Vitality started the second half of the 2025 season with a huge bang by taking down Astralis 2-0 at IEM Cologne. They performed super good on Overpass, a map that was recently reintroduced to the competitive scene.
The series started on Astralis’ pick, Nuke, where Vitality stormed out to a 5-0 lead. Astralis actually tied it up 8-8 after winning the pistol round, and the teams kept trading rounds, but some plays from William “mezii” Merriman and Shahar “flameZ” Shushan helped Vitality clinch a close 13-11 victory.
Overpass was Vitality’s pick, and they looked dominant early, cruising to a 9-3 lead at halftime, but a costly mistake during a 5v3 post-plant anti-eco round gave Vitality the edge. They closed the map 13-8, sealing the series 2-0.
Before Overpass made its comeback, Vitality already had a strong map pool with impressive win rates throughout 2025. One of their weaker maps was Anubis, now retired, where they played only nine maps with a 66.7% win rate, still decent, but their lowest of the season.
With Overpass back, Vitality might tighten up their map pool even more. They picked Overpass right away in their first match of the season, and it could become a core map for them as the rest of 2025 unfolds. That’s a scary thought for their opponents, right? I mean, who doesn’t want a map that can be a dependable win option?
Vitality now faces off against G2, led by Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač for a chance to secure a playoff spot immediately. On the other side, Astralis will have to battle FURIA in the lower bracket to stay alive in the tournament.
It’s definitely a strong start for Vitality, and I’m curious to see if Overpass becomes their new secret weapon. Can Astralis bounce back, or will they struggle to keep up?
