Counter-Strike 2 Esports World Cup 2026 playoffs continue on August 20 with Falcons, NAVI, Spirit, FaZe and Vitality in action.
The second round of the Counter-Strike 2 Esports World Cup 2026 Round of 16 is set for Thursday, August 20, when eight teams begin their campaign through the knockout stage toward the coveted trophy.
Esportbet brings you free Counter-Strike 2 betting predictions and picks for the four games, along with odds from the top-rated bookmakers for esports punters.
Team Falcons entered the Esports World Cup with momentum, having recently won the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major.
The title run in Germany not only established Falcons as the world’s best team, but also gave them a chance to prove they can deliver in clutch moments and that they no longer collapse in the playoffs.
In France, Falcons have yet to disappoint, having beaten K27 and Astralis in Group B to advance to the playoffs.
The MongolZ have not found as much success this season, but the new-look lineup have been playing well.
Even in Paris, MongolZ have shown good things, with a 13-7 win against magic and a 2-0 sweep of paiN Gaming. They, however, were less successful against Natus Vincere and lost 1-2.
MongolZ took one map off NAVI in Group D, and they had previously challenged FaZe Clan during BLAST Bounty Summer, indicating that the Mongolian squad have a bite to them.
It will take more than just that for MongolZ to upset Falcons, but at -125 on the best CS2 bookmakers, they are a solid pick to take one map on Thursday.
The MongolZ +1.5 maps
Natus Vincere qualified for the EWC 2026 playoffs by beating 3DMAX and The MongolZ in Group D.
Legacy, on the other hand, fought through Group B’s lower bracket, having beaten Ninjas in Pyjamas and MIBR, but lost to FaZe Clan.
Legacy had a solid showing in May, when they won CS Asia Championships and placed third at Intel Extreme Masters Atlanta.
However, at the Cologne Major, Legacy failed to show much against elite teams, and their loss against FaZe last week is good proof that the Brazilians are not well-equipped to deal with top-rated squads.
Natus Vincere showed shaky form ahead of their trip to the EWC, with an early exit from the IEM Cologne Major. But they have looked more stable since and should not struggle against a team like Legacy.
Natus Vincere -1.5 maps
B8 have a mountain to climb on Thursday, when they clash with the world No.2 squad, Team Spirit.
Team Spirit are -625 favourites to defeat B8, which sounds fair, but Danil “donk” Kryshkovets and his crew have not been too convincing during the group stage.
They lost to JiJieHao, nearly dropped a map to Luminosity, and needed a reverse sweep to beat BIG in the lower-bracket decider.
B8 had a much better showing in Group C, with a narrow victory against PARIVISION and a 2-1 upset over Team Vitality.
The win against Vitality is a promising sign that B8 can handle squads of Spirit’s calibre, especially considering Spirit’s iffy form.
At the offered odds, it is fair to take a swing with the outsiders to take a map.
B8 +1.5 maps
FaZe Clan are +250 underdogs to defeat Team Vitality on Thursday, which is a surprisingly good offer considering Vitality’s performances in the group stage.
Team Vitality, despite being regarded as one of the best CS2 teams in the world, did not show much in Group C, with a 13-4 win against 100 Thieves, a 1-2 loss against B8, and a 2-0 sweep of Lynn Vision Gaming.
The Bees have essentially beaten two weak teams, which does not show any improvement from Vitality’s rough run of results in the past month.
FaZe Clan, on the other side, have been slowly gaining traction with the new roster. They placed top-four at BLAST Bounty Summer and XSE Pro League before their trip to France, where they have beaten BetBoom Team and Legacy.
On paper, Vitality are stronger, but they should not be priced as -357.14 favourites against another tier-one team.
FaZe Clan to win
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.
