Astralis are off to a flying start at BLAST Pro Series Istanbul after defeating Virtus.pro in a one-sided Inferno match.

The opening match on the main stream started with the FACEIT Major champions taking the pistol round in convincing fashion and following that up with the anti-ecos for a 3-0 lead. Virtus.pro responded in the first gun round, but the Danes hit back immediately on the back of a triple-kill by Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander as he pushed banana.

After getting their economy back on track, Virtus.pro desperately tried to find a way back into the game, but without success. They kept losing every aim duel and just could not find any openers, with the scoreline blooming to a 13-1 advantage for the Danes before the Polish side finally got on the scoreboard again, following a quad kill by Michał "⁠snatchie⁠" Rudzki.

Astralis piled more misery on Virtus.pro's players by overturning a 2v4 situation in the pistol round, setting themselves up for a 15-2 lead. With no room for error, Virtus.pro were able to get a round on the board courtesy of a trio of shotgun kills by Jarosław "⁠pashaBiceps⁠" Jarząbkowski, but it merely delayed the inevitable as Astralis secured the following round to seal an easy victory.

Virtus.pro	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Piotr 'morelz' Taterkamorelz	4 - 15	-11	42.5	0.52
Filip 'NEO' KubskiNEO	6 - 17	-11	71.2	0.52
Jarosław 'pashaBiceps' JarząbkowskipashaBiceps	8 - 15	-7	33.5	0.50
Michał 'snatchie' Rudzkisnatchie	7 - 16	-9	47.3	0.47
Michał 'MICHU' MüllerMICHU	6 - 18	-12	48.1	0.44

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Emil 'Magisk' ReifMagisk	18 - 8	+10	87.4	1.59
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	16 - 5	+11	80.2	1.58
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	18 - 9	+9	108.6	1.57
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	13 - 4	+9	78.8	1.46
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	16 - 5	+11	77.7	1.44