DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 Main Event Preview
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.
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.
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.
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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