G2 Esports vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
Wednesday, November 13 – 18:25 CET
G2 Esports ($1.72) enter this fixture as slight favourites to defeat Ninjas in Pyjamas ($2.07), and we can agree with odds provided by esports bookmakers.
G2 signed Nemanja “nexa” Isakovi? and Nemanja “huNter-” Kova? at the end of September as replacements for Richard “shox” Papillon and Lucas “Lucky” Chastang, who left for Vitality and Heretics respectively. G2 were a bit inconsistent prior to that move, but it seems like nexa and huNter- were the two missing pieces of a roster that now looks complete.
In the group stage, G2 finished second behind Natus Vincere and ahead of HellRaisers and Windigo Gaming, with their only defeat coming from a close fixture against NaVi (1-2).
SEE ALSO: CS:GO ESPORTS BETTING GUIDE
NiP have also made some recent roster changes, but unlike G2, the Swedes have not improved much. They had some iffy moments in the group stage, especially against Sprout (2-1), who completely crushed them on Nuke (16-4). That said, NiP did just enough to advance by finishing in a three-way tie with Heroic and Team Vitality.
Based on what the two sides have shown so far, it’s easy to side with G2 to win here. The fact that NiP lost to G2 at StarSeries i-League Season 8 at the end of October does not help their cause.
Another clean sweep by G2 looks unlikely because this is a crucial fixture and we can expect both teams to be on top of their game, but the Spanish outfit should have enough quality to defeat NiP for the second time this year.
Prediction: G2 Esports to win – $1.72 at GG Bet
North vs BIG
Wednesday, November 13 – 22:15 CET
North ($2.25) and BIG ($1.61) will clash for the fifth time this year in what promises to be a thrilling bout between two teams who never fail to produce a great match.
Out of their four prior meetings this year, North won three but lost the most recent one (0-2) at Esports Championship Series Season 8 Europe on October 21.
Neither team looked great in the ESL Pro League S10 group stage, yet they produced enough to make their way into the second round. North lost to Fnatic (0-2) and Astralis 0-2) but edged past Aristocracy (2-1) to finish third in Group C. BIG struggled against mousesports (1-2) and FaZe (1-2) but bounced back in game three against OpTic (2-0) to go through.
Since North lost to BIG in the ECS, they have won only two out of six fixtures, some of which were against much weaker teams. BIG, meanwhile, have won five out of their last seven fixtures, with the only two defeats coming against Astralis and Fnatic.
Historically, North are the stronger side in this matchup, but recent results suggest this trend won’t continue this Wednesday. That said, the Danes should chip at least one map off BIG.
Prediction: North +1.5 – $1.46 at GG Bet
]]>Those four teams are competing for a ticket to the finals, where the top side will join Group A winners mousesports and Group B champions Heroic.
The teams that finish second and third will proceed to the second round, while the bottom side will pack their bags and head home.
Results so far:
Astralis 2-0 Aristocracy
Fnatic 2-0 North
Fnatic vs Aristocracy
Tuesday, October 15 – 17:25 BST
Fnatic ($1.20) are, alongside Astralis, one of the favourites to finish as the top seed in Group C, and rightfully so.
The Swedish outfit impressed everyone with their run at DreamHack Masters Malmo at the start of October, when they won their first tournament in over a year, indicating they are back and ready to compete at the highest level.
Fnatic opened the tournament on Monday with a win over North, where they got a chance to flex their muscles and earned a well-deserved clean sweep.
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Aristocracy ($4.33) enter their second fixture of the group stage as heavy underdogs, which is fair when you consider they are objectively the weakest team of Group C.
Their first-up clash with Astralis went exactly as expected, with the Danish powerhouse securing comfortable victories on Vertigo (16-9) and Nuke (16-12) to produce a clean sweep.
On that day, Jacek “MINISE” Jeziak emerged as the best performing player in Aristocracy with a 1.12 HLTV Rating, whereas Karol “rallen” Rodowicz severely underperformed with a rating of 0.69.
Prediction:
Fnatic have better individual players, better leadership and ultimately more experience compared to the Polish outfit.
The map handicap is set at +1.5, making it very appealing to back Aristocracy to take at least one map off Fnatic, but all evidence suggests the favourites are a good chance of claiming a 2-0 sweep.
Fnatic -1.5 maps – $1.90 at GG Bet
Astralis vs North
Tuesday, October 15 – 21:15 BST
As the odds suggest, Astralis ($1.12) are huge favourites to win their clash with North and we can’t argue with that.
It would be fair to say Astralis failed to impress at DreamHack Masters Malmo, where they were the outright favourites to claim the title but fell flat against Fnatic in the semi-finals.
While we can go and judge Astralis for their poor show against Fnatic in Malmo, it won’t change the fact the Danish juggernauts should breeze their second fixture in Group C.
North ($5.50) will enter the clash with a 0-1 record following a terrible defeat against Fnatic on Monday.
They have found themselves in a downward spiral and have now reached their all-time low in the CS:GO esports world rankings (no.18), which is miles from their top-10 position this summer.
From what they have shown, North lack the needed quality to stack up against Astralis. The fact they have only managed to defeat Astralis once in their last five meetings does not help their case.
Prediction:
If North performed better against Fnatic on Monday, we would consider backing them at the +1.5 map handicap, seeing how Astralis can be slightly inconsistent at times.
However, North looked very choppy against the Swedish outfit, which leads us to believe they are not ready to impress.
All things considered, we are confident Astralis can produce a clean sweep against North and build up some more momentum before they meet with Fnatic on Wednesday.
Astralis -1.5 maps – $1.61 at GG Bet
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