FISSURE Playground 3 will continue Group A with a match between G2 and Astralis. The teams will meet in the Opening Round in a Bo3 format: the winner will advance to the Upper semi-finals, while the losing team will drop to Lower Round 1. G2 are ranked ninth in the world, Astralis are 13th, and the latest head-to-head meetings also shift the balance in favor of the European roster.
FISSURE PLAYGROUND 3 GROUP A — FORMAT SPECIFICS
The group stage of FISSURE Playground 3 is played in a Double Elimination Bo3 format. Group A also features 9z, 5star, The MongolZ, MIBR, BETBOOM, and BIG. A win in the Opening Round will allow G2 or Astralis to move to the Upper semi-finals, while the losing team will continue the fight through Lower Round 1.
The tournament takes place in Suzhou and has a $1 million prize pool. After the group stage, the competition will move to the Single Elimination Playoffs, so a win at the start significantly simplifies the further route. G2 enter the series as slight favorites, but strong Cache and Ancient make Astralis dangerous in the veto.
HEAD-TO-HEAD — G2 WON FOUR OF THE LAST FIVE MAPS
In the last five presented head-to-head maps, G2 earned four victories. At Esports World Cup 2026, they won Inferno 13:7 and Dust2 13:6, while Astralis answered with a 13:6 victory on Ancient. Earlier at BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 1, G2 also took Overpass 13:9 and Dust2 13:5.
This statistic gives G2 a noticeable advantage before the new series, especially considering two convincing wins on Dust2. At the same time, Astralis have already shown that they can punish the opponent on Ancient, and this map once again looks like one of the best directions for the Danish roster.
CURRENT FORM
G2 — unstable results, but strong series against top opponents
G2 have recently been alternating wins and losses. The team lost to Falcons 0:2 and Spirit 0:2, but at the same time beat Aurora 2:1 and 2:0, as well as defeating Natus Vincere 2:0. A separate setback was the 1:2 loss to FURIA, so stability before the start of FISSURE Playground 3 is still lacking.
The best listed individual numbers belong to HeavyGod, who has a 1.15 rating over the last three months. He shows 0.68 kills per round, 74.4% KAST, a 1.17 multi-kill rating, and 76.6 ADR. Together with r1nkle, MATYS, huNter-, and NertZ, he forms a roster with enough firepower to control a Bo3.
Astralis — competitive series and a strong Staehr
Astralis also do not show perfect stability. The team lost to G2 1:2, Falcons 0:2, and MOUZ 1:2, but between those matches defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas 2:1, demolished MIBR 13:6, and beat paiN 2:1. The Danish roster regularly forces strong opponents into a fight, but so far does not always convert such series into victories.
The main individual pillar looks to be Staehr with a 1.17 rating. He has 0.72 kills per round, 72.2% KAST, a 1.32 multi-kill rating, and 82.5 ADR. Together with HooXi, phzy, jabbi, and ryu, he gives Astralis enough resources to create problems for G2 on comfortable maps.
MAP POOL & VETO
Statistics over the last 3 months (G2 | Astralis):
- Cache: — | 75%
- Dust2: 25% | 0%
- Mirage: 75% | —
- Inferno: 89% | 50%
- Nuke: — | 33%
- Ancient: 29% | 62%
- Anubis: 33% | —
Expected veto:
- Astralis will logically try to remove Inferno. G2 have an 89% win rate on this map across nine matches, while the Danish roster shows only 50% across four maps. In addition, G2 have already beaten Astralis on Inferno in a recent head-to-head match.
- G2, in turn, have strong reasons to remove Cache or Ancient. Astralis have 75% on Cache and 62% on Ancient, while G2 barely use the first one and have won only 29% of matches on the second. Ancient is especially dangerous also because Astralis have already beaten G2 on it 13:6.
Likely maps:
- Mirage looks like the most attractive choice for G2. The team has a 75% win rate across eight matches, while Astralis practically do not show full statistics on the map in the current stretch.
- Astralis may answer with Ancient if G2 leave it in the pool. The Danes have a 62% win rate here against the opponent’s 29%. Dust2 may appear as a potential decider, although the current statistics of both teams on it are weak despite G2’s two recent head-to-head victories.
KEY DUELS
- HeavyGod vs Staehr — a matchup between the teams’ best players according to the presented statistics, where Staehr has a slight advantage in rating and ADR.
- r1nkle vs phzy — an AWP duel capable of determining the number of early advantages and control of key zones on more open maps.
- NertZ vs jabbi — a rifle matchup on which the teams’ stability in the middle and late stages of rounds will largely depend.
PREDICTION
Astralis have enough arguments to make the series competitive. Ancient and Cache give the Danish roster strong directions for the veto, Staehr is showing good individual form, and Astralis themselves have already taken a map from G2 during their latest Bo3 series.
However, G2 look stronger across the combination of factors. They have won four of the last five head-to-head maps, have very strong Mirage and Inferno, and overall show better results against top opposition. If G2 properly limit Ancient and do not allow Astralis to get two comfortable maps, the team should advance to the Upper semi-finals.
Projected result: G2 2–1 Astralis
