ESL Pro League S8 Finals | Betting Overview
The final Premier CSGO tournament of 2018 – ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals – has already started knocking on the door of CSGO fans all over the globe. This fantastic occasion will wrap up 2018… and is bound to do so with proper style. Still, the absence of FaZe Clan, one of the greatest CSGO teams at the moment, is a big stain on the tournament. But an even bigger one for the organization (and players) behind FaZe Clan.
But since they’re not going to be competing in this tournament, we won’t talk about them anymore. Instead, we’ll focus on the teams that’ll be competing in this tournament. After all, the title suggests this is an ESL Pro League S8 Finals Preview so I guess that’s what we’re going to talk about today. But first, we have to cover the betting side of things because that’s what we’re here for!
ESL Pro League S8 Finals | Where to Place Bets?
The answer to this question is quite an obvious one, best portrayed by the following esports bookies:
- Top US Betting Sites
- SportsBetting.ag
- BetOnline.ag
- Bovada
Several factors went into consideration here. Let me explain them real fast:
Great User Interface
Needless to say, a great user interface does indeed matter, for both beginners and more experienced bettors alike. For beginners – because it allows them to take their first steps into the world of betting in a clean and intuitive manner. For experienced bettors – frequent bettors always prefer websites that are fast, fluid and don’t waste their time when trying to place bets. Luckily, all above-listed bookies are great as far as all these things are concerned.
Decent Betting Odds
This one goes without question and is probably the first thing most of you will look at when choosing their next esports bookie of choice. And you have every right to do so – betting odds can make or break bookies and that’s a fact which is well known in the online betting industry. However, you can’t expect a single bookie to have the highest odds across all esports titles. Some will feature higher odds on LoL, some on CSGO, and so on… What’s my point – if you’re planning on betting on several esports titles, having a single bookie for all of them might not be the most ideal option.
Payment Method Variety
If you’re a type of guy who isn’t that into esports betting (or online shopping, for that matter), chances are your online payment methods might be limited. Don’t worry though, each of the bookies listed above features a stellar array of payment method options. Usually, they range from traditional credit/debit cards to PayPal, Sofort, Neteller, Skrill, and other similar online payment getaways.
ESL Pro League S8 Finals | Interesting Facts
As I said above, this is the final Premier CSGO tournament of 2018, and as such, it should not be taken for granted. You can rest assured that the fans from all over the world will be watching this one. Not just watching but clinging the edge of their seats hoping their team can clutch just a few more rounds to get to the overtime.
Now that’s the type of thrilling contests I want to see on this tournament. Let me rephrase that – that’s the type of thrilling contests I’ll most likely see on this tournament. How can I be so sure of this? Well, we’re looking at 16 extraordinary teams, each with their own set of goals and motivators to make it big in Odense, Denmark. And for that exact reason, I firmly believe 4th through 9th December will be the time to watch great CSGO matches!
But, before we go into the tournament format and match predictions, first I’d like to share with you a couple of facts regarding this tournament that I found to be pretty interesting.
Facts
- The total prize pool of this competition amounts to $750,000 which is the same as last year’s installment. While the official prize pool distribution for this year’s competition hasn’t yet been announced, we can safely assume (from the last year’s edition) that the winner will take home $250,000.
- Astralis has a great shot of winning the Intel Grand Slam Season 1 right on their home soil in Odense. This is the perfect opportunity for The Great Danes to capitalize on an amazing season and get a total of $1,250,000 if they win this one. No wonder the betting odds on their outright win here are so low.
- For those of you who don’t know, ESL Pro League events are biannual. In other words, there are 2 competitive seasons of this league scheduled in a single calendar year. As far as this year goes, we’ve had ESL Pro League S7 Finals in May with the upcoming Season 8 Finals starting in just a couple of days.
Now that’s been done and dealt with, my ESL Pro League S8 Finals Preview will move to the next section in which we’ll discuss the format of this tournament.
Tournament Format
Now let’s see what sort of format this tournament is going to use:
Group Stage
Huge CSGO tournaments, such as this one, are usually divided into two stages. First up is the Group Stage where teams will battle it out against each other in a double-elimination system. This sort of group stage system allows teams (and players) one mistake before getting kicked out of the tournament. As we’ve mentioned before, this tournament sports 16 teams so there will be 2 groups with 8 teams in each.
Getting out of the Group Stage and into the Playoffs will be no easy feat since only the top 3 teams from each group advance to them. Group winners advance straight to the semifinals with the remaining 2 teams from each group having to battle for that spot in the quarterfinals. Opening Group Stage matches are set to be played as Best of 1 series with all remaining rounds scheduled for Best of 3 spectacles.
Playoffs
Playoffs, on the other hand, deliver a completely different type of competition. It is set to be played on the final 3 days of this competition and will deliver a total of 5 matches. Grand Finals, 2 semifinals, and 2 quarterfinals. Needless to say, ESL Pro League S8 Finals Playoffs will be played as a single-elimination bracket with quarterfinals and semifinals matches set up as Best of 3 series.
The Grand Finals match, scheduled for December 9th, 10 AM EST, will be played as Best of 5 series, ensuring a thrilling contest for everyone involved. If the last year’s installment of ESL Pro League is a good example, it means that this year’s winner will also go home with $250,000 in their purse. Keep in mind though, if Astralis wins this one, not only will they get the $250,000 but also an additional $1,000,000 as Intel Grand Slam winners. Spoil Bonus should be mentioned too – The team which stops Astralis in the Grand Finals match (if Astralis gets there, that is) will get $100,000 as Spoil Bonus.
ESL Pro League S8 Finals Group Stage Picks
And now for the final part of my ESL Pro League S8 Finals Review – the Group Stage Picks! Since we’re looking at 2 double-elimination system groups with 8 teams in each, there’s a total of 8 matches to be played right off the bat. Since there are so many matches, I decided it would be best if I just picked the ones I’m thinking of betting on! By focusing on fewer matches, I’ll be able to give you guys a better perspective of these matchups. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!
Group A
Astralis vs ViCi Gaming
As mentioned earlier, Astralis has the perfect chance to finish off 2018 with style! By winning this tournament they’d also win Intel Grand Slam Season 1 which brings them additional $1,000,000. That’s $250,000 per player… Holy smoke!!! With that in mind, I doubt they won’t be playing at their very best… which means poor ViCi Gaming doesn’t stand a change against them. In fact, I can’t see ViCi getting out of the group stage since there are already 4 strong competitors which will be battling for the top 3 spots.
However, betting on Astralis match winner won’t yield you any profit at all since it’s currently standing at -1250. That’s why, if you already have your mind set on betting on this match, my warm advice is to go with Total Rounds Under 24.5. The odds are much better with this one. BetWay currently has it at -112 which is pretty good in my books!
Team Liquid vs G2 Esports
Now this match is going to be really interesting. Perhaps the most interesting of all ESL Pro League S8 Finals opening matches. On paper, Team Liquid looks like a much better side than G2 Esports. Especially considering the recent turmoil in G2’s roster. However, it has to be stated that their recent roster changes won’t be affecting this tournament due to roster lock rules. Yup, this means SmithZz and Ex6TenZ will get to play their last tournament with their G2 colleagues. Who knows (especially after bad DH Winter performance), perhaps they even earn their place back on the team…
Don’t get me wrong, I still think Team Liquid will most likely see this one through. I mean, they just have to continue playing the way they were during SuperNova Malta. This European cruise seems to be doing them a lot of good. They are still undefeated, with several dominant victories in their scoresheet already. However, NAF, one of their players, stated that the whole point of them attending SuperNova Malta is to try and work on their issues of closing out tournaments. Their Grand Finals match in Malta against NRG starts in just a few hours and they’ll definitely be looking to win it. Whatever the outcome of that match, I believe they’ll start their ESL S8 Finals journey with a solid win against G2 Esports.
Group B
NRG Esports vs North
I’ve just mentioned NRG Esports as Team Liquid’s opponent in the Grand Finals match of SuperNova Malta. Obviously, NRG Esports aren’t the favorites in that match but they’ll still be looking to win it. However, their match against North is somewhat of a different story. There’s no clear winner in this one and bookies are making that known too. BetWay, for example, has both of these teams to win this one at -118 which, once again, means it can go either way.
Looking from my personal perspective, what I’ll do is I’ll wait to see their match against Liquid. If they happen to win it (or come close to winning it), I’ll most likely include them to win against North in my ESL multiplier bet. However, if Team Liquid obliterates them as they’ve done in their SuperNova Malta Group A Winners’ Match, then I’ll probably avoid this match altogether.
Natus Vincere vs ORDER
And, the final match prediction of my ESL Pro League S8 Finals Review will be Natus Vincere against ORDER. Even though I am a big fan of those Cinderella stories, I just can’t see ORDER taking this one away from NaVi. Even though the Ukrainian team isn’t at their very best at the moment, a dominant victory against ORDER could make them jump right back up and get the confidence needed to become a real threat for Astralis.
However, NaVi is on an impressively bad run at the moment. 5 consecutive losses in 5 last competitive games (even though some of them didn’t matter all that much) speak a lot. ORDER, on the other hand, are not looking that impressive either. Less than 2 weeks ago, they suffered a 16-0 defeat against Ground Zero, one of their toughest defeats so far. With all that in mind, I still wouldn’t include this match in one of my singles. Match-winner odds on NaVi just aren’t that good (-1000) and I just cannot see ORDER winning it. That’s why I’ll most likely go with a nice little special featured by BetWay. Map 1 NaVi To Win Both Pistol Rounds is currently set at -134 which is a great option knowing the pistol round strength of NaVi.
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