Natus Vincere vs Azure Ray Prediction: Who will turn out to be stronger?

Prediction for the match between Natus Vincere vs Azure Ray which will take place on May 21. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

The Born to Win is playing on the tier-1 stage for the first time in a long time. So far, Natus Vincere has one win map and three losses to their credit, and this is a completely expected result from the community. Zayac Collective needs to take at least one map away from Azure Ray to have a chance of making the playoffs, and ideally win the entire series.

Natus Vincere drafts don't fit into the concept of tier-1 tournaments at all. We're usually used to seeing meta characters, with a strong bias towards strong lines and good teamfighting. The Born to Win showed unique strategies through offline Lone Druid, Yuragi farming on Razor. The Born to Win twice grabbed the lead with BetBoom Team and once led 10,000 gold, and yes, the first map against Shopify Rebellion (which they lost in the end) started with a 6,000 advantage in the 13th minute. It looks very bold in the first minutes, but what to do afterwards and how to realize the money is still a big question.

And this problem will become key with Azure Ray. The Chinese are very averse to experimentation, and Natus Vincere will definitely surprise with their draft picks. But if the Zayac collective can't finish the map quickly and take down the throne, they will have huge problems both in the series and in Group B.

How to look at the performance of the Chinese in 2024? On the one hand, there are top-3 at Elite League, top-4 at BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024. At the same time, Azure Ray failed miserably at PGL Wallachia Season 1, losing all three matches in the Swiss. The fy team has a theoretical chance for a slot at the Riyadh Masters 2024, but to do so they need to reach the DreamLeague Season 23 grand finals. Is that even achievable?

Within Group B, the team beat BetBoom Team and lost to Team Falcons, and the win-loss balance is 2:2. The Chinese tend to line up draft picks with good teamfighting and strong lines, sometimes to the disadvantage of control and safeties. It worked with BetBoom Team, but the Falcons didn't let them pour a ton of damage into their characters. You can't single out anyone in particular, Azure Ray works as a cohesive unit - if a loss, everyone played poorly, and if a win, everyone was good. But it's not prime form - fy can do wonders, Lou is able to win matches on his shoulders, and it's like Faith_Bian is still remembering how to play after inactivity.

Azure Ray will face Shopify Rebellion and Natus Vincere on the second game day. The draw presented a great opportunity to take four points in a row and claim the top playoff spot. Azure Ray was unprepared for the matches in Romania, but here a coveted invitational is on the line and they can get closer to it today.

Natus Vincere is fun to watch, but there is little efficiency in its picks. Azure Ray has already seen all the makings from their opponent and will be ready. The Chinese have every chance to close this series with a score of 2:0.