BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 is a tier 1 CS:GO event that brings together 6 teams from 3 regions: North America, South America and Europe. As the name implies, BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 will take place in Istanbul, Turkey between September 28th and September 29th. The tournament’s prize pool is $250.000 and among its main sponsors are Unibet and Twitch.

Format and participating teams

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 is going to be played in a rather interesting format and that’s mainly because of its small number of participants. The Group Stage will consist of Bo1 matches. Each team will play 1 game against every other team, so 5 games overall. In the end, the highest ranked 2 teams compete in the Grand Final.

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 features 6 teams, most of which are tier 1 in terms of skill. These teams are Astralis, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Cloud9, Virtus.pro, MIBR and Space Soldiers.

Prize pool distribution

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 offers a total prize pool of $250.000, which will be divided among the 6 participants in the following way:

• 1st place: $125K
• 2nd place: $50K
• 3rd place: $25K
• 4th place: $15K
• 5th place: $10K
• 6th place: $5K

Team analysis

Astralis

Astralis is the best CS:GO team in the world and has been for the last 6 months or so. Just recently, Astralis won yet another tournament, namely the FACEIT Major: London 2018, where even the tournament’s 2nd and 3rd best teams, Natus Vincere and Team Liquid respectively, lost against it so badly in the Semifinals and Grand Final that the competition as a whole was rather unsatisfying for most viewers. Astralis seemed to be smurfing throughout the entire event and only rarely gave signs that it too might have some weaknesses or moments of inconsistent play.

In the past 6 months, Astralis won no less than 5 tournaments and played in the Grand Final of two others. That’s a level of domination we haven’t seen in a long time in CS:GO.

Right now, Astralis’ win rate on pretty much every map that it plays is very high and in one case it’s off the scale. For instance, Astralis won its last 19 games on Nuke, so if it gets to play that map against some rather naive opponent who might want to challenge it on it, the likelihood of Astralis winning that game is virtually 100%. At the FACEIT Major: London 2018, both Na’Vi and Team Liquid found out the hard way that Astralis is not to be contested on that map.

Given the caliber of the other 5 teams that will compete in BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018, Astralis should have a rather easy mission. Reaching the Grand Final is practically a given and winning it would take very little effort, regardless of who the opponent will be.

Cloud9

After their great achievement back in January this year, when they won the prestigious ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018, Cloud9 went on the decline almost immediately. Initially it struggled to maintain its top form and began playing worse and worse at LAN events. Then it lost Stewie2K and tarik. Both of them got transferred to MIBR. Their departure left a huge hole in Cloud9’s playstyle, as much of the team’s firepower had previously come from these two players.

The replacements, STYKO and Golden, struggled to meet expectations and although they improved the team’s performance to some degree, have not been able to bring it back to its peak. Quite recently, because of Fnatic’s underperformance at the last few LANs, the organization decided to transfer flusha, one of its veterans, to Cloud9. Subsequently, C9 sent STYKO back to mousesports, after a rather short period that saw him try and fail to improve his level of play within the roster.

It is still unclear just how good this new version of Cloud9 can be and it remains to be seen what the roster can do against the other competitors at BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018. In some sense, the result can be anticipated. Just look at what Fnatic did these days at ESL One: New York 2018 after going through its roster change to replace flusha. Although it brought in a very good player (ScreaM), the team simply could not match the level of execution and efficiency displayed by the other competitors, who had a more established roster.

When teams change one of their key players right before an important event, everything related to communication, strategy, tactics and so on is weakened by a significant amount. And that’s because the new player has no idea how the team plays, what his role will be relative to the tactic being used in each round and so on. So inevitably, the team’s cohesion will suffer and opponents will be able to exploit that right away. At this level of competition, a team like MIBR or NiP will eat you alive if you don’t know what you’re doing.

MIBR

After bringing in Stewie2K, tarik and later on YNk as a coach, MIBR started to play like its former self again, gradually regaining some of its previous prowess. The team’s successes at ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 (1st place) and FACEIT Major: London 2018 (3rd – 4th place) clearly showed that things are moving in the right direction for the Brazilians.

Looking at the level of opposition they will face going into BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018, I think it’s time for FalleN and his squad to reach another Grand Final. They will almost certainly lose it, because they’ll most likely face Astralis. But it would still be a great achievement and a confidence booster for everyone in the team.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

NiP has gradually brought itself back into the game so to speak, after a fairly long period of disappointments. And I’m not just talking about high-level disappointments or not getting top placements at tier 1 events. I’m talking about not being able to even qualify for them. GeT_RiGhT’s recent reaction after finally earning a spot at a Major (prior to the FACEIT Major) showed just how much of a relief it was for him to get back to winning, or at least have the chance to.

Ninjas in Pyjamas did not qualify for the third and final stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018. But, in spite of that disappointment, the team has arguably come a long way in recent months and is definitely a top contender at this event, along with MIBR and Astralis. Going into BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018, I expect NiP to finish either 2nd or 3rd.

Space Soldiers

Space Soldiers are now in a position to prove themselves and show everyone that their recent last place finish at FACEIT Major: London 2018 was a fluke. To some degree, people already suspect that simply because the team had to play with its coach after ngiN couldn’t make it to the event.

With its core player back, Space Soldiers is playing at full strength and could possibly score more points than people expect at this tournament. Keep in mind that BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 takes place in Turkey and Space Soldiers is a Turkish team. So the crowd will definitely be on their side. And we’ve all seen what that can lead to back in January, when Cloud9 won a Major in front of its home crowd, even though there were many other teams who were arguably much stronger than them at that event.

Virtus.pro

Virtus.pro is by far the weakest team at BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018. Its performance this year has been quite bad, which led to multiple roster changes after years of having the same 5 man lineup.

Given the circumstances, VP should not even be here. However, the withdrawal of several teams due to scheduling problems forced the organizers to quickly find replacements and invite some teams whose players have achieved some level of fame, in order to attract a larger crowd.

At the recent FACEIT Major: London 2018, VP was eliminated right away, finishing 23rd – 24th. The only reason for that was their poor performance. At this event, I expect Virtus.pro to get a similar result and finish either 5th or 6th.

Top betting predictions

MIBR vs. Cloud9

This should be a one-sided affair, as Stwie2K and tarik probably know so much about their former team that they will know exactly what to do to triumph over it. Apart from that, Cloud9’s recent roster change and MIBR’s recent improvements create a huge skill difference between these two sides. So I simply cannot see Cloud9 standing a chance here.

Betway puts the odds at 1.25 – 3.55, regarding the match as being heavily MIBR favored. And this assessment is 100% correct.

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 prediction: MIBR to win.

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Space Soldiers vs. Astralis

This is almost guaranteed to be a one-sided affair, simply because Astralis is too strong even for the strongest CS:GO teams in the world, let alone the weaker ones.

Betway puts the odds at 4.75 – 1.15 in favor of Astralis, assessing that almost nothing can happen to prevent the Danes from winning this match.

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 prediction: Astralis to win.

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Space Soldiers vs. MIBR

This could turn out to be a fairly balanced match, but MIBR should absolutely triumph in the end. The team has grown a lot under YNk’s command and the day when this former CS:GO giant is back to its former strength is drawing near.

Betway puts the odds at 3.20 – 1.30 in favor of MIBR, giving Space Soldiers a lot of respect. This is understandable but we’re still more than 90% likely to see the Brazilians win this match.

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 prediction: MIBR to win.

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Space Soldiers vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

This match constitutes another excellent CS:GO betting opportunity because NiP is in great shape and Space Soldiers is given a lot of credit simply because it’s playing with its complete roster again. Based on what we’ve seen recently, NiP is a significantly stronger team and should win this match by at least 3 rounds.

Betway puts the odds at 2.75 – 1.40 in favor of NiP, assessing that the Swedes the favorites by a large margin.

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 prediction: NiP to win.

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MIBR vs. Virtus.pro

This will most likely be a massacre. I will be very surprised if VP manages to win more than 9 rounds against this MIBR lineup. The contrast between these two teams couldn’t be greater. MIBR is constantly improving while Virtus.pro is gradually disintegrating. The skill difference at this point is absolutely huge.

Betway puts the odds at 1.20 – 4.00, giving Virtus.pro a lot of undeserved respect and granting you the opportunity to make some easy money by betting against them.

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 prediction: MIBR to win.

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Virtus.pro vs. Astralis

This is arguably the best betting opportunity on this list and the easiest way to get a decent return for a match that’s almost guaranteed to end with a victory for Astralis. The chance of an upset in this case is below 2%.

BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 prediction: Astralis to win.

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ESL One: New York 2018 is a premier CS:GO tournament attended by 8 of the world’s best teams and having a substantial prize pool of $250.000. The event is scheduled to take place between September 26th – 30th and provides plenty of CS:GO betting opportunities.

ESL One: New York 2018 participants and format

ESL One: New York 2018 brings together 8 strong teams from Europe, CIS and North America. These teams will be divided into 2 groups of 4.

Group A: Natus Vincere, mousesports, Fnatic, Gambit Esports.

Group B: FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, NRG Esports, G2 Esports.

Both of these groups will be played in a double-elimination bracket format (GSL). All matches will be Bo3. The top 2 teams from each group advance to the Semifinals.

ESL One: New York 2018 betting predictions

Natus Vincere vs. Gambit Esports

Na’Vi is one of the world’s strongest teams and the vice-champion of the recent FACEIT Major: London 2018. In the last 4-5 months, Na’Vi had a very dominating performance, achieving top placements at almost every event it attended. Examples include: 3rd – 4th place at ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, 1st place at StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 5, 1st place at CS:GO Asia Championships 2018, 1st place at ESL One: Cologne 2018, 3rd – 4th place at ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 and 2nd place at FACEIT Major: London 2018.

No doubt, with all of these achievements and one of the strongest duos in CS:GO at the moment (s1mple + electronic), Na’Vi goes into ESL One: New York 2018 as one of the main contenders to claim the title. Their only real opponents are Team Liquid and FaZe Clan.

On the other side, Gambit Esports has had a long series of poor and mediocre results this year, including a 20th – 22nd place at FACEIT Major: London 2018, a 13th – 16th place at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 and a 13th – 16th place at ESL One: Cologne 2018. On top of this, Hobbit has been transfer-listed, so the team is sure to go through a great deal of internal turmoil.
The contrast between these two teams couldn’t be greater. And given that this is a Bo3, not a Bo1, Na’Vi’s chances of winning are very close to 100%.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.10 – 5.75 in favor of Na’Vi, regarding the whole dispute as a guaranteed way to make money by betting on the favorite. And they’re right.

ESL One: New York 2018 betting prediction: Natus Vincere to win.

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Fnatic vs. mousesports

Prior to ESL One: New York 2018, Fnatic went through a pretty long underperformance tunnel at the end of which there wasn’t exactly light, but a roster change. Flusha, one of the long standing members of Fnatic, was transferred to Cloud9. His temporary stand-in however is a very famous player known as ScreaM. This guy is an absolute beast when it comes to headshots and accuracy, but we’ve yet to see if the current version of Fnatic has the leadership it takes to place high in important events.

mousesports is in a similar spot as Fnatic, but its roster is way more stable. Personally, I still regard STYKO’s transfer to Cloud9 and his replacement with Snax as a big mistake which has had a big impact on the team. However, mousesports’ performance over the last several months was decent, although it fluctuated quite a bit: 3rd – 4th place at StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 5, 2nd place at ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018, 9th – 12th place at ESL One: Cologne 2018, 3rd – 4th place at ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018, 3rd – 4th place at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 and 15th – 16th place at FACEIT Major: London 2018.

Going into this match, mousesports is clearly the favorite, as Fnatic is in disarray at the moment. Only a monstrous performance by ScreaM or someone else on the team could save it from certain defeat in this match.

Betway puts the odds at 2.55 – 1.45 in favor of mousesports, giving Fnatic a lot of credit for virtually nothing to speak of except the addition of a potentially strong fragger. But even this addition came at the cost of the team’s short-term cohesion. And against a team like mousesports, that lack of fluency and coordination will most likely prove lethal.

ESL One: New York 2018 betting prediction: mousesports to win.

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FaZe Clan vs. G2 Esports

In spite of its average results in recent months, FaZe Clan is much stronger than it seems, especially in a tournament like ESL One: New York 2018. That’s because it has a world-class roster that’s very hard to beat, and its losses at recent events came against formidable opponents such as Astralis.

FaZe Clan placed 3rd – 4th at ESL One: Cologne 2018, 5th – 8th at ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018, 5th – 8th at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 and 5th – 8th at FACEIT Major: London 2018. Against top teams, FaZe Clan is likely to struggle. But against weaker opponents such as G2 Esports, it is almost certain to succeed. Niko and his squad may not be at the top of their game right now, but they’re still a top 5 team for sure.

On the other side, G2 Esports hadn’t been seen prior to FACEIT Major: London 2018 for a long time. Then they participated in this tournament and failed to qualify for its Playoffs Stage, going 2 W – 3 L in the New Legends Stage. In particular, the last of those 3 losses came against FaZe Clan (score 0 – 2). That loss, combined with the team’s overall roster and playstyle issues make it an easy target for FaZe in this match.

Betway puts the odds at 1.15 – 4.75 in favor of FaZe Clan, assessing that in a Bo3, G2 Esports has almost no chance of winning against a CS:GO powerhouse such as FaZe.

ESL One: New York 2018 betting prediction: FaZe Clan to win.

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Team Liquid vs. NRG Esports

Arguably, Team Liquid has never looked stronger. And the only reason why it doesn’t win big tournaments is Astralis. Liquid lost no less than 3 Grand Finals and a Semifinal against this Nemesis in the past 5 months, which must feel really bad for TACO and his squad. But apart from this team and possibly Na’Vi, I don’t see anyone being able to beat Team Liquid in its current form. The great news for Liquid is that Astralis is not present at this event, so Na’Vi will be the only real opponent on the path to the title.

On the other side, we have NRG Esports, a very strong North American team that unfortunately did not participate in the recent FACEIT Major. However, we do have a general idea of how strong it is, because it won a fairly important event in the last 2 months, namely IEM XIII Shanghai.

Over the course of this season, Team Liquid and NRG Esports have won and lost against each other quite often, proving that either could win when a direct match takes place. However, Liquid’s massive improvement that has taken place in recent months definitely makes it the favorite in this confrontation.

Betway puts the odds at 1.25 – 3.55 in favor of Team Liquid, giving NRG Esports a lot of credit simply because of its past results against this CS:GO giant. We’ll have to see what happens this time, at ESL One: New York 2018, but I do believe that Liquid will prevail in its current form.

ESL One: New York 2018 betting prediction: Team Liquid to win.

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The FACEIT Major: London 2018 is about to enter its 3rd and final stage: the New Champions Stage. Only 8 of the initial 24 teams are left in the tournament and they will be competing for a total prize pool of almost 1 million dollars.

As the name implies, the New Champions Stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018 is scheduled to take place in London, England between September 20 – 23. Of course, it goes without saying that the CS:GO betting opportunities offered by this event are exceptional, particularly because we have several underdogs that have made it this far and are now competing against the world’s best.

Participants and event format

The New Champions Stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018 brings together 8
teams:

• compLexity Gaming
• MIBR
• BIG
• Natus Vincere
• Team Liquid
• HellRaisers
• Astralis
• FaZe Clan

This stage of the event will be played in a single-elimination bracket format made up of 4 Quarterfinals, 2 Semifinals and 1 Grand Final. Except for the final match, every other series is a Bo3.

Given the bracket configuration, the most likely candidates for the Grand Final are Natus Vincere and Team Liquid, although Liquid will have to beat Astralis to get there.

Prize pool distribution

The New Champions Stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018 offers a prize pool of $860.000. The amount will be distributed among participants in the following way:

• 1st place: $500K
• 2nd place: $150K
• 3rd – 4th place: $70K
• 5th – 8th place: $35K

Betting predictions

These are the 4 matches that will be played in the Quarterfinals of the FACEIT Major: London 2018 New Champions Stage.

BIG vs. Natus Vincere

BIG has had a big tournament so far and has come a long way as a result. The 4 Germans and their English teammate (smooya) proved their critics wrong and are now looking for a miracle in this match, because it’s going to be very very difficult. Electronic and s1mple are playing out of their minds right now. The Ukrainian duo will be very hard to stop unless one of the two Na’Vi monsters has a bad day. BIG will have to go big or go home because its opponent in this match is at least one tier above its current level, even with smooya playing the best CS of his career.

Natus Vincere came into the FACEIT Major: London 2018 after a poor performance at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018, where it finished 5th – 8th after a surprising defeat against North, who would go on to win the whole event. But apart from that, Na’Vi has been owning for the past 4 months: 3 tournament titles and 2 other 3rd – 4th place results.

During the New Legends Stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018, Na’Vi lost to Astralis but then went on to beat FaZe Clan, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic, clearly proving that it’s still a top 3 team in CS:GO right now.

CompLexity Gaming vs. MIBR

CompLexity Gaming is one of the tournament’s dark horses. The team came out of nowhere and made it all the way to the New Champions Stage in arguably the most stacked CS:GO event of the year. Prior to the FACEIT Major: London 2018, compLexity had not had a single relevan result except for the one that brought it here in the first place: a championship title at the Americas Minor Championship – London 2018.

During the first two stages of the FACEIT Major: London 2018, compLexity showed a lot of skill, going 3 W – 1 L in the New Challengers Stage and then 3 W – 0 L in the New Legends Stage. Overall, it defeated Space Soldiers, BIG (twice), Vega Squadron, Fnatic and G2 Esports. Its only loss came against Astralis, the strongest team in the world.

On the other side, MIBR came into this tournament after a promising 1st place finish at ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018. The latest player transfers (Stewie2K and tarik from Cloud9) plus the addition of YNk to the team as a coach have finally started to produce some positive results for this former CS:GO giant.

During the New Legends Stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018, MIBR had a rough time, losing to TyLoo and Astralis but managing to qualify by defeating mousesports, G2 Esports and Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.55 – 1.45 in favor of MIBR, assessing that experience plus sheer individual skill will most likely prevail over the hunger to succeed for the first time ever at a Major event.

Team Liquid vs. HellRaisers

Team Liquid has had a very good performance over the last 4 months, playing in no less than 3 Grand Finals of big events. All of them were lost against the same team, Astralis. But now, at the FACEIT Major: London 2018, Team Liquid managed to beat even this unbeatable opponent during the New Legends Stage, proving that it’s likely a top 3 team at the moment.

On the other side, we have a much weaker competitor with almost no results to speak of at tier 1 CS:GO tournaments. HellRaisers came to this event without too many hopes for a top 8 finish but has somehow pulled through, in part because of the lucky draws.

During the first two stages of the tournament, HellRaisers won 6 times and lost 3. Among these 3 losses was the one against Team Liquid from the New Challengers Stage. And it wasn’t even close. A clear 16 – 9 in Liquid’s favor pretty much showed the significant skill difference between these two teams.

Astralis vs. FaZe Clan

Astralis is the strongest team in CS:GO and has been for many months. Almost nobody can stand in its way, so I don’t see how this version of FaZe Clan could possibly produce an upset here. Astralis went 6 W – 2 L during the first two stages of the FACEIT Major: London 2018, losing to NiP and Team Liquid. Keep in mind however that those matches were Bo1 and both of them were incredibly close, going into overtime.

On the other side, FaZe Clan struggled to make it this far and only barely managed to do that. The team went 0 – 2 in the New Legends Stage before winning 3 matches in a row. Its defeats against BIG and Natus Vincere clearly emphasized a lot of weaknesses in its play style and I fully expect Astralis to exploit them to perfection in this match.

The FACEIT Major: London 2018 is about to enter its New Legends Stage. The 16 teams taking part in it are the best in the world and the matches they will play are full of CS:GO betting opportunities. I this article takes we will take a look at who these teams are, what they’ve done so far at this event and what is likely to happen in the matches ahead.

Participants

The 16 teams taking part in the FACEIT Major: London 2018 New Legends Stage are the following:

• Cloud9
• FaZe Clan
• Natus Vincere
• MIBR
• mousesports
• Winstrike Team
• G2 Esports
• Fnatic
• Team Liquid
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• HellRaisers
• compLexity Gaming
• Astralis
• TyLoo
• BIG
• Vega Squadron

Event format

The New Legends Stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018 will be played in a Swiss System Format that consists of 5 competitive days. On each day, every team plays one Bo1 match against a team with an identical record of wins and losses within this stage. The matches on day 5 are Bo3 series. When a team gets to 3 losses, it is eliminated. When it gets to 3 victories, it qualifies for the next stage. In the end, 8 of the 16 participants will qualify for the 3rd and final stage of the tournament.

Top betting predictions

G2 Esports vs. HellRaisers

It’s been two months since we last saw G2 Esports at an important CS:GO event. The French team has had a long period of absence from the professional scene and has gone through multiple roster changes. Still, in spite of all this, G2 is one of the world’s best and will likely perform well during the New Legends Stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018, just as it did in previous in previous CS:GO Majors.

On the other side we have HellRaisers, a team that finished the first stage of this event with a record of 3 wins and 1 loss. Overall, HellRaisers is a fairly strong team but certainly not at G2’s level. Its victories over North, Gambit and OpTic Gaming are no doubt a testament to its skill, but let’s not forget the team’s defeat against a stronger opponent, namely Team Liquid.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.90 – 1.80 in favor of HellRaisers, regarding the underdog as the real favorite simply because of its good form in recent matches. However, it’s very unlikely that G2 will lose to it given the much higher skill level of its individual players and the long training period they’ve gone through prior to this tournament.

Betting prediction: G2 Esports to win.

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Winstrike vs. Team Liquid

Winstrike is actually the former QBF roster but shouldn’t be here simply because it’s not even a tier 2 team. The only reason why Winstrike was granted a top 16 spot at this Major was because QBF got a top 8 finish at the previous one, namely ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018.

Team Liquid is in great shape and proved its excellent form in the first stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018. TACO and his squad won 3 consecutive matches with an overall round score of 51 W – 30 L and got a very easy qualification to the New Legends Stage of the event. Overall, Liquid is much stronger than Winstrike and should easily win this dispute.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 5.25 – 1.12 in Team Liquid’s favor regarding the result as being almost predetermined. And that assessment is absolutely correct.

Betting prediction: Team Liquid to win.

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FaZe Clan vs. BIG

FaZe Clan should be back to its full strength by now as the roster has had plenty of time to relearn how to play with olofmeister. And given the team’s results in 2018, this match should be a walk in the park for this CS:GO powerhouse. BIG is nowhere near its level and struggled to advance to this stage with a 3 W – 2 L record in the previous one.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.40 – 2.75 in favor of FaZe Clan, which is incredibly generous given the circumstances.

Betting prediction: FaZe Clan to win.

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MIBR vs. TyLoo

Since its latest roster changes, MIBR has shown great signs of improvement, winning one tournament (ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018) and getting a 5th – 8th place result at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. YNk is obviously doing an excellent job as the team’s coach, which is why many people have very high expectations from MIBR at the FACEIT Major: London 2018.

On the other side, we have TyLoo, an Asian team with a lot of potential but certainly not enough experience to beat the likes of MIBR. In the previous stage of this tournament, TyLoo barely managed to qualify with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.35 – 2.95 in favor of MIBR, assessing that the match will almost surely be won by the Brazilian team.

Betting prediction: MIBR to win.

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After a week full of spectacularly long CS:GO matches, the New Challengers Stage of the FACEIT Major: London 2018 is ending today. But before comes to an end there are still a few more matches to be played and a few more CS:GO betting opportunities to be grabbed.

Current standings

These are the results after the first 4 days of the FACEIT Major: London 2018.

Qualified teams: Team Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis, compLexity Gaming, HellRaisers.

Eliminated teams: Gambit Esports, Rogue, Renegades, Space Soldiers, Virtus.pro.

Still in the run: BIG, North, TyLoo, Team Spirit, Vega Squadron, OpTic Gaming.

Day 5 betting predictions

Team Spirit vs. TyLoo

In its first 4 matches at FACEIT Major: London 2018, Team Spirit lost against Vega Squadron (14 – 16) and Astralis (3 – 16) and won versus North (16 – 13) and Rogue (16 – 4). On the other side, TyLoo managed to beat Gambit Esports (19 – 17) and Renegades (16 – 10) but lost against Ninjas in Pyjamas (12 – 16) and OpTic Gaming (26 – 28).

Overall, TyLoo’s performances have been much more convincing and consistent, which is why the team is regarded as the favorite in this dispute. Keep in mind that this match and all the others on day 5 will be played in a Bo3 format instead of the usual Bo1.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.30 – 1.55 in favor of TyLoo and its assessment of the situation seems to be correct. The greatest betting opportunity regarding this match has to do with the winning margins. In particular, a bet on TyLoo winning the first map with a 2-5 rounds margin would give you great returns (2.40) and is a fairly safe choice considering the fact that TyLoo is the stronger team but Spirit is good enough to win a lot of rounds and maybe even force overtime.

Betting prediction: TyLoo to win.

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OpTic Gaming vs. BIG

OpTic Gaming began its run at FACEIT Major: London 2018 with a loss against Team Liquid (4 – 16) followed by two victories against Virtus.pro (16 – 13) and TyLoo (28 – 26) and then another loss against HellRaisers (23 – 25). On the other side, BIG started well with a victory against Renegades (16 – 6) but then lost against Vega Squadron (16 – 19) and compLexity Gaming (12 – 16). In its 4th match, BIG defeated Gambit (16 – 8) and is fighting for its tournament life in this Bo3 against a fairly strong opponent.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.05 – 1.70 in favor of BIG, regarding it as the better side in light of its past results at important CS:GO events. This will likely be a close match but considering BIG’s upward trend and its decisive victory in its last match against Gambit, the German team is indeed slightly favored to win this dispute.

Again, just like for the previous match, the special bets worth considering are those that deal with winning margins and the total number of rounds to be played on each map. In both cases, keep in mind that these two teams are quite close to each other in terms of strength and will likely go the distance on every map. So bets on over 26.5 rounds and victories with a 2-5 rounds margin are fairly safe and yield decent returns between 2.00 and 3.00.

Betting prediction: BIG to win.

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Vega Squadron vs. North

Vega Squadron had an amazing start at FACEIT Major: London 2018, winning against Team Spirit (16 – 14) and BIG (19 – 16). But then the CIS team lost against Liquid (17 – 19) and compLexity Gaming (15 – 19) and is now forced to play a deciding Bo3 match against the DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 champions.

North went into this tournament as one of the top contenders, having just won a big event by defeating some of the biggest teams in CS:GO. However, its performances have been abysmal and the team is lucky to still have a chance to qualify for the next stage.

In theory, North is a much better team than Vega Squadron. But its results at this event showed a lot of weaknesses and major flaws in its play style. Subsequently, I view this dispute as a perfect opportunity to bet on the underdog.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 4.00 – 1.20 in favor of North, giving it a lot of undue credit in my opinion. Compared to Vega Squadron, the team has actually looked much weaker throughout the event.

Among the special bets offered by Betway for this match, a bet on Vega Squadron to win the first map with a 2-5 rounds margin is definitely worthwhile.

Betting prediction: Vega Squadron to win.

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FACEIT Major: London 2018 is one of the most important tournaments in CS:GO this year. With 24 participating teams and 1 million dollars in prizes, the event provides a tremendous amount of CS:GO betting opportunities.

The first stage of FACEIT Major: London 2018, called the New Challengers Stage, is already underway and is about to enter day 3. This article analyzes the 16 participants taking part in this stage, what they’ve done so far and what is likely to happen next, in the upcoming clashes.

Current standings

These are the results after the first two days of FACEIT Major: London 2018 New Challengers Stage:

Team Liquid – 2 W – 0 L

Ninjas in Pyjamas – 2 W – 0 L

Astralis – 2 W – 0 L

Vega Squadron – 2 W – 0 L

BIG – 1 W – 1 L

Gambit Esports – 1 W – 1 L

Rogue – 1 W – 1 L

Team Spirit – 1 W – 1 L

TyLoo – 1 W – 1 L

HellRaisers – 1 W – 1 L

compLexity Gaming – 1 W – 1 L

OpTic Gaming – 1 W – 1 L

North – 0 W – 2 L

Space Soldiers – 0 W – 2 L

Virtus.pro – 0 W – 2 L

Renegades – 0 W – 2 L

Day 3 betting predictions

Team Liquid vs. Vega Squadron

In its first two matches, Team Liquid defeated OpTic Gaming (16 – 4) and HellRaisers (16 – 9). On the other side, Vega Squadron won against Team Spirit (16 – 14) and BIG (19 – 16). Overall, Team Liquid’s results in recent months have been much better than Vega’s, and its roster is way stronger at every level.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.15 – 4.75 in favor of Team Liquid, simply because the skill difference between them and Vega is absolutely enormous at this point. It would take an absolute miracle for the CIS squad to upset Liquid in this Bo1.

Betting prediction: Team Liquid to win.

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Astralis vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Astralis is by far the strongest and most consistent team in CS:GO at the moment and has been for the past 6 months. So far at FACEIT Major: London 2018, Astralis defeated compLexity Gaming (16 – 4) and Rogue (16 – 13). On the other hand, Ninjas in Pyjamas is a top 8 team but with very few notable results in 2018. Its opponents in the first two matches at this event were Virtus.pro (16 – 5) and TyLoo (16 – 12). Overall, Astralis is much stronger and should win this Bo1 with ease.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.35 – 2.95 in favor of Astralis. This encounter constitutes a great betting opportunity due to the fact that Astralis has already crushed NiP multiple times in direct confrontations this year, proving to be one class above the Swedes. Astralis’ chance of success in this match is more than 90%.

Betting prediction: Astralis to win.

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compLexity Gaming vs. BIG

So far, BIG has underperformed at FACEIT Major: London 2018 but will likely make a comeback in this next dispute against a fairly weak opponent.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.40 – 1.50 in favor of BIG, which is understandable given BIG’s results in recent months.

Betting prediction: BIG to win.

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Team Spirit vs. Rogue

Arguably, both teams have performed reasonably well in their first 2 matches of the tournament, going 1 W – 1 L. In particular, Team Spirit should have won its match against Vega Squadron, but lost it barely. On the other side, Rogue came close to producing a huge upset in its match against Astralis. Overall, I strongly favor Rogue to win here.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.20 – 1.60 in favor of Rogue and based on what we’ve seen so far from both of these teams, this assessment is definitely correct.

Betting prediction: Rogue to win.

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Gambit vs. HellRaisers

Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.40 – 1.50 in favor of HellRaisers, but the situation is actually upside down. Gambit is quite clearly on an upward trend and is more than likely to beat HellRaisers in this match.

Betting prediction: Gambit to win.

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TyLoo vs. OpTic Gaming

Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.10 – 1.65 in favor of OpTic Gaming. This is another strange assessment, as TyLoo has proved to be a very strong team in recent months.

Betting prediction: TyLoo to win.

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Renegades vs. Space Soldiers

Both teams have been a complete mess so far at FACEIT Major: London 2018, losing their first two matches. Renegades is completely out of shape at this point, while Space Soldiers is playing with a substitute.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.30 – 3.20 in favor of Renegades for the following reason: Space Soldiers are playing with the coach as their 5th man and are a much weaker team as a result. However, given everything we’ve seen so far, they still have a good chance of winning against this weak Renegades squad. I would put the real odds at 50-50 so considering Betway’s odds, you’d be much better off betting on the underdog here.

Betting prediction: Space Soldiers to win.

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North vs. Virtus.pro

North came into this event as one of the strongest CS:GO teams in the world, having bested Astralis in 2 consecutive Bo3 matches at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. But then disaster struck twice and they lost against two considerably weaker opponents. On the other side, Virtus.pro has been a mess this entire year and its results so far at FACEIT Major: London 2018 speak for themselves.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.30 – 3.20 in favor of North, regarding VP as a complete outsider to the world of big CS at this point. But while it is true that Virtus.pro has been struggling for many months now, North has had a terrible performance itself at this event. Which is quite surprising, given that it recently won DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. North is definitely the favorite here, but you should be a bit careful here and bet a smaller amount.

Betting prediction: North to win.

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DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 is entering its Main Event and only 8 of the initial 16 teams are left in the tournament. Over the next two days, they will be fighting for a chance to be crowned champions of this prestigious event, as well as a share of the $250,000 prize pool.

Participants and event format

The Main Event of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 will be played in a single elimination bracket format consisting of Quarterfinals, Semifinals and a Grand Final. Every match will be a Bo3 series.

The 8 teams competing in the Playoffs of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 are the following: Ninjas in Pyjamas, Heroic, MIBR, Astralis, FaZe Clan, mousesports, North, and Natus Vincere.

Betting predictions

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Heroic

NiP’s performance over the last 3 months has been fairly poor for the team’s caliber and goals. The only notable results were the following: 5 – 8th at StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 5, 5 – 6th at CS:GO Asia Championships 2018, 13 – 16th at ESL One: Cologne 2018 and 1st at Europe Minor Championship – London 2018.

Arguably, NiP has been steadily improving over the last few months and its performance during the Group Stage of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 was decent. The team won against NRG Esports (16 – 13) and Ghost Gaming (2 – 1), finishing 1st in Group B. But these results came against opponents who are definitely weaker than Heroic at this point.

Heroic has made massive improvements since April, when friberg joined the squad. During the Group Stage of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018, the team lost against FaZe Clan (16 – 19) but then defeated Fnatic (2 – 1) and OpTic Gaming (2 – 0).

Right now, Heroic looks perfectly capable of going head to head with most of the world’s top teams and is definitely capable of beating NiP in this match. The chance of an upset is so high that given the odds, you’d be wise to bet a smaller amount on the underdog here.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.55 – 2.30 in favor of NiP, regarding the Swedes as clear favorites to win it. But that’s not exactly true. There’s at least a 50% chance that Heroic will beat NiP in this encounter and at these odds, a bet on friberg’s team is probably the wiser choice.

Betting prediction: Heroic to win.

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MIBR vs. Astralis

After multiple roster changes, MIBR seems to be back on track and has performed very well over the last few weeks, winning ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 as well as its group at this event. Clearly, Stewie2K and tarik have been successfully integrated into the roster and YNk’s vast CS:GO knowledge and analytical prowess has helped the team tremendously.

Unfortunately for MIBR, its opponent in this match is arguably the strongest CS:GO team in the world. Astralis has dominated the pro scene this year, winning no less than 4 premier tournaments. And while it’s true that it lost to North in the Group Stage of this event, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Astralis is still one class above the other participants at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.40 – 1.50 in favor of Astralis, and rightly so. It would take an absolute miracle for MIBR to win this match. Maybe YNk can prepare a perfect strategy for Fallen and his squad, but they’re still more than likely to fall against Astralis’ prowess.

Betting prediction: Astralis to win.

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FaZe Clan vs. mousesports

Although it lost its latest match against mousesports, FaZe Clan seems to have improved quite a bit over the past month, achieving complete fluency with olofmeister as its 5th man. It is still unclear why he had to leave for so many months, but not that he’s here to stay the team will no doubt play better and better as times goes by.

At DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018, FaZe Clan won Group C with ease, although its opponents weren’t exactly top tier. So we’ve yet to see what the team can do against a proper adversary.
Mousesports lost to MIBR (0 – 2) in Group D, but completely destroyed Gambit and HellRaisers. The roster is still highly unpredictable and quite inconsistent in its current form, so very little can be said about its chances against FaZe Clan in this match. But based on what we’ve seen so far, FaZe should emerge victorious if it plays its usual game.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.32 – 3.10 in favor of FaZe Clan, anticipating an easy win for karrigan and his teammates. I definitely don’t agree with this totally one-sided assessment, but I do believe that FaZe Clan will win in the end.

Betting prediction: FaZe Clan to win.

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North vs. Natus Vincere

This match is the perfect CS:GO betting opportunity, simply because one of the teams is overrated at this point while the other is underrated. Na’Vi has been struggling lately, in spite of its multiple tournament victories over the last few months. S1mple’s god tier performances are not as good as they were just a short while ago. And without him going insane match after match, Na’Vi is a much weaker team than people might think.

In the Group Stage of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018, Na’Vi finished 2nd in Group B, losing its first match against Ghost Gaming but then defeating NRG Esports and Ghost in the rematch (2 – 1 both times).

On the other side, North finished 1st in Group A, defeating TyLoo and Astralis. The first of these victories was expected but the second one really shocked everyone and sent a clear message that North is now a formidable opponent for anyone.

Going into this match, I honestly expect North to win. Na’Vi just doesn’t look like its former self and North is playing better than ever.

Betway puts the odds at 2.20 – 1.60 in favor of Natus Vincere, but every indicator points towards a victory in North’s favor.

Betting prediction: North to win.

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ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 is entering its Playoffs Stage today and only 4 of the initial 8 teams are left in the competition. They will be fighting for a share of the remaining $860,000 prize pool and the chance to be crowned champions of one of the most prestigious CS:GO events of the year.

Betting predictions

Astralis vs. mousesports

Although it lost against Na’Vi in the Semifinals of the most recent premier CS:GO tournament, ESL One: Cologone 2018, Astralis is still the best team in the world. In the last 6 months, Astralis gathered an impressive collection of top results: 3rd – 4th place at Intel Extreme Masters XII World Championship, 3rd – 4th place at ESL One: Cologne 2018, 2nd place at Intel Extreme Masters XIII Sydney, 1st place at Esports Championship Series Season 5 Finals, 1st place at ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals and 1st place at DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018.

Very few teams in CS:GO have managed to achieve so much in such a short period of time. The Danish organization is clearly at the top of its game right now, having won 29 out of its last 31 maps. In the Group Stage of this event, Astralis easily won against Cloud9 and Team Liquid, finishing 1st in group A.

All things considered, Astralis is expected to reach the Grand Final of ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 and most likely win it, regardless of the opponent.

On the other side, mousesports went into this tournament facing a lot of question marks and uncertainty. The team’s recent roster change (STYKO was replaced by Snax) had already led to a huge failure at the previous CS:GO event (ESL One: Cologne 2018), where mousesports finished 9th – 12th. But, fortunately for mousesports’ fans, the team appears to be back to business, although weaknesses and flaws still exist in its system of play.

In the Group Stage of ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018, mousesports won against FaZe Clan (2 – 1) and Fnatic (2 – 1) and was defeated by Natus Vincere (1 – 2). All three matches were massive roller coasters and could have gone either way.

Needless to say, going into this match Astralis is the clear favorite, simply because it has a much more stable playstyle and roster. And while it’s definitely possible for mousesports to take a map before going down, it will almost certainly go down in the end. There is simply too much firepower on the side of Astralis for it to lose this match.
Betway puts the odds as you would expect, at 1.25 – 3.55 in favor of Astralis, and this assessment is absolutely correct.

Betting prediction: Astralis to win.

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Natus Vincere vs. Team Liquid

Na’Vi is absolutely owning right now. The team won 3 different tournaments in the last 2 months (CS:GO Asia Championships 2018, ESL One: Cologne 2018 and StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 5) and looks to be set for another Grand Final against Astralis.

The reason why Na’Vi has experienced such a massive improvement in its tournament results in recent months is simple. Just kidding, s1mple was already performing out of his mind, carrying his teammates match after match. The real reason why Na’Vi went from good to great was that the entire team stepped up its game and started to play more as a unit. The heavy lifting is still being done by s1mple and electronic in most cases, but you can definitely feel a huge impact from the others as well. Even Zeus gets 20-30 kills per map every now and then. It’s insane!

In the Group Stage of ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 Na’Vi won group B, defeating Fnatic (2 – 1) and mousesports (2 – 1) in the process and managing to avoid a confrontation with Astralis in the Semifinals.

On the other side, Team Liquid seems eager to win its second tournament this year and its first in this new roster formula. Make no mistake, this is a team with a lot of potential that has had some exceptional results in recent months. It finished 3rd at StarLadder & i-League StarSeries Season 4, 2nd at ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, 2nd at Esports Championship Series Season 5 Finals, 3rd – 4th at Intel Extreme Masters XII World Championship and 3rd -4th at ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018.

The acquisition of NAF and TACO has clearly proved to be a smart decision, as both of them have had massive contributions to the team’s success. However, what Team Liquid still lacks is consistency. Right now, they seem perfectly capable to both win and lose a match, even if the opponent is very strong or very week. This makes them a risky bet overall, but against formidable opponents like Na’Vi you can definitely bet against them and know almost for a fact that they will lose. In the last few weeks, Team Liquid showed big signs of weakness finishing 13th – 16th at ESL One: Cologne 2018.

In the Group Stage of ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018, Team Liquid lost to Astralis (0 – 2) but bested MIBR twice (2 – 0 both times).

Overall, this match heavily swings in Na’Vi’s favor and it’s really hard to see how Team Liquid could upset s1mple and his seemingly unstoppable squad. However, Betway still puts the odds at 1.50 -2.40 in favor of Na’Vi, giving Liquid a lot of respect and being willing to offer you a very high return for what seems to be a done deal before the match even begins.

Betting prediction: Natus Vincere to win.

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ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 is a high-level CS:GO LAN event that brings together the top 8 teams in the world. With a massive prize pool of 1 million dollars and the strongest possible rosters in attendance, ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 is guaranteed to be a great show for every fan of the game.

ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 is scheduled to take place in Atlanta, USA between July 21^st – 29^th. During this time, the event will offer plenty of CS:GO betting opportunities.

Participants and tournament format

ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 features 8 teams which will be divided into two groups.

Group A: Astralis, Team Liquid, MIBR, Cloud9.

Group B: Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, mousesports, Fnatic.

Both of these groups will be played in a double-elimination bracket format (GSL). All matches will be Bo3. The top 2 teams from each group advance to the Playoffs, which consist of 2 Semifinals (Bo3) and a Grand Final (Bo5).

Team analysis

Astralis

In spite of losing against Na’Vi in the Semifinals of ESL One: Cologne 2018, Astralis is arguably still the best team in the world and its results in the past 6 months have been exceptional: 3^rd – 4^th place at Intel Extreme Masters XII World Championship, 1^st place at DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018, 2^nd place at Intel Extreme Masters XIII Sydney, 1^st place at Esports Championship Series Season 5 Finals, 1^st place at ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals and 3^rd – 4^th place at ESL One: Cologne 2018.

Few teams in the history of CS:GO managed to have such an impressive streak of results over a 6 months period. The Danish organization is no doubt at the peak of its powers right now, having won 25 out of its last 27 maps, and will definitely get at least a 3^rd – 4^th place finish at ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018. Unless it encounters and gets defeated again by Na’Vi, it should actually make it all the way to the Grand Final.

Cloud9

After winning ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 back in January, Cloud9 went on a steady decline, eventually losing Stewie2K a few months ago and more recently, tarik. Both players were acquired by MIBR (former SK Gaming roster), who were having problems of their own and needed to change something. At the moment, Cloud9 is playing with a former Fnatic player (Golden) and a former mousesports player (STYKO), alongside its core trio: Skadoodle, autimatic and RUSH. This roster has decent potential but is probably a long way away from where it should be in terms of cohesion and team strats.

Overall, Cloud9 has had a decent year so far, getting the following results: 1^st place at ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018, 2^nd place at WESG 2017 North American Finals, 2^nd place at cs_summit 2, 9^th – 11^th place at StarLadder & i-League StarSeries Season 4, 5^th – 6^th place at Intel Extreme Masters XII World Championship, 5^th – 8^th place at World Electronic Sports Games 2017, 5^th – 8^th place at DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018, 7^th – 8^th place at Intel Extreme Masters XIII Sydney, 9^th – 12^th place at ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, 7^th – 8^th place at Esports Championship Series Season 5 Finals and 9^th – 12^th place finish at ESL One: Cologne 2018.

Cloud9’s recent form has been poor. In its last 30 maps, C9 got around 10 victories and 20 defeats. Combine that with its recent roster changes and the fact that ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 is filled to the brim with champions and superstar teams, and you’ll have a hard time believing in Cloud9’s chances at this event.

FaZe Clan

In spite of playing with various stand-ins for the past 4 months, FaZe Clan managed to keep up its level of Counter-Strike and get a top 4 finish at almost every single event. FaZe Clan’s results this year have been impressive, as the team achieved multiple top 2 and top 4 finishes: 2^nd place at ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018, 2^nd place at Intel Extreme Masters XII World Championship, 1^st place at Intel Extreme Masters XIII Sydney, 1^st place at ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018 and 5 other 3^rd – 4^th place results.

ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 is an important moment for FaZe Clan because it marks their reunion with olofmeister, who’s just returned after a 4-month absence. Presumably, he’s still a beast and perfectly able to play at the highest level of Counter-Strike, but little is known about the personal problems that kept him away for so long. Still, until the contrary is proven, my assumption is that FaZe Clan can certainly perform with olof as well or even better than it did with Xizt and cromen. So a top 4 result should be a perfectly realistic target for the team.

Fnatic

Fnatic recently went through two roster changes, saying farewell to Lekr0 and Golden and bringing in Xizt and draken. The Swedes are a pretty strong team at the moment, but definitely not strong enough to stand much of a chance against the world’s CS:GO giants.

Fnatic’s run in 2018 has been very good. The team got numerous top 6 results in important competitions, including two championships wins: one at Intel Extreme Masters XII World Championship and one at World Electronic Sports Games 2017.

Going into ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018, Fnatic will likely be eliminated in the groups and exit the competition in 5^th – 6^th place.

Team Liquid

This is a team with a lot of potential and some very good results in recent months, but its main problem is its lack of consistency. It can lose easy matches and it can also win difficult ones. And the difference between a good day and a bad day is often caused by unknown factors.

After the acquisition of NAF and TACO earlier this year, Team Liquid went on to get some pretty spectacular results. But the team has had good performances throughout the season. It finished 1^st at cs_summit 2, 3^rd at StarLadder & i-League StarSeries Season 4, 3^rd – 4^th at Intel Extreme Masters XII World Championship, 2^nd at ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, 2^nd at Esports Championship Series Season 5 Finals and 3^rd -4^th at ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018.

In recent weeks, Team Liquid showed signs of weakness, finishing 13^th – 16^th at ESL One: Cologne 2018. The team most likely ironed out its mistakes since that event, but it will still have a rough time advancing to the Playoffs of ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018.

MIBR

MIBR (former SK Gaming) is at a crossroads again. The team recently parted ways with boltz and brought in tarik from Cloud9. Along with Stewie2K, his former Cloud9 teammate, the two could make a powerful duo once more. But nothing is certain at this point. In fact, given the high caliber of every participant at ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018, MIBR has at best a 25-30% chance of making it out of the groups.

Fallen, coldzera and fer, the team’s core trio, are all formidable players. But at this level of Counter-Strike the overall team cohesion is usually even more important than individual skill. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, such as s1mple hard carrying Na’Vi match after match. But in the vast majority of cases, superior team play wins over raw individual skill that isn’t backed up by flawless team strats and cohesion.

MIBR had barely started to be fluent with Stewie2K as their 5^th when they added tarik, another member that needs to be taught and integrated into its system of play. But what if the new cog won’t fit? It really doesn’t matter how good tarik is as a player. If communication is suffering due to the language barrier or if the player simply doesn’t suit MIBR’s way of approaching the game, it could all end up in disaster.

mousesports

Along with Cloud9, Fnatic and MIBR, mousesports is yet another team that’s sitting at a crossroads. Mousesports recently changed one of its core players (STYKO) and then made a very questionable decision by bringing in Snax from Virtus.pro. The effects of this change were immediate. Mousesports went from 2^nd place at ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018 to 9^th – 12^th place at ESL One: Cologne 2018. Without a doubt, this is one of the teams you should be betting against at ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018.

Natus Vincere

And finally, we have the mighty Na’Vi, a team that won no less than 3 tournaments in the last 7 weeks: StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 5, CS:GO Asia Championships 2018 and ESL One: Cologne 2018. Arguably, the entire roster has gone through a massive upgrade and its matches are no longer a one-man show. S1mple is still the best CS:GO player to have ever played the game, performing out of his mind in every single match. But the rest of the team is with him now, doing much of the heavy lifting.

Going into ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018, I expect at least a top 4 finish for Na’Vi. It’s only real rivals are Astralis and FaZe Clan. Everyone else should be nothing more than target practice for s1mple and his squad.

ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018  Betting predictions

Astralis vs. Cloud9

You won’t see a faster 2 – 0 than this one. Astralis is lightyears ahead of Cloud9 at this point and should absolutely dominate the North American team in this match.

Betway puts the odds at 1.10 – 5.75 in favor of Astralis, and this is absolutely free money to be made.

Betting prediction: Astralis to win.

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Team Liquid vs. MIBR

Some might argue that this will be a very balanced match, but I don’t see how MIBR could possibly win it given their current situation. Even with Liquid’s recent failure at ESL One: Cologne 2018, MIBR should still lose this match simply because it doesn’t have a complete roster at this point. Tarik is nothing more than a stand-in for now. And that’s the way it’s going to be for at least one month.

Betway puts the odds at 1.90 – 1.80 in favor of MIBR, but I think this assessment does not reflect reality at all.

Betting prediction: Team Liquid to win.

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Natus Vincere vs. Fnatic

Unless Na’Vi messes up, this match should be in the bag for them. Betway puts the odds at 1.40 – 2.75 in their favor, and I think these odds are congruent with the level of skill displayed by these two teams in recent months.

Betting prediction: Natus Vincere to win.

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FaZe Clan vs. mousesports

This is a total mismatch between a top 3 team and a team that’s a mere shadow of its former self. FaZe Clan should absolutely mop the floor with mousesports in this match, unless olofmeister is less than half the player he used to be. Under normal circumstances, this will be an easy win for FaZe.

Betway puts the odds at 1.45 – 2.55 in FaZe Clan’s favor, anticipating a fairly easy victory for this team.

Betting prediction: FaZe Clan to win.

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Europe Minor Championship London 2018 is a qualifier tournament that belongs to the upcoming FACEIT Major: London 2018. The finalists (top 2 teams) of this event will earn a spot in The New Challengers Stage of that highly anticipated event.

Europe Minor Championship London 2018 brings together 8 CS:GO teams from Europe. The tournament has a prize pool of $50,000 and is scheduled to take place between July 19^th – 22^nd in London, UK.

Team analysis

Ninjas in Pyjamas

In spite of its modest results at the highest level of CS:GO this year, NiP is still a tier 1 team and should have no problem crushing its much weaker regional rivals in this tournament. Among NiP’s notable results in premier and major events in 2018, I would mention their performances at cs_summit 2 (7^th – 8^th), Intel Extreme Masters XII World Championship (5^th – 6^th), DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018 (5^th – 8^th), Esports Championship Series Season 5 Europe (5^th), ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals (13^th – 16^th), StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 5 (5^th – 8^th), CS:GO Asia Championships 2018 (5^th – 6^th) and ESL One: Cologne 2018 (13^th – 16^th).

Overall, NiP has by far the strongest results in international events of all the participants at Europe Minor Championship London 2018 and should easily qualify for the upcoming FACEIT Major by winning this qualification event.

NiP’s main weakness is its recent roster change. Draken left the team to join Fnatic and was replaced by Lekr0, a former Fnatic player. It is not yet clear whether or not the new NiP is stronger than the previous one, but in the past 6 weeks the team has been hard at work to make its new roster function well as a unit and develop cohesion. The team’s in-game leader, dennis, is very likely to achieve this goal and help his teammates reach a level of team play that will allow NiP to cruise through this qualifier.

OpTic Gaming

OpTic Gaming hasn’t had a great year so far, taking part in just 3 important events: ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals (7^th – 8^th), DreamHack Open Austin 2018 (5^th – 6^th) and DreamHack Open Summer 2018 (2^nd). The team has some fairly strong players with a lot of experience in its roster (such as k0nfig and cajunb), but still lacks the overall cohesion and strategies that would be necessary to succeed at this level.

Going into Europe Minor Championship London 2018, OpTic Gaming is likely to get a 3^rd – 4^th place finish.

Team Kinguin

Team Kinguin is a considerably smaller and more provincial team compared to the first two on this list and has taken part in absolutely no premirer or major event in 2018, apart from this one. However, Kinguin has had a lot of practice in tier 3 – 4 tournaments this year, having participated in a dozen such events, with varying degrees of success. The team’s most notable results in 2018 have been the following: 1^st place at ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 Europe, 2^nd place at ESL Polish Championship Spring 2018, 1^st place at Puchar Polski Cybersport Season 3 and 1^st place at X-Bet.co Invitational.

Going into Europe Minor Championship London 2018, I don’t see how Kinguin could pose any problems to the likes of NiP and there are at least 3 other teams that are stronger and should finish ahead of it.

Ence eSports

Ence eSports is a team made up of little-known players with the exception of its captain, Aleski “allu” Jalli. At the recent ESL One: Cologne 2018, Ence proved to be a pretty strong competitor, finishing 7^th – 8^th and beating teams like Ninjas in Pyjamas and mousesports in the process. They even took a map off Na’Vi, the winner of the event.

Based on their recent performance, Ence eSports should definitely get a top 4 placement at this event and possibly even a ticket for the upcoming FACEIT Major, as long as they don’t encounter NiP along the way. That’s because I don’t see them winning a second match against the Swedes.

Red Reserve

This is a team of total unknowns and should be regarded as an underdog. Red Reserve has only had several notable results in 2018 and all of them were in tier 3 or 4 events. All things considered, this is one of the main candidates for the 7^th – 8^th place.

Sprout

Well, it looks like Sprout hasn’t followed the analysts’ advice from the ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018. I can still remember everyone complaining about the team’s name at that event, with Richard Lewis famously joking after the team’s elimination that you can’t spell “Sprout” without “out”. Since that surprising participation that ended with a disappointing result (19^th – 21^st) at a huge CS:GO event, Sprout has replaced several players but hasn’t had much success. Apart from its 2^nd place finish at PMU Challenge 2018 (a tier 3-4 tournament), there’s very little that can make one optimistic about Sprout’s chances at Europe Minor Championship London 2018. In all likelihood, the team will finish 5^th-6^th or worse.

LeftOut

This is a newly created French-Belgian team with a lot of former superstars in it. The team hasn’t had the chance yet to prove itself, but the caliber of its players clearly make it the dark horse of this event. ScreaM, kioShiMa, hAdji, xms and SIXER will challenge fate and attempt to get a qualification at the upcoming FACEIT Major: London 2018 by finishing 2^nd or 1^st. And while I don’t see them beating NiP at this point, they are definitely capable of beating everyone else. So definitely keep an eye on this team and don’t miss the chance to make some money!

3DMAX

This is another contender for the 7^th – 8^th place finish. With no big names in its roster and no results to speak of for the past 3 years, 3DMAX is a total outsider to the world of big Counter-Strike and cannot even be regarded as a tier 2 team at this point. Maybe tier 3 if we’re super optimistic.

Betting predictions

OpTic Gaming vs. 3DMAX

The skill difference here is absolutely astronomical so this is a great opportunity to make some easy money.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.35 – 2.95 in favor of OpTic Gaming, which is surprisingly high given the situation. No doubt, OpTic has this one in the bag.

Betting prediction: OpTic Gaming to win.

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Ence eSports vs. LeftOut

This will certainly be the most disputed match of these 4. Ence has recently proved that it has excellent team play, defeating CS:GO giants such as NiP and mousesports. However, LeftOut has much stronger individual talents and could easily produce an upset in this encounter. If you believe in the power of team play more than the raw individual skill, go with Ence eSports. If not, bet on LeftOut. I personally prefer the 2^nd option, as these 5 players are super strong and hungry to win.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.60 – 2.20 in favor of Ence eSports, giving LeftOut a lot of respect based on the power of its individuals.

Betting prediction: LeftOut to win (upset).

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Kinguin vs. Sprout

This should be another quick game, simply because Sprout is nowhere near Kinguin’s level at this point.

Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.50 – 2.40 in favor of Kinguin, anticipating a fairly disputed match that will ultimately be won by the Polish team.

Betting prediction: Kinguin to win.

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NiP vs. Red Reserve

Of these 4 matches, this is probably the most predictable. NiP should mop the floor with Red Reserve and win without dropping more than 10 rounds.

Betway puts the odds at 1.50 – 2.40 in favor of NiP, clearly taking into account the team’s recent roster change and poor results. But by comparison to Red Reserve, this side is still much stronger and should easily win here.

Betting prediction: NiP to win.

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