Who would have thought that Gambit and Immortals would be the two teams fighting out the final of the PGL Major? Many thought a Brazilian team would be in the final but the expectation was that SK Gaming were the likely contender. Immortals went off 20/1 (21.00) to win the event, whilst Gambit were given even less chance by the bookies, rated a 50/1 (51.0) long shot. The latter side have undoubtedly been more impressive so far, losing a single map to Astralis, and winning every other. Victories over Mousesports on Inferno, G2 on Cache, Virtus Pro on Train, Fnatic on Train & Inferno, and Astralis on Overpass and Train have given their leader, Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko, a favourite’s chance of winning a “motherfucking major”.
Meanwhile, Immortals have had a slightly easier route. They dropped Overpass to both Astralis and fellow countrymen SK, but beat Na’Vi on it. They took down Vega Squadron and FlipSid3 on Train, before besting BIG on Inferno and Train, after dropping Cobblestone. Their most impressive performance was how they brushed aside Virtus Pro in their semi-final on both Inferno and Mirage.
Who will be crowned champion? CSGO Betting’s team have studied the matchup and present to you our PGL Major Final betting tips and verdict on who is going home with half a million dollars.
Gambit (63/100, 1.63 Mr Green) vs Immortals (139/100, 2.39 GG Bet)
Immortals have shown no interest in Nuke, their perma ban, and will remove it. Mirage is not quite a perma ban for Gambit but they are similar, and whilst neither team is much good on the other’s map, they will have to remove them. These two teams met almost three months ago at DreamHack Open Austin, though Lincoln “fnx” Lau was playing for Immortals rather than their most recent addition Vito “kNgV-” Giuseppe. That day, Immortals banned Nuke, but Gambit banned Cache. Gambit might have hoped otherwise in regards to their ban this time around, but Immortals victory over Virtus Pro on Mirage combined with their win over G2 on Cache will have put an end to any such thoughts.
In Austin, Gambit picked Train and were triumphant 16-12. At the Major, they have beaten Astralis, Fnatic and Virtus Pro on it, so clearly their form is exceptional. Immortals had not shown much form on Train prior to the Major and their performances on it this week might not mean much. There is no barometer as to how good BIG are on it and their other victories were over tier two or three teams: FlipSid3 and Vega Squadron. Their victories have come through strong T-sides, forcing their opponents into playing a low economy game. It is most concerning that in their victory over BIG, they had 11 less frags than their German opponent. They have shown that they are able to adapt their game to each opponent but have shown they are highly dependant upon getting picks from A-main on their T-side or causing a distraction for Ricardo “boltz” Prass to create an opening from pop dog. They have had great success in opening up rounds and will need to do so again.
When the teams last met, Immortals won their CT half 8-7, despite losing 10 of the opening duels but only gained 4 T-rounds. They showed a prevalence for hitting the B site which has happened less at this event. This is fortunate, as Gambit’s defence there, particularly by Mihail “Dosia” Stolyarov, has been very impressive.
Gambit rarely push Ivy on T, and this might give Immortals a chance, if they are able to react to this and utilise more players to defend the B-site.
It is impossible not to favour Gambit on Train given their performances in Krakow, and they have a suitable combination of individual skill, set tactics and ability to adapt on the fly to their opponents game, but Immortals are yet to show what they can do can do. Given their pick-ban phases throughout the tournament it is doubtful that it is a favoured map but they could spring a surprise.
Immortals will pick Inferno or Cache. Cache is Gambit’s second weakest map, but they gave an exceptional performance against G2, and Rustem “mou” Telepov claimed in an interview that they prepared it for their semi-final against Astralis. It used to be a good map for Immortals, most notably when beating SK Gaming on it, but they didn’t choose to play it versus Virtus Pro. Immortals went for Inferno and that decision paid off. They will probably pick Inferno again. Both teams have good form on the map and have been willing to play it but Immortals have looked more impressive on it throughout the event. Against Astralis and Fnatic, Gambit’s CT side was shaky, and Immortals definitely know how to attack on the map, showing different styles against both their opponents so far. They should be able to adapt to whatever Gambit throw at them and take Inferno.
Whichever of Inferno and Cache Immortals do not pick, will be Gambit’s second ban. This will let Immortals pick between their two best maps, Cobble and Overpass, though both are maps Gambit favour. At DreamHack, Immortals went for Cobble but it was not played. Here, Immortals picked Cobble against BIG and were beaten on it. Immortals dominated on CT, winning the half 12-3, but were awful on T-side. If they have figured out how to solve their issues – particularly in drop – they should go for Cobble again. Gambit showed a sign of weakness by going for Cache over Cobble against G2, though admittedly the French side are considered one of the world’s best on the map, and haven’t played it at this event. On the other hand, Gambit dominated Astralis on Overpass as mou was unstoppable. Immortals’ form on Overpass is ok, as they took Astralis to overtime, beat Na’Vi but lost to SK. They should have confidence in picking Cobblestone.
Like the entire series, Cobble could go either way, so at the prices, it should pay to side with Immortals to be crowned champions. Zeus will not cast thunder and his retirement plans will be put on hold, as Immortals will be immortalised in CounterStrike history.
PGL Major Final Betting Tips – Krakow 2017:
Immortals to beat Gambit with GG Bet at 139/100 (2.39)
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