ELEAGUE Major - Quarter Finals Preview

ELEAGUE Major – Quarter Finals preview CSGOBetting.com

Rarely are we so excited and ruing the fact there is an off day. The quarter finals of the years first major event, the ELEAGUE Major in Atlanta takes places tomorrow from the Fox Theatre.

There have already been some incredible games and some noticeable struggles from teams we didn’t expect to see. G2 (and SmithZz in particular) didn’t show up to the event, something that perhaps isn’t that surprising given the fact the team will effectively be disbanding next week. OpTic not making it to the final 8 is the biggest surprise from the round robin stages. ELEAGUE Season 2 champions and ECS Finalists towards the end of the year, OpTic would have expected to cruise their way to the final 8. Unfortunately the random bracket draws left them in an awkward position of being 0-2 after two games. Their elimination match vs GODSENT was an ideal opportunity to make it through to the final 8 but they got blown aside by the incredible hot & cold Swedish roster who were having a good day it seems. RUSH said in an interview after going 0-2 in the tournament that they hadn’t prepared enough for the tournament due to Mixwell having visa issues and having to practice from Spain. Now, OpTic are one of the biggest brands in esports who undoubtedly have cash to spend: what’s $5k in air fares and $2k in hotels for 2 weeks to OpTic to send their players to Europe (like Liquid did and pretty much everyone else) to practice against the elite teams? The mind boggles. No excuses here.

Oh, and Mouz completely bombing out against Liquid. Spiidi cementing himself as the 2nd worst player at the major probably didn’t help here, barely getting a higher rating than SmithZz.

Right, onto the quarter finals.

Na’Vi vs Astralis:

First up is a mouthwatering tie between Na’Vi and Astralis. Anyone else think this should be a semi/final as opposed to the quarters? Sensational luck of the draw for both teams. Na’Vi have looked impenetrable so far while Astralis recovered from their loss against GODSENT on day one, and recovered despite losing a game which they really should of won against SK. If they’d won that game, they wouldn’t be in this position and the ECS champions are not to be under estimated.

As always, vetos play an enormous part in which team will progress, so without seeing the vetos and only going on how well teams are playing right now, I’d take Na’Vi to beat Astralis 2-1. If Train gets through the veto that could well be the map Astralis pick up.

Selections:
Na’Vi 1.4 with Betway
Na’Vi 2.2 -1.5 Map Handicap with Betway

*Note of caution, Na’Vi have historically had issues with bottling it when deep into tournaments in the past. This should sit at the back of your mind when you decide how much to bet.

Fnatic vs Gambit:

Gambit eh? I have a real soft spot for this predominately Asian team who continue to put up solid performances. Zeus is an in-game leader who has helped to develop Gambit into a tactically solid side that will do everything in its power to anti-strat their opponents into submission. We saw this on day one when Gambit taught North a valuable lesson in how to prepare for an opponent by comprehensively beating them 16-8 on a strong map for North (ex Team Dignitas).

Fnatic on the other hand are a team who surprised a few by even getting this far. It’s well documented Fnatic will be making changes after the major so as a 5 man line up, they will not exist in a week or so’s time. They opened the event losing to G2, who would then go on to be beaten comprehensively in their next two games to put them within a game of being eliminated. Fnatic were written off at this point. Turning up for the sake of it. They then managed to beat North, who amazingly have played some of the poorest CS they have ever played (and somehow obtained the legendary spot!). Defeats of Mousesports and EnVyUs followed and this brings us to this match up.

Gambit beating FaZe, North, Godsent and losing to VP by a respectable scoreline of 16-10 puts them head and shoulders above Fnatic here. Gambit will do their homework on Fnatic and a “shock” is on the cards. Gambit should most definitely be odds on to win this fixture and the fact odds against is available is incredible given everything we’ve seen the past 5 days from Gambit.

Selections:
Gambit 2.05 with Betway
Gambit to win 2-0 3.5 with Betway

Virtus Pro vs North:
Dear oh dear, where to begin. North have been quite possibly the most overrated team at this event. Having been picked up over Christmas by FC Copenhagen on massive salaries North came into the event with high expectations from the community and their new owners. They repeatedly underperformed and essentially won a coin toss overtime game vs GODSENT to make the final 8. VP on the other hand had a perfect 3-0 record going into the quarters. They beat OpTic, a top 3 team in the world, G2 in a close 16-14 victory on Nuke (both CT sides prevailed here, the fact VP had a better T side won them the game) and Gambit, to progress, 16-10.

VP are big game players. Since Epicenter North have been bombing out of tournaments left, right and centre. I’m amazed they made it this far and will be going all in on Virtus Pro.

Selections:
Virtus Pro win 1.45 with Betway
Virtus Pro -1.5 map handicaps 2.25 with Betway
Virtus Pro 2.15 2-0 (once you’ve hit your max on 2.25, do 2-0 at 2.15) with Betway

SK vs FaZe:
Tough. Really tough. The four full time members of SK are obviously incredibly strong, but can they beat FaZe again with Fox as a stand-in? Remember back to that game for a second: from recollection FaZe were around 14-6 up and ended up throwing it away (I know, I backed FaZe). On their day even the four solid members of SK can force SK across the finish line but I’m not convinced today is the day for that. This is an absolutely golden opportunity for FaZe to make the Major semi finals and I’ve got a sneaky feeling they’ll do it. Unless Fallen and co pull a miracle out of nowhere.

Selection:
FaZe win 2.3 with Betway