need to bounce back and regain momentum.
Player | Time on team | Maps played | Rating 2.1 |
b1t | 4 years 4 months | 669 | 1.11 |
Aleksib | 1 year 11 months | 306 | 0.95 |
iM | 1 year 11 months | 306 | 1.09 |
jL | 1 year 11 months | 306 | 1.12 |
w0nderful | 1 year 7 months | 257 | 1.10 |
The team’s coach is B1ad3, who has been with the roster for 5 years and 8 months. During this time, he has coached 952 maps with a win rate of 63%.
Recent head to head: Team Vitality edging it
The last time these teams faced each other was in the grand final of IEM Cologne 2024, where Team Vitality secured a confident victory with a 3:1 scoreline.
Players to watch: ZyWoo and jL
One of the best players in the world, ZywOo, is definitely worth keeping an eye on. His game sense and individual mechanical skill have always been impressive — and they still are to this day.
From Natus Vincere, I recommend watching jL. He’s a bright, charismatic player whose bold and unconventional decisions often become game-changers — and frequently lead his team to victory.
Probable map picks
Map picks are one of the most important aspects of the game. Even at this stage, they can determine the winner of the series. So, let’s try to figure out which maps we can expect in this exciting Bo3 matchup.
I believe we’ll most likely end up on either Inferno, Mirage, Dust2 или Nuke.
But let’s dive deeper into the map veto and see what we can figure out.
Which maps does pick and ban most often Team Vitality?
Here is the table with the teams’ map results over the past few months.
Category | Map | Winrate | Notes |
Strongest maps | Anubis | 100.0% | 3W-0L |
| Inferno | 83.3% | 10W-2L First Pick |
| Train | 83.3% | 5W-1L |
| Nuke | 81.8% | 9W-2L |
| Dust2 | 80.0% | 8W-2L |
Average maps | Mirage | 69.2% | 9W-4L |
Looking at the stats, it’s difficult to clearly say what should be banned or picked against Team Vitality — their map pool is solid across the board.
However, one thing is almost certain: Ancient will be banned by Vitality, as they simply don’t play it.
As for their pick, it will most likely be Inferno, their current favorite and most comfortable map.
Which maps does pick and ban most often Na`Vi?
Now let’s move on to Na`Vi and take a look at their strongest and weakest maps.
Category | Map | Winrate | Notes |
Strongest maps | Inferno | 72.7% | 8W-3L |
| Mirage | 70.0% | 7W-3L First Pick |
| Train | 66.7% | 2W-1L First Ban |
Average maps | Dust2 | 40.0% | 2W-3L |
Weakest maps | Ancient | 33.3% | 1W-2L |
| Anubis | 16.7% | 1W-3L |
| Nuke | 0.0% | 0W-1L |
Most likely, Natus Vincere will want to avoid playing Train, especially after their crushing defeat to Team Spirit on that map during the group stage.
As for their pick, Mirage seems like the most probable choice — it’s a well-practiced map for Na`Vi, and one they often manage to win.
Predicted result of the match
So, we’ve reached the decisive moment — it’s time to make a prediction for this first-stage match of the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025. Based on all the information and statistics above, the most logical pick would be a Team Vitality victory.
But Na`Vi is the kind of team that can pull off the impossible — and also somehow lose what should have been an easy win. So be cautious when making your choice.
That said, my prediction is a Team Vitality victory.
Right now, Team Vitality is the strongest team in the world, and they show no signs of slowing down. The team operates like a well-oiled machine, and every player is performing exceptionally well in their role. This is their prime form — and they’re playing like it.
