FISSURE Playground #3 begins on September 8 with 16 CS2 teams starting their group-stage run in Suzhou, China.
FISSURE Playground #3 kicks off with the first games of the group stage on Tuesday, September 8, when 16 Counter-Strike 2 teams start their quest to claim the biggest slice of the US$1,000,000 prize pool.
At Esportbet, you can find free CS2 betting previews for the first day of action, along with odds from the top-rated bookmakers and expert picks.
9z Team are expected to start FISSURE Playground #3 strong as they get ready to face the tournament’s lowest-rated team, 5star eSports.
Having reached the event via the regional qualifiers, 5star have demonstrated they can do well against other Asian teams, but they lack experience facing international opponents.
Since the turn of the year, they have attended just one A-Tier event, the Asian Champions League, and even that lacked any strong squads.
This raises the question of how 5star eSports will fare against a team like 9z, who head to China battle-hardened from playing in Intel Extreme Cologne Major, XSE Pro League, the Esports World Cup, and BLAST Open Fall across the last three months.
9z Team have not been great over the last month, with four straight losses, but those came against FURIA, Magic, MOUZ, and Team Vitality, so they deserve some slack.
As world No.11, 9z Team should handle 5star without any issues.
9z Team -1.5 maps
Legacy are among dark horses to win FISSURE Playground #3, having shown promising form over the last few months.
They won CS Asia Championships and placed third at the Esports World Cup, but failed to make it far at BLAST Open Fall, where they crashed out in ninth-12th place.
However, even at BLAST Open, Legacy showed good things, beating FUT Esports and taking maps off Vitality and Team Falcons.
Magic had their moments in May, when they reached the finals of Stake Ranked Episode 2, but they have looked toothless of late, with a ninth-16th place finish at the Esports World Cup and seventh-eighth in IEM Beijing qualifiers.
Magic can bite, but their form has been lacking.
The best CS2 bookmakers are offering +229 on Legacy to sweep, which is worth a look.
Legacy -1.5 maps
FaZe Clan are heavily favoured to defeat Alliance on Tuesday, and for all the right reasons.
While FaZe have not reached any notable heights of late, they have been playing well and seem to be slowly finding traction, with five wins from their last seven outings.
Fielding a very stacked and experienced roster, FaZe should be capable of competing for the biggest trophies of the season. And this potential alone makes them a scary team to bet against.
Alliance, quality-wise, are a fair bit below FaZe, and their more recent performances at BLAST Bounty Summer and United21 Season 54, where Alliance placed 17th-32nd and ninth-12th, confirm it.
This is a must-win match for FaZe, who should not struggle against a lower-tier opponent.
FaZe Clan -1.5 maps
The MongolZ and MIBR are both capable rosters, but neither have looked particularly impressive of late.
The MongolZ have shown some signs of life, with a top-eight finish at BLAST Bounty Summer and a 2-2 record at the Esports World Cup, where they lost to Natus Vincere and Team Falcons.
In contrast, MIBR recently attended IEM Beijing Global Qualifier, where they bested 3DMAX and EYEBALLERS, but lost against K27 and Eternal Fire, which is not the most inspiring record.
Outside of some regional events, MIBR have been struggling to leave a lasting mark in their competitive endeavours, which explains why they are priced as underdogs.
But even at +121, MIBR are overrated.
Until MIBR find more momentum and show similar performances to what they produced during the IEM Cologne Major, they are an easy fade.
The MongolZ to win
TYLOO enter FISSURE Playground #3 after a successful run through the IEM Beijing qualifiers, granted they have played just two games in the event, against Kaleido Gaming and DEPO, and were awarded two forfeit wins against Rare Atom and FlyQuest.
Prior to the IEM Beijing qualifiers, TYLOO attended the Esports World Cup and GG Media Challenger Series S1, where they failed to produce many memorable games.
They bested MongolZ Academy and The Huns, but lost against FUT Esports and Lynn Vision Gaming.
PARIVISION’s form has not been great either.
They placed second at XSE Pro League in July and have since attended the Esports World Cup, where PARIVISION defeated 100 Thieves and lost to B8 and MOUZ.
PARIVISION have had the chance to face stronger teams of late, which gives them some advantage.
But their map pool is lacking, with a higher win rate on just one map in the rotation — Dust2 — which is a map TYLOO regularly ban.
Expect a scrappy affair that can go both ways.
TYLOO to win
BetBoom Team and BIG last met during XSE Pro League in July, when BetBoom won 13-11.
The rematch is expected to play out similarly, with BB Team priced as -192.31 favourites.
BetBoom Team enter this match having played just four fixtures since their meeting with BIG.
Over that stretch, they have beaten Team Nemesis, but lost against Ninjas in Pyjamas and FaZe Clan twice.
In contrast, BIG have played 15 games over the same stretch and have won all but five against G2 Esports, Team Spirit, Nemiga Gaming, and magic.
BIG are 1-4 from their last five, but while that stretch includes a worrying loss against Nemiga, BIG have also taken maps off G2 and Spirit, which is nothing to sneeze at.
While BIG appear volatile, they have shown high highs, making them an inviting bet at plus money.
BIG to win
FURIA are the main favourites to win FISSURE Playground #3 after showing strong form over the last three months.
Notably, they secured a silver medal at the IEM Cologne Major, a fourth-place finish at the Esports World Cup, and they even reached the quarterfinals of BLAST Open Fall.
GamerLegion have not come close to reaching the same heights and have been largely underwhelming this season.
This is due to the potential this roster has on paper, but even though GL appear competitive in theory, they have yet to show anything memorable.
GamerLegion have won just two games from their last seven, and that includes losses against K27, HOTU, 9INE, and Acend.
Results like that inspire no confidence that GamerLegion can challenge FURIA.
FURIA to win
FISSURE Playground #3 gives Astralis another chance to make a splash, following their promising semifinal run at BLAST Bounty Summer.
They were, however, less successful at the Esports World Cup, where Astralis placed ninth-16th with defeats against Team Falcons and G2 Esports.
The latter match was a painful reverse sweep, with Astralis taking Ancient 13-6, before they collapsed on Dust2 and Inferno, losing the two maps 6-13 and 7-13, respectively.
Despite the loss, Astralis have been playing well of late, and they have proven they can challenge G2 Esports to some extent.
Admittedly, G2 have been on the rise of late and should be favoured for this match, but considering how the last head-to-head played out, G2 should not be such massive favourites.
Astralis +1.5 maps
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
