Astralis recently won the ESL Pro League Season 8 LAN Finals. With this victory, they secured the Intel Grand Slam and the prize money of $1 million. For the team, this is a huge achievement; one that can see them cementing their place as the best team [ at least for the current period]. The team won the FaceIT London Major without much competition and has followed it up with multiple LAN victories. Following the FaceIT London Major, Astralis has won the following events :
- Blast Pro Series Istanbul.
- IEM Chicago 2018.
- ECS Season 6 LAN Finals.
- ESL Pro League Season 8 LAN Finals.
There is little that seems to come in way of Astralis. The team led by Glaive and coach Zonic has presented the perfect way for a team to stay on top. They are constantly evaluating their team and individual performances. Staying on top is often the more difficult part of being a dominant team. One of the best Danish players of his time, Zonic has left no stone unturned when it comes to the development of the current Astralis roster.
The IBuyPower Masters 2019.
https://thepicks.com/esports/news/2018/12/02/ibuypower-masters-iv-announced-for-january-2019/
PC maker IBuyPower has returned to Counter-Strike events with the IBP Masters 2019. The tournament will take place from January 19-20, a two day period. It will see eight teams competing for the total prize pool of $200,000. The venue for the event is the Avalon Theatre, Hollywood. The format for the tournament is a Best of One Double elimination Group stage followed by Best of Three single elimination playoffs. This format is reminiscent of the early years in Counter-Strike. However, there are obvious problems with the format as losing two Best of Ones can result in elimination from the event. However, IBUYPOWER has almost always used this format and they will continue to do so.
Astralis is the first team to receive an invite and rightfully so. There is no team more dominant than the current Astralis roster. With Astralis confirmed for IBP 2019, we can expect this tournament to feature more premier teams and exciting competition. This will also be Astralis’ first event of the new year and one which they hope to start off on a winning note.
