The BLAST Pro Series Global Finals took off on Thursday, December 12 at ISA Sports City in Raffa, Bahrain. Participating at the event were the four teams that secured the most points throughout the six BLAST Pro Series circuit stops: FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, Astralis and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
The tournament kicked off with a match between FaZe and NiP, followed by a clash between two CS:GO titans in Team Liquid and Astralis.
Ninjas in Pyjamas swept FaZe 2-0 to secure a spot in the upper bracket finals and Astralis followed with the same scoreline against Team Liquid. The two finalists clashed a day later, when Astralis booked their spot in the grand finals with a straightforward 2-0 win over NiP.
Team Liquid, meanwhile, fought their way through the lower bracket. While their road was not as smooth as that of Astralis, TL defeated both FaZe (2-1) and NiP (2-0) to set up a heavily anticipated rematch with the Danes.
The challengers were slow out of the gates, however, as it was Astralis who took a commanding 8-0 lead at the start of the first map and ended the first half 11-4 up. TL started to come alive in the second half, but it was too little, too late for a comeback. The opening match on Inferno ended with a convincing 16-11 win for Astralis.
The second map was Nuke, where Team Liquid were expected to struggle due to their poor win rate. Despite the statistical disadvantage, TL fought well and even earned a one-round lead (8-7) by half-time.
Things were looking up for Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella and his squad, but Astralis had other plans. Team Liquid won the opening round of the second half to take a two-point lead, but that was where their run ended. Astralis put together three consecutive rounds to reclaim the lead and never looked back, taking the series and the title with a 16-12 win.
While the whole Astralis team performed exceptionally well, it was Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen who took out the MVP award thanks to an impressive 1.27 HLTV rating. Besides his high rating, dupreeh also finished the event as the best player in terms of kill-death difference (+45) and headshots per round (0.41).
The victory sees Astralis end 2019 with six LAN tournament titles, including IEM Katowice 2019 and the StarLadder Berlin Major, as well as second- or third-place finishes in six other events.
]]>FaZe Clan vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
Thursday, December 12 – 15:00 AST
Two old enemies will renew hostilities when FaZe ($1.45) and NiP ($2.63) meet in the opening fixture of the BPS Global Finals.
All esports bookmakers seem to agree to FaZe are the undisputed favourites to win this bout, but the NA representatives might be slightly overrated. While FaZe are one of the strongest teams in the CS:GO esports scene, they lack the needed consistency to turn their potential into solid results.
FaZe will travel to Bahrain following a short-lived stint at the ESL Pro Finals. There, they dropped out of the upper bracket after losing 12-16 to MiBR, went on to record a 2-1 reverse sweep against TYLOO, and then suffered a 1-2 defeat against 100 Thieves in round three.
Ninjas in Pyjamas are priced very generously to win this bout, and it is not hard to see why. Their most recent tournament was the ECS Finals, where NiP failed to make it out of the group with a 1-2 record. They were paired with Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses, however, and came close to defeating EG in the decider match.
FaZe and NiP have met seven times in 2019, with their two most recent meetings coming at BLAST Pro Series: Copenhagen. The first match saw FaZe decimate NiP 16-3, while they had to work much harder to defeat NiP in the grand finals (19-17 and 16-12).
FaZe are in better form, yet we don’t believe the low odds are justified here. While they should defeat NiP, they lack consistency and cannot be trusted to deliver a clean sweep. Take advantage of the high odds on the map handicap and back this series to go the distance.
Prediction: Over 2.5 maps – $2.11 at GG Bet
Team Liquid vs Astralis
Thursday, December 12 – 19:00 AST
The second semi-final is shaping up as a thriller between two of the world’s best CS:GO esports teams in Team Liquid ($2.82) and Astralis ($1.40).
Team Liquid will enter the Thursday’s match as heavy underdogs despite sitting at no.3 in the CS:GO world rankings. The NA powerhouse finished the ESL Pro League S10 Finals in an underwhelming fifth-sixth place after dropping the ball against Fnatic, who bested them on Overpass (16-11) and Inferno (16-8).
Astralis finished ESL Pro League S10 Finals in third-fourth place after losing to mousesports (1-2) in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. What exactly went wrong there is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for sure: Astralis underperformed.
The two sides have met several times throughout 2019, with Astralis winning each of the past four encounters. Their most recent meeting came at ESL Pro League Group B finals, where Astralis reverse-swept Team Liquid to make the semis.
We expect Astralis to win this one, but by how much? Team Liquid took at least one map in six of their last seven best-of-three (Bo3) series against Astralis, including each of the last two. For that reason, we will back Liquid to beat their handicap.
Prediction: Team Liquid +1.5 – $1.60 at GG Bet
]]>Just like the previous BLAST Pro Series events, the upcoming one will feature six CS:GO teams – Cloud9, FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, MIBR, NRG and Renegades – competing for a $250,000 prize pool and BLAST Pro Series points (BPS), which count towards the BLAST Pro Global Final standings.
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The tournament will run over two days from July 13-14, with the group stage on the Saturday and the playoffs on the Sunday. The group stage will be played in a single round-robin Bo1 format over seven rounds, after which the top four teams will advance to the semi-finals. All playoffs matches will be Bo3 ties.
Let’s check out the favourites, the underdogs and our prediction to walk away with the $125,000 and 10 BPS.
Teams to avoid at BLAST Series Pro LA 2019
Cloud9 – $34.00 at GG Bet
Cloud9 are heavy underdogs to reach the finals, let alone win the event. The team has endured a wretched year and recently underwent a massive restructure, with five new members joining the roster.
The addition of daps, mixwell, koosta, TenZ, and JamezIRL as coach has all the signs of a desperate move from C9 as they look to get back to their former glory. While the expectations and goals for the team have been set, we must acknowledge that they are all long-term propositions.
With a completely new roster that has not yet played a competitive match together, we simply cannot expect C9 to start performing right off the bat. The team needs some time to get in sync before we can even start talking about any tournament wins and possible titles.
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Renegades – $17.00 at GG Bet
The Wild Card invitees Renegades are priced at long odds to win BLAST Pro Series: Los Angeles 2019. That seems fair enough, as they would have to produce some kind of a miracle to defeat teams such as FaZe, NRG, Team Liquid, or even the shaky MIBR.
While Renegades perform well as a team, they are simply not on par with the best. That much was obvious at ESL One Cologne, where they exited in straight sets.
MIBR – $11.00 at GG Bet
MIBR are going through a lot at the moment. With the reports of their star player Marcelo “coldzera” David at the exit doors and ongoing internal issues among the squad, the Brazilian outfit’s performances have plummeted.
Having hung around the top three for the most of their existence, MIBR are now ranked 13th in the world and it does not look like they will find a way back to the top 10 anytime soon. Due to the condition the team is in right now, we will steer clear from backing them at BLAST Pro Series: Los Angeles and possibly for the upcoming weeks as well.
BLAST Series Pro LA betting predictions
By crossing out the three pretenders, we are left with three contenders for the title: FaZe Clan, NRG and the no.1 team in the world, Team Liquid.
It will take a lot for FaZe ($7.00) and NRG ($5.00) to compete with Liquid for top spot. There is no denying both teams are strong and deserve to be rated among the top six sides in the world, but TL are playing in their own weight class at the minute.
Team Liquid are priced at $1.66 to win the tournament, which is fair when you consider how dominant they have been in recent months. At the rate they play, and with the momentum they have gathered, they can take down any team they happen to meet in the finals, be it FaZe, NRG, or anyone else.
Liquid are on an 11-game winning streak and should extend that run at BLAST Pro Series: Los Angeles 2019. While there is a possibility they can slip up in the group stage Bo1 matches, the Intel Grand Slam winners are certain to make the playoffs and look destined to take out their first BLAST Pro Series event of the year.
Team Liquid to win – Best odds at GG Bet
]]>BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen 2019 will feature six CS:GO esports teams going head-to-head at the 13,000-capacity Royal Arena in ?restad Syd.
Four teams have already been confirmed for the event. Alongside the top two in the world, Team Liquid and Astralis, last year’s champions Natus Vincere and runners-up Ninjas in Pyjamas will also feature in Denmark.
The tournament will use a classic BLAST format. The six teams will play each other once in a Bo1 round-robin group stage, after which the top two will advance directly to a Bo3 grand final series.
The first two rounds of the group stage will be played behind closed doors on November 1, with the remaining three rounds and the finals to take place in front of a live audience at Royal Arena.
The tournament will also feature a BLAST Pro Standoff bonus match, where the third-placed team at the end of the group stage gets to choose an opponent for five 1v1 aim duels. While there are no points on offer, the winner will take home a $20,000 cash prize.
Copenhagen will be the second-to-last stop before the 2019 BLAST Pro Series Global Finals, which are set to take place in December 2019 with the top four teams on the circuit battling it out for the lion’s share of $500,000.
ENCE will take on Natus Vincere this Friday night at the BLAST Pro Series Madrid 2019.
Natus Vincere have won three out of their last five matches, beating Fnatic, Windigo and Cloud9, while losing to FaZe Clan and G2. The last LAN event NaVi played at was the BLAST Pro Series Miami 2019, where they managed to win only two matches, 16-8 on Nuke against MIBR and 16-13 against Cloud9 on Overpass. They finished the tournament in second-to-last place with only two points.
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NaVi started their ESL Pro League Season 9 Europe campaign with a win over Windigo, followed by a loss to French team G2 and another win over Fnatic. In each match, they played on all three maps and the decider maps against Windigo and Fnatic were quite close – 16-14 on Dust II and 16-13 on Inferno. Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev was once again their overall best player, with an amazing 1.36 HLTV rating across nine maps.
ENCE are coming into the match from a disappointing seventh place at the StarSeries i-League Season 7. They played a total of five matches, winning against Spirit (2-0), ViCi (2-0) and FaZe (2-1), while losing to Vitality (2-1) and to the eventual champions, Natus Vincere (2-1).
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ENCE are also playing in the ESEA MDL Season 31 Europe, where they so far lost two close BO1 Nuke matches against Movistar Riders and Vitality. As mentioned, both matches were quite close (16-14 and 16-13) and could go either way.
The Finns attended only one BLAST tournament in the past, the one in Sao Paulo back in March 2019, where they placed a total of five matches, but failed to get out of the group stage. They also won The Stand-off against MIBR, bagging an additional $20,000 for their achievement.
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These two teams have met three times so far and have played a total of nine maps in those three games, with Natus Vincere winning five maps and two matches and ENCE taking four maps and only one match.
The last match between Natus Vincere and ENCE was in the quarter-finals at the StarSeries i-League Season 7. ENCE started the series strong with a 16-11 win on Train, but NaVi managed a comeback to win 16-12 on Inferno and 16-11 on Overpass.
ENCE vs NaVi odds and betting predictions
Seven out of nine maps played between these teams have gone over the Over 26.5 line and we can expect something similar this time around. NaVi are known to start tournaments slow and ENCE are a perfect upset candidate, especially with the BO1 format.
Natus Vincere are priced around $1.70 odds, which is about right, as they boast more experience than the young Finns. Both teams will fancy their chances to win and the match looks like it could go either way. ENCE are available at around $2.40 odds, which is great value for a 50/50 match.
ENCE to win – $2.40 at GG Bet
]]>Astralis started their ESL Pro League Season 9 Europe campaign with three straight wins over HellRaisers, ex-3DMAX and BIG. They were pretty dominant against ex-3DMAX and HellRaisers, but BIG definitely gave them a run for their money. Astralis’ 21-map win streak ended on Inferno and the last match on Overpass was pretty much open till the end.
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Astralis’ last BLAST event was quite a disaster as they only managed to win two matches against Natus Vincere and Cloud9, while losing to MIBR, Liquid and Faze Clan. Quite a change considering they won the BLAST event in Sao Paulo without losing a single map.
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Ninjas in Pyjamas attended the IEM Sydney 2019 a couple of weeks ago and the results were a mixed bag. They lost to Fnatic and Liquid and barely won against eUnited, but on the bright side, they managed a 2-0 win over the home crowd favorites, Renegades.
NiP opened their ESL Pro League Season 9 Europe campaign with a win over Heroic followed by two straight losses to devils.one and FaZe.
These two teams played a total of five maps in three matches and Astralis managed to win all of them. The last time they met was at the BLAST Pro Series Sao Paulo 2019, where Astralis won 16-12 on Dust II. Nicolai “device” Reedtz performed quite amazingly, achieving 33 kills with 114.3 ADR and an astonishing 1.88 HLTV rating.
Astralis vs NiP odds and market trends
Looking at the Over/Under odds, Over 26.5 rounds is priced around $2.20, which is probably a little too much. These BO1 matches can go either way and there is certainly some value in backing the Over 26.5 rounds at these high odds.
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Astralis are priced around $1.20 to win the match, which overrates them a bit. Sure, they are the better team, but the current format is known for its unpredictable nature and NiP are either hit or miss in these BO1 matches.
Ninjas in Pyjamas can be backed at as high as $5.25, which is enough for us to recommend a bet on them. Astralis showed some vulnerabilities at the previous BLAST event and NiP will want bank on them.
Astralis vs Ninjas in Pyjamas betting prediction
Bet on Ninjas in Pyjamas with the rounds handicap. We feel like the line is at least two rounds too high, especially in a BO1 match with no Over Time (tournament rules, a match can end on 15-15).
Ninjas in Pyjamas +5.5 Rounds Handicap – $1.92 at GG Bet
]]>Whoever wins the upcoming fixture will earn the chance to prove themselves at the main event, which will be a great achievement for teams of this calibre.
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Movistar Riders have made a few roster changes in 2019 so far, starting in January when they appointed Galder “bladE” Barcena as head coach. In March they lost Christian “loWel” Garcia to the HellRaisers and in April they signed Ra��l “DeathZz” Jord��n Nieto to complete the starting line-up.
Movistar have won three out of their last five matches, defeating ENCE (16-14), Ambush (2-0) and Epsilon (2-1) while losing a BO1 match to Epsilon and a BO3 match to Sprout. They also played in the Kalashnikov Cup Season 2, where they lost all three matches against Epsilon (16-11), expert (16-14) and Syman (16-13).
Their opponents have made a few roster changes as well. Giants have benched Jo?o “KILLDREAM” Ferreira and replaced him with Lu��s “ZELIN” Lousada, who joined the team on trial back in February 2019. At the end of March, Rui “rizzz” Lima was dropped and Jo?o “KILLDREAM” Ferreira allowed back into the starting line-up.
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Like their fellow Iberian outfit, Giants were present at the Kalashnikov Cup Season 2 and the results were quite similar. They lost all three matches against Nemiga (16-7), DreamEaters (16-13) and forZe (16-8) and placed dead last in the league due to Movistar’s better round difference (-10).
But unlike Riders, who were invited by the tournament’s organisers, Giants Gaming had to go through an online qualifier to reach this stage. They played a total of three maps in two matches, winning the first match 2-0 against Cream and following up with a 2-1 win against Queso in the qualifier finals. Veteran Ricardo “fox” Pacheco averaged a 1.13 HLTV rating and was also the best player in the qualifier with the 1.43 HLTV rating – quite an achievement for a player that most consider to be washed up.
Movistar Riders are considered favourites priced at around $1.40 odds, which overrates them a bit. They are probably the better team, but both want to play at the main event and have had enough time to prepare for each other.
Expect all three maps to be played. The Giants should have a legitimate chance for an upset, especially if Pacheco performs as he did in the qualifier. The odds for the Over 2.5 maps are around $2.00, which is enough value to recommend a bet on both teams winning at least one map.
Prediction: Over 2.5 maps – $2.00 at GG Bet