Who would have thought that Gambit and BIG would be the two teams going through the PGL Major group stage undefeated? Pretty much every Pick’Em Challenge will have fallen by the wayside but CSGO Betting’s analysts are far more concerned with the betting opportunities. BIG came into the event as one of the outsiders and now they are favoured by many bettors, whilst North and Virtus Pro have been inconsistent. This presents multiple opportunities to get one over the bookies with our PGL Major Quarter Finals Betting Tips. Meanwhile, the remaining teams will be thrilled to be taking to the TAURON Arena. They will be starting to eye up the $500,000 prize and the glory that goes along with it.
BIG (51/50, 2.02 Marathonbet) vs Immortals (EVS, 2.00 Unikrn)
Both BIG and Immortals have surpassed the general public’s expectations at this event and this match is a repeat of their group stage clash at the Main Qualifier. That day, Immortals banned Train, Nuke and Overpass, whilst BIG banned Cobblestone, Inferno and Mirage. The Germans went on to win Cache 16-8. They took the T half 10-5, before Immortals won their T pistol and brought it back to 10-9. BIG won six rounds on the bounce but Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić was abusing the crouch-jump on white-box at mid, which he should not do today. It prevented Immortals from using boost and gave BIG free reign over the most important part of the map. As such, that result can be discounted.
Neither team plays Nuke and it will not be picked. Immortals likely like it less than BIG so it will be their second ban. Neither team likes Mirage either, but in a similar vein BIG like it less. It is likely to be the first map they remove in case Immortals opt for it otherwise. It is surprising Immortals banned Overpass at the qualifier, and they should pick it here. They could also go for Cobble and in the second ban phase, BIG will remove the one Immortals do not pick. Immortals could ban any map. BIG’s form on Inferno is ferocious but there are now three recent demos of it for Immortals to study. Immortals have done well on Train, but likewise, there are two demos available to BIG, and Cache was where Immortals suffered a heavy loss last time the teams met. They should leave in Train, and that or Cache will probably end up being the last map as BIG should pick Inferno.
Both teams have shown a very high level of CounterStrike at this event, and will likely win their own maps. It feels like Inferno is more likely to go the way of Immortals than BIG are to win Cobble or Overpass. Their Train was very convincing and BIG’s fairy-tale story will end here. Again, Unikrn are top price about their owned-team’s opponent and punters should punish them.
North (101/100, 2.01 Marathonbet) vs Virtus Pro (87/100, 1.87 Mr Green)
North came out on top in the closest possible manner when they faced Virtus Pro in the group stage, winning 16-14 on Mirage. North perma ban Train which is a good VP map, and they also hate playing Cache and Inferno. Fortunately for North, VP rarely play Cache so the Poles will not pick it – it was actually their second ban in the Swiss stage despite their victory over Fnatic. VP’s veto of Cache gave North an edge in the veto process and if they are smart they can capitalise on that and turn the tables. VP’s initial ban from yesterday, Overpass, will be repeated, as it is a bad map for VP and a good one for North.
Virtus Pro will almost certainly pick North’s second ban, Nuke, which is their best map. North are competent on Nuke but the Polish Plow should be in force in front of their home crowd. You would not want to bet against VP on Nuke. They have some excellent form on the map and in a game with not much difference in individual ability between the two teams, their understanding of how to play the map will see them come out ahead.
North might go for Mirage again, following their earlier win, but are more likely to pick Cobble. Mirage could go either way and they will be hoping for more of an edge. At the start of the year, Cobblestone was a map where North were dominant but more recently they have struggled on it. However, Virtus Pro have also struggled on it, and their form is worse than North’s. There’s the chance of an upset but we’re likely going to three maps.
If Virtus Pro are willing to leave Cache in the map pool – which they should – North will not let it go to it, due to VP’s victory over Fnatic. If Virtus Pro are willing to play this game of “map chicken”, they will get to decide whether the match ends on Mirage or Inferno. As mentioned, anything could happen on Mirage, and the same applies on Inferno, which is the fifth-best map for both teams. Given Virtus Pro have the advantage on Nuke and the other maps could go either way, they are the bet to advance to the semi-finals.
PGL Major Krakow 2017 Quarter Final Betting Tips:
Immortals to beat BIG with Unikrn at Evens (2.00)
Virtus Pro to beat North with Mr Green at 87/100 (1.87)
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