by ESB’s free Counter-Strike: Global Offensive betting picks for Friday focus on the opening three bouts of Group C in ESL Pro League Season 14. Here are our best bets and top odds for BIG vs Evil Geniuses, Natus Vincere vs Fnatic, and FaZe Clan vs mousesports.
BIG vs EVIL GENIUSES CS:GO BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| CS:GO Betting Odds: | BIG -212.77 at BetOnline | EG +156 at BetOnline |
| When: | August 27, 2021 at 13:30 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/esl_csgo) |
BIG and Evil Geniuses will clash for the first time since April, when BIG defeated EG 2-0 with 16-13 on Nuke and Dust II. BIG were at the time still playing with İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş, who has since left to join a new Turkish project, Eternal Fire.
Losing one player usually isn’t a big deal; however, with a player like XANTARES out of the team, BIG seem to lack firepower. Similarly, Evil Geniuses won’t be able to count on Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz, who has decided to take a break from competing and has been temporarily replaced by EG’s coach, Damian “daps” Steele.
Not only will both teams enter this match with new rosters, but it will also mark their first official match since the player break. Ring rust and roster changes make this bout a complete coin-toss, and while you could favour BIG slightly, there is far more value with Evil Geniuses as the outsiders.
Evil Geniuses to win
NATUS VINCERE vs FNATIC CS:GO BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| CS:GO Betting Odds: | NaVi -526.32 at BetOnline | Fnatic +329 at BetOnline |
| When: | August 27, 2021 at 16:45 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/esl_csgo) |
Fnatic moved away from fielding an all-Swedish lineup last month and signed two former Cloud9 players in Alex “ALEX” McMeekin and William “mezii” Merriman as replacements for Maikil “Golden” Kunda Selim and Jesper “JW” Wecksell. With those changes, it’s impossible to say how good Fnatic will turn out to be, but they should at least do better than how they have been doing for the past two years.
Fnatic’s new roster will make their debut against the current best team in the world, Natus Vincere, who are fresh off winning Intel Extreme Masters Season XVI Cologne. However, as good as NaVi have been this season, we have to remember that Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and his crew consistently underdeliver in the opening rounds of big tournaments.
We have yet to see Fnatic’s new roster in action, but they look good enough on paper for us to take a shot with them here. Ring rust, online tournament, and NaVi’s slow starts are three main reasons why Fnatic are a solid bet with a map handicap.
Fnatic +1.5 maps
FAZE CLAN vs MOUSESPORTS CS:GO BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| CS:GO Betting Odds: | FaZe -111.11 at BetOnline | mouz -119.05 at BetOnline |
| When: | August 27, 2021 at 20:00 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/esl_csgo) |
FaZe Clan made quite a statement last month in Cologne when they made it to the semi-finals, where they lost 0-2 against Natus Vincere. Still, FaZe eliminated Gambit Esports (2-1), which is a good indication of how good FaZe can be.
Even though we can praise FaZe for their recent showings, we must also keep in mind that IEM Cologne was a LAN event while ESL Pro League Season 14 is played online. That might not seem like a big deal, but if you look at FaZe’s online results over the season, it will make sense why we aren’t as confident about Finn “karrigan” Andersen and his crew.
Mousesports are an excellent team, but they lack an elite in-game leader to be considered top-tier; however, unlike FaZe, they are much more efficient in online events. For example, in May, they won Flashpoint Season 3 by dropping only one map from five series, yet they managed only two series wins in Germany. Mouz should get it done on Friday.
