ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals | Grand Finals Betting Predictions
The stage is finally set for the biggest CSGO match in the history of its competitive scene. And I am not even exaggerating here. ESL Pro League Season 8 Grand Finals match between Astralis and Team Liquid marks the most important and most lucrative match in CSGO history with $1,250,000 on the line. If Astralis wins it, that is.
I’m sure you know about Intel Grand Slam as it’s been the talking point of the community for the last couple of weeks prior to the start of this tournament. By beating Mousesports in the semifinals match, Astralis has come just an inch away from winning it and taking home the $1,000,000 grand prize. If they win tomorrow, not only will they get $1 million but $250,000 from the official ESL Pro League S8 Finals prize pool. One thing’s for sure – motivation won’t be lacking for The Great Danes as they’re basically playing for 2 prizes!
On the other hand, Team Liquid players are highly motivated too. Remember, the winner of this tournament gets $250,000, Astralis gets an additional $1,000,000 if they win… but Team Liquid gets an additional $100,000 as Spoil Bonus if they desecrate Astralis’ chances of winning the Intel Grand Slam in 2018. Yup, this match is nicely poised and it’s definitely going to be one of the most interesting matches to see in the entirety of 2018.
So, without further adue, let’s quickly check out the betting side of things before moving onto ESL Pro League S8 Grand Finals betting predictions!
Where to bet on ESL Pro League Season 8 Grand Finals | Best Esports Bookies
The list of bookies offering bets on this match is endless. Everyone and their grandmother will feature ESL Pro League S8 Grand Finals match in their markets… but only the best esports bookies will feature a handful of special bets too. Here’s a quick look at what I deem to be the best esports bookies at the moment:
- Top US Betting Sites
- SportsBetting.ag
- BetOnline.ag
- Bovada
Astralis vs Mousesports | Semifinals Recap
Coming into this match, Astralis’ players knew they were just two steps away from becoming the Intel Grand Slam champions… ESL Pro League S8 champions too, but it all falls down to that astonishing $1,000,000 prize pool money from Intel. The atmosphere at the Sparekassen Fyn Arena in Odense, Denmark was nothing short of brilliant. More than 10,000 people came to see the live semifinals matches, 95% of which were loudly cheering for Astralis on every step of their way to winning this match. It was almost a hostile atmosphere for Mousesports players, one that won’t get out of their minds anytime soon.
I have to give credit where credit is due though – Mousesports players definitely deserve it. Astralis played a near perfect match with great site control, impeccable aim and unpredictable pushes all across the map. Their T side was brilliant, leaving Mousesports with nothing but scraps on the scoreboard. With Nuke being available, many people thought it would be the go-to choice for The Great Danes due to their brilliant track record. However, they picked Inferno instead and Gla1ve explained why after the match came to a close. Apparently, their last head to head matches on Nuke were pretty tight plus they analyzed Mousesports track record on Inferno and the choice was quite obvious…
But that match is all done now, Astralis won it and came to a touching distance of winning their 4th major tournament in a total of 9 attempts, exactly what they need to win the best Christmas bonus in the history of the game.
Team Liquid vs MiBR | Semifinals Recap
This match was really something… and I don’t mean that in a good way, at least for the MiBR part. Twistzz and the co completely obliterated the Brazilians, leaving them at just 2 rounds on Cache. The interesting part was a generally terrible team communication by MiBR players. They seemed completely lost at times, failing to control the map, give proper calls and do the most basic of trades. MiBR constantly forced mid plays which didn’t go too well for them since they went 0 to 9 right off the bat. NAF and Twistzz were ruling the battlefield, showing off their prowess in each round. Luckily for MiBR, their demise lasted for only 18 rounds with Team Liquid getting one up with 16-2 on the scoreboard.
The second map wasn’t too different. Yes, MiBR fans saw their team notch a couple of times, but those were mere glimpses of their usual brilliance. Stewie2K did his best but the rest of his team failed to deliver, leaving him fuming (tilted) at the end of the match. Team Liquid brought the semifinals match to a close with 16-8 on the scoreboard, looking ready to face Astralis in the Grand Finals and spoil their Christmas present in the form of $1,250,000.
ESL Pro League S8 Grand Finals Betting Predictions
This is what you’ve all been waiting for, isn’t it? Well, I won’t beat around the bushes much longer – let’s get straight to business!
Astralis Needs One More Win…
At this point everything is pretty straightforward – Astralis is one win away from lifting that awesome trophy and going home with the biggest amount of money in the history of the game. And all of that on their home soil. In their hometown of Odense! However, before we jump into my ESL Pro League S8 Grand Finals betting predictions and analysis, first I got to remind you of an important fact:
I’d beg to differ! Judging by Astralis’ performance so far in this tournament, they’ve shown their prowess in all of their matches, dominating every team they’ve come across. For those of you who haven’t watched their semifinals matchup against Mousesports – the atmosphere was absolutely thrilling. Even though some people keep suggesting The Great Danes will fail under the pressure, I believe in exactly the opposite. I think the crowd will lead them to victory, doing everything they can to see their team go down in history books as, by far, the richest and most decorated team in CSGO history.
But it will be no easy task, that’s for sure!
Team Liquid Will Be Looking for Revenge
Needless to say, Team Liquid is one of the best teams in the world right now. Ever since TACO joined the current roster back in April, Team Liquid secured the 1st NA ESL Pro League Season 7 seed, won SuperNova Malta (just two weeks ago) and played in five grand finals matches. Unfortunately, they lost four, four of which were against Astralis (IEM XIII Chicago, ELEAGUE Premier 2018, ESL Pro League S7, ECS S5). Undoubtedly, they will be looking for revenge here, and what better way than to spoil Astralis’ $1,000,000 Intel Grand Slam prize which would yield them an extra $100,000 on top of ESL PL’s $250,000.
As you could’ve read above, MiBR was no match for this in-form Team Liquid roster. Some people had doubts in their quality after a lousy ECS S6 performance but they got right back up to the top after winning SuperNova Malta. They’ve transitioned their excellent performance to Odense, eagerly waiting the match of their lifetime against, what seems to be, their fiercest rivals at the moment.
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