Monte topped Group A with a perfect 5-0 record and a +34 round differential, proving again that they’re more than comfortable with the game’s new version. Since their final match of the first group stage, Monte have continued their strong form with wins against Aurora Gaming (2-1) and Team Spirit (2-0) and a close defeat against Virtus.pro (1-2).

Looking4Org placed second in Group A with a 4-1 record and just one close defeat against Team Spirit (13-16, 9-13). Like Monte, L40 are in excellent form, having lost just two of their last 17 series

Because Monte have played tougher opponents over the last week, their recent results mean a bit more, but it’s not like Looking4Org have struggled when faced with weaker teams. So, while Monte should be slightly favoured, we’re getting more value by backing the French squad.

SINNERS Esports finished Group B with a 4-1 record and +45 round differential and just one defeat against Apeks (1-2). They had the luxury of getting seeded into a relatively weak group, but it’s not like the level of opponents in 9INE’s group was much higher.

9INE won Group D with one defeat against Movistar Riders; however, they also dropped maps against Betera and IKLA. This isn’t too surprising for 9INE, who have become known to be somewhat inconsistent with high highs and low lows.

The Poles have a much higher ceiling than SINNERS Esports, which explains the offered Counter-Strike 2 esports betting odds. However, while 9INE should win, SINNERS have a better win rate on four of seven maps in the rotation, which suggests that there is a good chance we’ll see a three-map series.

These teams last met during ESL Challenger League Season 45 Europe in May, when Apeks won 2-1. However, Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski and his crew are 4-3 across their last seven series, with defeats against BIG, FURIA Esports, and Aurora Gaming. They’ve also dropped maps against SINNERS Esports and Sprout.

1win have looked phenomenal over the last month, losing just one of their last 20 series. But they recently lost Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov, who jumped over to Cloud9, leaving the team without their best player and in-game leader.

Apeks are not the most consistent team, but without Boombl4, 1win are significantly weaker.

FORZE Esports placed third in Group A with a 3-2 record, whereas Movistar Riders placed fourth in Group D at 2-3. Neither team showed much during the first stage of ESL Challenger League Season 46, and they’ve not looked amazing in the games leading up to this one.

With a mixed bag of results over the last week, it’s hard to rank FORZE Esports and Movistar Riders properly, and it doesn’t help that both teams have made roster changes. Still, with the departure of in-game leader Alejandro “ALEX” Masanet, Movistar have lost a lot more than FORZE, who have added Erkhan “gokushima” Bagynanov and Vladislav “Krad” Kravchenko as replacements for Aleksey “El1an” Gusev and Dmitry “sstiNiX” Khlebnikov.

Movistar Riders looked very shaky even with ALEX at the helm, and his departure alone is enough to suggest that the Spanish squad will struggle to get back on their feet.

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?Endpoint are going through quite a concerning dry streak, having failed to achieve anything across the first two months of the year. They first crashed out of the ESL Pro League Season 17 European Conference in January and have since not placed higher than top eight across three tournaments.

Last week, Endpoint attended European Development Championship Season 7, where they defeated Illuminar Gaming (2-0) but lost in the quarterfinals against Team GamerLegion (0-2), who handed them another loss on Saturday (16-8) in RES Western European Masters Spring 2023.

With a 4-8 record across their last 12 outings, Endpoint doesn’t look too sharp, which explains why they’re underdogs against 1win. The Russian squad bolstered its roster two weeks ago with the signing of Aleksey “NickelBack” Trofimov, coach Dmitriy “hooch” Bogdanov, and former Natus Vincere in-game leader Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov.

Since losing first-up against Viperio (15-19) on February 16, this new-look roster has produced a seven-game winning streak. 1win are in excellent form and rightly priced as favourites with CS:GO betting sites for this affair. And even though this squad’s ceiling is questionable, 1win should make easy work of the struggling Endpoint.

?Let us cook (formerly ex-Team Finest) won their first two games of ESL Challenger League Season 44 Europe, beating EYEBALLERS (2-0) and Sangal Esports (2-1). But despite their strong run so far, they’re expected to struggle against forZe.

ForZe have been on a steady rise since the turn of the year, going from no.46 to no.28 in the global CS:GO rankings. They’ve yet to win an event this season, but forZe have claimed a bronze medal from the ESL Pro League Season 17 European Conference and have since produced three quarterfinal runs, most recently at CCT West Europe Series #1.

That looks much better than it is, considering that forZe are 4-1-8 over their last 12 fixtures and on a 0-1-4 run ahead of this bout. However, at the offered betting odds, Let us cook are severely underrated and look like great value.

(Note: some esports betting sites still have Let us cook listed as ex-Team Finest)

?Movistar Riders lost their opening tournament series against LDLC (0-2) and have since played 17, winning just seven. Over that stretch, Movistar Riders have lost against Complexity (2-0) and SAW (2-0) in ESL Pro League Season 17, but also Bad News Eagles, who beat them 2-0 two weeks ago.

Bad News Eagles are enjoying a solid start to the year, with two silver medals from CCT South Europe Series #2 and CCT Central Europe Malta Finals. Still, consistency isn’t their strongest suit, as seen in their poor showing in the Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2023 European Qualifier (0-2).

Bad News Eagles are a strong roster, but they can be hit-or-miss. So despite their dominant showing against the Spanish team the last time out, we are leaning towards Movistar Riders with a map advantage. They’ve improved over the last week and are poised to make this game hard on BNE.

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Team LDLC signed Aurélien “afro” Drapier at the end of January and have since been posting good results until they fell apart at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR Qualifier A. Despite a solid start to the qualifiers, beating Turów Zgorzelec (19-15) and Astralis (16-14), Team LDLC dropped their next three games against G2 Esports (5-16), 1win (10-16), and B8 (1-2), thus missed out on reaching European RMR B.

Since that disappointing run, Team LDLC have played three games against GenOne (16-8), KRC Genk Esports (2-1), and HEET (2-0) and won all, so at least they’re in good form. The same can’t be said for 500, who are fresh off a 5-16 loss against ECSTATIC following a narrow victory (16-14) against ex-INVSN Team. Like LDLC, 500 didn’t impress at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR Qualifier B (2-3), but they made it through the qualifier decider with a 2-0 sweep of HAVU.

Team LDLC have won more of their recent outings, but they haven’t beaten a single good team, whereas 500 might have lost more games, but they played well against decent opponents. Still, that doesn’t explain the latest CS:GO betting odds.

Team LDLC are underperforming, but this squad has solid players and holds a better map win rate on five out of seven maps in the rotation, making them a very appealing pick at the offered price.

Bad News Eagles have been on the cusp of breaking into the top 15 since November until the recent dip in form, which resulted in an exit from Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2023 European Qualifier and BNE slipping down the global CS:GO ladder to no.21. On a more positive note, the Kosovar squad has played well since then.

Recently, BNE attended CCT Central Europe Malta Finals, where they lost the finals against Eternal Fire (1-2), despite beating the Turkish squad twice prior (2-1, 16-14). However, from that tournament run, we’re mostly interested in Bad News Eagles’ dominant victory against Movistar Riders (16-8, 16-10).

It’s been just over a week since that series, so it’s fair to expect a repeat result on Tuesday. Even if Movistar Riders do better, they’ll have to improve significantly to match Bad News Eagles, who were in complete control the last these teams they met.

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?SAW and AGO will meet in the first round of Group C at ESL Challenger League Season 41 Europe for the first time. SAW enter the match as $1.73 with esports betting sites, while AGO are priced as $2.03 underdogs, suggesting we are in for a close match that should favour the Portuguese squad.

A lot would confirm that, mainly SAW’s solid form and their achievements over the last month. Most notably, SAW came close to qualifying for 2022 PGL Major Antwerp but finished the European RMR in ninth place, with defeats against BIG, forZe, and Outsiders.

Since then, SAW have played just six official games, and even though they have won all but one, SAW haven’t faced any tough opponents. On the other side, AGO hold a 3-5 record from their last eight outings, which is far from great, but they had to face much tougher opponents, so we wouldn’t overreact to their lack of wins.

SAW seem like they’re better prepared, but this is a very winnable match for AGO. Admittedly, they are not the most consistent, but there is little to suggest that the Poles don’t possess the quality to come out ahead.

ATK and paiN Gaming last met at the start of May, when paiN Gaming won 16-14, adding to their success from early April when the Brazilian squad won 2-0 during the North American BLAST Premier qualifiers.

Even though ATK looked better in the rematch just over a week ago, it’s tough to find a good reason to side with the outsiders. They have achieved some solid results lately, but not enough to suggest that they can defeat paiN.

The Brazilians have lost just one of their last nine outings, which is impressive. Moreover, they won BLAST Premier Spring American Showdown, where paiN defeated Team Liquid, MiBR, FURIA, and GODSENT – all teams ranked inside the top-27 on the global ladder.

If ATK win, it will be a massive upset, but we wouldn’t count on it. PaiN should get it done with plenty to spare.

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?Bad News Eagles, formerly Team BLINK, enter this match as $2.75 underdogs, which isn’t too surprising considering we have yet to see them compete at this level of play, nor have they beaten any notable opponents since forming the team in February. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have the tools to deal with Entropiq.

We have to remember that this is a best-of-one (Bo1) match, meaning upsets will be common, especially in games like this one where the underdogs field a lot of firepower. Moreover, Entropiq are not exactly a top-tier team, even though they produced a few solid results at ESL Pro League earlier this month.

Individually, Entropiq are stronger, but they don’t deserve to be priced as $1.40 favourites. This is the same team that lost against ECSTATIC (1-2 twice) and SAW (1-2), so it’s fair to question why esports betting sites are pricing them as such big favourites. Entropiq are still the most likely victors, but the value is with Bad News Eagles.

?HEET and SINNERS Esports will clash on Thursday for the first time since Thunderpick Bitcoin Series 2022 in February, when HEET won (2-1) with 13-16 on Inferno, 28-26 on Vertigo, and 19-17 on Nuke. As the final score suggests, that match was extremely close and could have easily ended the other way.

SINNERS played well against HEET in their most recent meeting, and they were just a couple of rounds away from walking away from the series with a 2-0 sweep, so it doesn’t seem fair for the CS:GO betting sites to price them as $2.25 outsiders.

Admittedly, HEET have shown better form over their last five outings (5-0) than SINNERS (3-2), but they’ve faced much weaker opponents in that stretch. A bet on SINNERS to win is appealing, but we prefer overs (27.5) at even money.

?ENCE made the finals of ESL Pro League Season 15 just over a week ago and enter the European RMR as one of the hottest teams. However, while ENCE have achieved the unthinkable in Germany, we would take their success with a grain of salt.

With all due respect, ENCE had a very easy road to the finals, mainly because all of the top CS:GO teams underperformed. They still deserve recognition for their accomplishment, but we don’t believe ENCE are as good as they might seem.

Team Spirit have not been too active of late. They participated in the European RMR qualifiers in March, and before that they won Malta Vibes Knockout Series #6 – way back in February. Moreover, the Russians don’t have a single official match on their record over the last month, so they might be a bit rusty.

Still, we would not sleep on Spirit, who have a roster more than capable of going toe-to-toe with ENCE. We don’t expect to see Spirit upset ENCE, but we don’t expect a complete blowout either.

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?Anonymo Esports enter this match with a 1-1 record and 78-73 goal differential. Sprout are 0-1 with a 0-2 loss to Endpoint.

Anonymo hold onto a 46.6% win rate across the last three months, and they are 1-4 across their last five outings. However, the Poles deserve some slack since they had to face though opponents at Flashpoint Season 3, where they lost to Ninjas in Pyjamas (1-2), Double Poney (1-2), Complexity (0-2), and their next opponents, Sprout (1-2).

That win improved Sprout’s head-to-head record to 2-1, but it wasn’t a convincing victory. The Germans took the series lead with 16-13 on Inferno but failed to close out the deal on Nuke, where Anonymo claimed a 22-19 overtime victory. The last map (Vertigo) ended in another OT thanks to Anonymo’s 10-4 run on the CT-side, but they fell short and lost 1-4.

Given how close their last meeting was, it’s more than fair to say we’re in for another tight affair. You can’t go wrong with a bet on overs, nor would it be too optimistic to side with Anonymo to secure a revenge victory on Tuesday.

Mykhailo “Kas” Gaida and Aleksey “Strange” Solyakov last met at the end of April, when Strange won 2-1. It marked his ninth head-to-head victory in a row, taking his all-time record against Kas to 12-5.

Strange hasn’t lost against Kas once since 2017, and it’s hard to expect that will change Thursday. Strange is 1-2 on the tournament with a 4-4 map differential, whereas Kas is 0-3 and has won only two maps out of eight played.

Kas will need to start showing a lot more before we can believe he can break Strange’s streak. This should be an easy 2-0 for the Russian SCII pro.

Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti enters this match as the reigning IEM Katowice champion and one of the favourites to claim the gold medal. Although he has had some slip-ups recently – namely a 0-3 loss to Clément “Clem” Desplanches – the Italian StarCraft II pro has yet to drop a game this tournament and is 3-0 with a 6-1 map differential.

Leon “goblin” Vrhovec is 2-4 in his last six and enters this bout on a two-game losing streak. He was viewed as a massive underdog beforehand, but his poor form makes it that much harder to believe he can cause an upset on Thursday. What’s more, Reynor boasts a strong 66.8% win rate against Protoss.

?When you talk about Movistar Riders, you can’t forget to mention their AWPer Owen “smooya” Butterfield. The British CS:GO pro is a vital member of the team and one of the main reasons why Movistar are ranked world no.26 and boast a 62% win rate across the last three months.

The key to stopping Movistar Riders is to shut down smooya. However, not many squads can do that, as evident from the team’s recent results.

AGO enter this match seeking revenge for the 0-2 loss against Movistar during the Flashpoint Season 3 closed qualifiers in April. And while the Poles proved to be no match for smooya and co. last time out, they have been on fire of late, winning seven out of their last eight.

With the form AGO have been showing, there is reason to believe they can win. However, Movistar Riders are still too good for us to believe AGO can come away unharmed. We like the overs here.

?Anonymo Esports really shouldn’t be much higher than $1.60 in this spot. They have faced some of the best teams in the region during the last couple of weeks, and while they haven’t been particularly successful, it’s the experience that counts.

Izako Boars are 5-0 in their last five, but they haven’t beaten any notable teams during that stretch. Regardless, Mateusz “TOAO” Zawistowski and his crew are at least showing good form.

Since this is a Polish derby, there is a world where Izako Boars edge out Anonymo Esports, but we wouldn’t count on it. It may be a close one, but siding with Anonymo is the way to go.

?Team LDLC enter this match in excellent form, having won all but four of their last 16 games. Those losses came against Double Poney (1-2), Endpoint (1-2), Wisla Krakow (0-2), and Copenhagen Flames (0-2). Apeks, on the other side, are 8-6 across the last month and 5-2 in their last seven.

Although the teams’ form is something to consider, we are primarily interested in the fact that LDLC hold a better win rate on five out of seven maps in the rotation. That essentially means that Lambert “Lambert” Prigent and co. will enjoy the luxury of playing on their best maps, further adding to their advantage.

?When SAW and Wisla Krakow met in February, the Poles claimed a reverse-sweep victory with wins on Train (16-11) and Overpass (16-9). The same thing happened in September, although it was SAW who won their last meeting in April with a standalone 19-16 scoreline.

Wisla Krakow are 8-2 in their last 10 yet enter this match as underdogs. That can be explained with SAW’s recent showings, which include wins against Nemiga Gaming (2-0) and world no.8 BIG (2-1).

Although it’s fair to give SAW some praise for those results, we shouldn’t overreact to the odd good performance – especially against an inconsistent team such as BIG. SAW should be favoured, but we don’t expect a one-sided affair.

ESL Pro League Season 12 Europe

AGO are already eliminated from the ESL Pro League after losing four of their five games so far, whereas G2 Esports are 2-3 and still in contention for a playoffs spot.

G2 struggled last week when they lost to Heroic (1-2), ENCE (0-2) and BIG (1-2), while AGO dropped the ball against Natus Vincere (0-2) and ENCE (1-2). If we look at the results alone, it may seem like there is not a lot to set G2 apart from AGO; however, the quality gap is still fairly large.

G2 tend to underperform against weaker sides, but since this is a must-win match for them, we will trust the French squad to secure a perfect 2-0.

As the esports betting odds would suggest, we are in for a close and exciting affair. Both sides have shown similar form, but we are leaning more towards the Danish roster.

Even though Heroic have had some iffy moments, including a 1-2 loss to AGO and three-map series against BIG (2-1) and GODSENT (2-1) last week, NaVi are in a far worse situation, and their narrow win against OG (2-1) on Sunday does not inspire much confidence.

Heroic are on the rise, while NaVi are losing momentum. We expect this trend to continue on Thursday.

Complexity Gaming are looking better and better with each passing day. While they dropped maps against Team Spirit (2-1) and Fnatic (2-1) last week, they are 4-0 and headed to the ESL Pro League playoffs.

While Team Vitality are not performing at the level many expected them to, they have their flashes of greatness from time to time. Those may be rare, but this team can be a deadly when everything falls into place.

We are not ready to believe Vitality can stop Complexity, but it’s highly likely they can force a three-map series.

ESL Pro League Season 12 North America

Even though Gen.G won 27 rounds against Evil Geniuses on Saturday, their overall showings at the ESL Pro League have been mediocre at best – as shown in their 0-2 loss to Chaos Esports Club last week.

100 Thieves started their ESL Pro League campaign with losses to EG (0-2) and Team Liquid (1-2) but proved they’re the real deal with a commanding win over Chaos (2-0) last Thursday, restricting their opponents to only eight points in total.

These teams last met in mid-August during ESL One Cologne, where 100T won 2-1. We expect more of the same this Thursday, but with a much more one-sided scoreline.

BTS Pro Series Season 3 Southeast Asia

496 Gaming started their BTS Pro Series journey with a stalemate against Neon Esports (1-1) and a commanding win over Fnatic (2-0), but they slipped on Monday when they lost to Motivate.Trust Gaming (0-2). TNC Predator have seen far more success, producing a 3-1-0 record with a draw against BOOM Esports (1-1) and wins against NEW Esports (2-0), Fnatic (2-0) and Neon Esports (2-0).

TNC Predator have met with 496 Gaming six times and won each series, with a combined 12-3 map differential. Even though these two sides have not yet clashed in 2020, we like TNC better due to their recent resurgence in form. A draw is still a possibility, but the odds on the favourites are hard to ignore.

Motivade.Trust Gaming have picked up a few solid results this tournament, including a stalemate against Execration (1-1) and a convincing win over 496 Gaming (2-0). Even though they lost to Among Us (0-2) on Tuesday, Motivade.Trust held on surprisingly well against a stack assembled from some of the best players in the region.

Neon Esports have managed only one win from their four outings in the BTS Pro Series. That came against NEW Esports (2-0), while they failed to see the same success against 496 Gaming (1-1), BOOM Esports (0-2) and TNC Predator (0-2).

Due to Neon’s lack of consistency, it’s very difficult to understand why Motivade.Trust are priced at such high odds. Even though Neon defeated Motivade in each of their last four meetings, the underdogs are in much better form and look set to claim a revenge win.

BTS Pro Series Season 3 Europe/CIS

Usually, we would side with Team Empire for this matchup since they swept Team Unique just under a month ago during the OMEGA League. However, after seeing Empire’s performance against B8 (1-1), it’s difficult to view them as the favourites – even though we do not rank their next opponents very highly.

Unique are not a team we expect much from. Their form looks solid on paper, but they have played only three games across the last two weeks and are still somewhat shaky in execution. Both teams look a bit off, which is why we expect to see a 1-1 draw.

5men lost both of their opening fixtures at BTS Pro Series against two tough opponents in mudgolem and Vikin.gg, but now Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard and co. can look for a few wins as they take on some weaker teams.

While we don’t expect 5men to go all the way at the BTS Pro Series due to their obvious lack of cohesion, they still field a very talented roster comprised of ex-Cloud9 and OG.Seed players.

5men have already defeated Alliance (2-1), Natus Vincere (2-0) and FlyToMoon (2-0) since forming only a month ago. While consistency is still a problem, they look solid enough to defeat Khan without any issues.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1

PSG.LGD and Team Aster will clash in the opening match of China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1, and it should be a much more one-sided fixture than the betting odds would lead us to believe.

PSG.LGD won four of their last five meetings between these two side. While Aster claimed a 2-0 win in their most recent bout at the start of July during DPL-CDA League S2, it’s hard to imagine we will see the same result here.

Both teams have been inactive for two months, so some ring rust is expected. Nevertheless, the odds offered on PSG.LGD are well worth taking.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Trailer Released

Activision have just dropped the multiplayer Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War trailer. The company released the first trailer after a video was leaked of the multiplayer game.

The 3:17 official trailer gives players a taste of what they can expect when the game goes live on November 13. As seen in the clip, Cold War promises excellent graphics and tons of action.

From battling on ships in the Atlantic ocean, through the deserts in Angola, to combat in Miami’s streets, there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming launch.

Asia

Big names missing from LoL Worlds in Shanghai

The League of Legends World Championships is quickly approaching as teams make their way to Shanghai for their 14-day quarantine period ahead of the first games. The campaign is set to start on September 25, with teams finding out this week who they’ll be up against.

However, this year some familiar faces will be missing. Cloud9 have had a dismal year and didn’t make the cut, and neither did the 2019 champions, FunPlus Phoenix. Other notable teams that’ll be missing include Invictus Gaming and T1.

There’ll also be no Vietnamese groups this year as the country is experiencing severe travel restrictions due to COVID-19. As a result, Riot Games have shuffled the qualifiers slightly and reduced the amount of participating teams to 22.

You can expect to see some new and old faces with those that have made it for the group stage and the play-ins. DAMWON Gaming, DRX, Fnatic, Gen.G, and Top Esport are just a few of the 12 seeded into the group stage, while the play-ins include Rainbow7, MAD Lions, and Team Liquid among the 10.

Africa

Anubis boosted by $300k seed funding

The Cairo-based esports team Anubis have seeded $300,000 from an ecommerce group. Last month the organization raised $100,000, bringing the total funding in investments to $450,000.

Anubis have rosters for LoL, Counter-Strike, and Crossfire, and they plan to expand by adding more players to compete in different games. Youssef Mohsen, the organization’s founder, says that they’re planning to use the investment funds to bring in new players, international coaches and launch an apparel line.

Anubis have achieved more than 20 titles since launching in 2015. They are the first African team to reach a high level since becoming the regional champions in Crossfire and participating in the world championship playoffs.

Europe

Cloud9 sign ALEX to CS:GO roster

Alex “ALEX” McMeekin is the first player to sign to Cloud9 since the organization announced plans to rebuild their CS: GO roster. The British Counter-Strike player has reportedly penned a three-year deal worth US $1.65 million.

The new GM, Henry “HenryG” Greer, announced the news via Twitter with details about the philosophy he’d like to bring to the team. There’s no news yet about any other signings, but we at eSportsBet.com will keep you up to date with any developments.

South America

Lelis Named ESL One Thailand MVP

Rodrigo “Lelis” Santos, the Brazilian offlaner that plays for Quincy Crew, has won a Mercedes-Benz and a share of $28,000 after winning the ESL One Thailand 2020 MVP award.

Lelis played a crucial role in Quincy Crew taking the title at ESL One Thailand 2020 Americas. He is part of the team currently participating at BTS Pro Series Season 3, where they’ll look to build on their six-win streak in Dota 2 tournaments.

This is the second time that Lelis was up for the Mercedes-Benz MVP award. He was also nominate for the top prize at ESL One Birmingham, where Lu “Somnus” Yao won.

Oceania

RMIT University win UniSport title

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University have won the inaugural UniSport Australia Esports Championships. RMIT topped the charts with 24 points, finishing six points ahead of Monash University.

The competition came to an end after seven weeks where 15 university teams participated in Rocket League, FIFA 20, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournaments. Despite not winning any individual titles, RMIT played well across the board and racked up enough points to put them ahead.