VALORANT EMEA Stage 2 betting continues with Eternal Fire, Team Heretics, Gentle Mates and Natus Vincere in action.
The second week of VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 EMEA Stage 2 continues on Thursday, July 23, when Eternal Fire face Team Heretics, followed by a clash between Gentle Mates and Natus Vincere.
Esportbet brings you free VALORANT betting predictions and expert picks for the two outings, with odds from the best esports bookmakers.
Team Heretics are -175.44 favourites on the top-rated VALORANT bookmakers to take down Eternal Fire on Thursday, but it is fair to question whether this number is accurate.
Heretics have not been great since Stage 1, winning just two of six games played, against AG.AL and MIBR at the Esports World Cup.
Even in the opening week of VCT EMEA Stage 2, Heretics failed to impress, as they had to admit defeat to Team Liquid. With the roster they have, Heretics should find some traction, but as it stands now, they are struggling.
Eternal Fire have long been viewed as a dangerous team, with enough firepower to challenge anyone. While that remains the case, EF have also been showing some cracks.
They do not look as polished, which could be because they are still learning how to play with Veto.
Still, Eternal Fire showed some good things against Liquid and Karmine Corp in the first week, making them a solid choice at plus money. Team Heretics are stronger on paper, but they have yet to find traction in the current meta.
Eternal Fire to win
Gentle Mates and Natus Vincere enter the second week of VCT EMEA Stage 2 with a 1-1 record.
Gentle Mates have lost to FUT Esports and edged past PCIFIC Esports, while Natus Vincere defeated FUT Esports but lost against Team Vitality.
Based on that record alone, Gentle Mates have looked worse, as their only victory was a three-map win over one of the league’s weakest teams.
Moreover, the eye test proves that M8 are not at 100%. Their game plan seems off, and Gentle Mates have been looking worse on offence.
Those are things that are easy to improve on, but until Gentle Mates show something, it is much easier to believe in Natus Vincere.
Natus Vincere 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.
