Welcome to all esports and Counter-Strike 2 fans! From July 23 to August 3, 2025, one of the biggest summer tournaments — IEM Cologne 2025 — is taking place. As of 26.07.2025, the Play-In stage has concluded, and the Group Stage is starting, featuring 16 teams, including the giants of professional CS2. Among the matches on the first day of this stage, we highlight the Vitality vs. Astralis clash, which promises to be very exciting. While the teams are preparing, we’ll share our CS2 betting tips and match preview.
How the bookies view it: Vitality favorite
Most bookmakers unanimously consider Vitality the favorite in the match against Astralis, giving the latter no chance. Although Vitality is one of the strongest teams this season, we wouldn’t jump to conclusions, as Astralis can put up a strong fight.
Vitality form. What result can be expected from Vitality
Our CS2 betting tips for the Vitality vs. Astralis matchup begin with analyzing Vitality form. After the triumphant Paris Major, Vitality said goodbye to Dupreeh, and flameZ took his place. The ‘newcomer’ Vitality has already managed to adapt and demonstrates a good level of play and has good statistics. By the way, he started his ascent to the big stage with OG.
Vitality roster: apEX, ZywOo, mezii, ropz, flameZ.
Let's begin the story of the team with the 2023 season. In their debut match at IEM Cologne 2023, Vitality confirmed their status as one of the strongest Counter-Strike teams. After defeating OG, Vitality went up against MOUZ, whom the "Bees" crushed with scores of 16-4 and 16-5.
In the playoff seeding match, Vitality faced another top-tier team — G2 Esports. It was a close match, with Vitality narrowly taking a 19-17 win on Inferno in overtime, but then losing 10-16 on Vertigo and 8-16 on Mirage. In the playoffs, Vitality played against Cloud9 and came out victorious, but were then eliminated in the semifinals by ENCE with a 1-2 scoreline.
Finishing in the top 4 at IEM Cologne didn’t discourage Vitality — on the contrary, it only fueled their motivation. By the end of the year, the team secured three more titles: they took revenge on ENCE in the grand final of Gamers8 and defeated FaZe twice at BLAST events (Fall Final 2023 and World Final 2023).
Vitality kicked off the 2024 season in high spirits. Before participating in the PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major 2024: European RMR B, the team competed in BLAST Premier: Spring Groups, where they had no trouble advancing through the group stage. At the RMR event,
Vitality easily defeated GamerLegion and Heroic, dropping only 5 rounds across two maps. However, they then suffered a setback with a loss to Cloud9 but bounced back with a win over ENCE to secure a spot at the Major.
At the first Major tournament of the season — PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major 2024 — Vitality reached the top 4 but were eliminated by FaZe Clan. They then took part in ESL Pro League Season 19, where they again confidently made it to the grand final, though were decisively defeated by MOUZ.
At IEM Dallas 2024 — one of the key tournaments ahead of EWC 2024 — Vitality started strong with a win over Monte and then easily beat G2 Esports. However, in the playoff seeding match, they unexpectedly lost 0-2 to 9z Team. In the playoffs themselves, they performed much better, defeating Heroic 2-0 and then Spirit, but ultimately losing to G2 Esports in the final.
Before participating in the Esports World Cup 2024, Vitality competed at BLAST Premier: Spring Final, where they placed in the top 4. At EWC 2024, Vitality started successfully with a win over M80, securing direct advancement to the playoffs.
At the "Riyadh Major," Vitality finished in the top 8 — a result that was below expectations for the team. However, they proved their elite status by winning Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024. At the end of the season, they played at PW Shanghai Major 2024, where they made it to the main stage but were knocked out in the very first round by FaZe.
After that, the team played at such tournaments as IEM Katowice 2025, BLAST Open Lisbon 2025, IEM Melbourne 2025, BLAST Rivals Season 1 and IEM Dallas 2025 and won all of them, keeping their winning streak alive. It’s also worth highlighting the team’s victory at the Blast.tv Austin Major 2025. Thus, Vitality’s winning streak at S-tier tournaments now totals 8 wins.
At IEM Cologne, Vitality are definitely aiming for another win.
Astralis form. What result can be expected from Astralis
We continue our betting prediction with analysis of Astralis form. CS fans surely know this team, as they have achieved many victories at the highest level. As usual, we start our form analysis with the 2023 season. The team began it quite successfully, taking 4-6th place at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2023 and immediately following it up with a victory at the Tier-B tournament CCT Season 1 North Europe Series #3.
Astralis continued the season by playing in qualifiers and A-tier events, and things seemed to be going well. They successfully qualified for the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 and won the CCT Season 1 South Europe Series #4, but then the team slightly lost form. The best achievement of the 2024 season for Astralis was 3-4th place at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2023.
Astralis roster: dev1ce, Staehr, stavn, jabbi, HooXi.
The 2024 season began for Astralis with a showmatch and qualifiers. Then there were two attempts to get to the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, but both were unsuccessful: TOP-11 at European RMR B and TOP-6 at European RMR Decider put an end to Astralis' participation in the home Major.
In the first match of IEM China 2024, Astralis played against steel helmet, as Monte could not make it to China. And if Monte had played there, the score would hardly have been as lopsided as 13-2 in Astralis’ favor. However, judging by the match against FaZe, where Astralis were a cut above and beat the world’s top team 2-0, perhaps Astralis were really fired up for IEM China 2024. In the playoffs of the tournament, Astralis met FaZe Clan again, but this time were the weaker team and lost 1-2, exiting the tournament.
Astralis took part in ESL Pro League Season 19, where they reached the top 4 but lost to Vitality in the match for a grand final spot. The team later achieved similar results at the CCT Season 1 Global Finals and YaLLa Compass 2024.
At BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2024, Astralis played in Group A, where they finished in third place. They advanced to the playoffs but lost to VP and exited the tournament at the TOP-6 stage. After that, Astralis played at IEM Cologne 2024, where they placed 12th.
In the long season of ESL Pro League Season 20, they lost to Fnatic (1-2), then to CoL (0-2). They ended ESL Pro League Season 20 just as badly as they started — with another loss to CoL and elimination at the TOP-28 stage.
Next, Astralis competed at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024, where they placed TOP-8, and at Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024, where they ended their run in the TOP-12. As you can see, their attempts were unsuccessful.
The team returned to good form at the BLAST Premier: World Final 2024, leaving behind MOUZ, FaZe, and NaVi. After winning Group A, Astralis advanced directly to the semifinals. However, their journey at BLAST Premier: World Final 2024 ended there, as Spirit advanced to the grand final instead.
At PW Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR B, Astralis Long Sogpeg started with a loss to 9 Pandas, then lost to Sashi Esports. Only in the third match against B8 did the team manage to regroup. However, this "music" quickly ended, and Astralis failed to qualify for Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024.
The 2025 season began with Astralis hoping to return to the top of professional CS2. So far, their best results are 3rd place at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 and 2nd place at PGL Astana 2025 and FISSURE Playground #1.
Astralis started IEM Cologne 2025 with a 2-0 win over B8, then lost 0-2 to FURIA and beat paiN Gaming 2-1, which allowed them to advance to the Group Stage of the tournament.
Recent head to head
Throughout history, the teams have played each other 32 times, with Astralis winning 11 times and Vitality 21. The match at IEM Cologne 2025 promises to be very exciting, as both teams are among the strongest.
Which maps does Vitality pick and ban most often?
Let’s analyze both teams map statistics in 2025 to make smart CS2 tips.
Strong maps
- Dust2: high win percentage (88.9%) with 18 matches played.
- Train: high win percentage (88.9%) with 9 matches played.
- Inferno: high win percentage (85.7%) with 21 matches played.
Average results
- Nuke: average winning percentage (83.3%) with 18 matches played.
- Anubis: average winning percentage (75.0%) with 8 matches played.
- Mirage: average winning percentage (72.2%) with 18 matches played.
Which maps does Astralis pick and ban most often?
Strong maps
- Inferno: high win percentage (65.4%) with 26 matches played.
- Nuke: high win percentage (63.0%) with 27 matches played.
- Ancient: stable win percentage (60.9%) with 23 matches played.
Average results
- Train: average winning percentage (55.6%) with 9 matches played.
Weak maps
- Mirage: low win percentage (37.5%) with 24 matches played.
- Dust2: low win percentage (31.2%) with 16 matches played.
Predicted result of the match between Vitality and Astralis at IEM Cologne 2025
Most analysts and bookmakers consider Vitality the clear favorite in the match against Astralis at IEM Cologne 2025, as the team is currently the strongest. However, Astralis is definitely not a weak team and also has a chance to win. In our opinion, Vitality will still take the victory, and the match will be dynamic and exciting.
Betting prediction: Vitality wins.
#8
Aurora
Team SpiritWatch match
