There were a mixed bag of results on day two, and we came out just ahead thanks to SK’s demolition of Virtus Pro, so now CSGO Betting brings you our StarLadder i-League Betting Tips for day three. Two teams will go home today, and two will advance to the playoffs and guarantee themselves a place at the National Palace of Arts “Ukraina”.
TyLoo (1/5, 1.20 Betway Esports) vs MVP Project (4/1, 5.00 138 Esports)
TyLoo should arguably have caused a huge upset and beaten Gambit on Cobblestone, but their over-aggressive play cost them dearly. The same could be said about MVP Project on the same map vs NiP, who won nine rounds despite losing both pistols. If it was not for some very poor Xv1 and Xv2 play, it’s possible that they would have managed to win.
This match is likely to take place on either Mirage or Overpass, depending on MVP Project’s preference. TyLoo will remove Nuke, Train and Inferno, whilst MVP will remove Cache and Cobble. The latter is a map they play, and even beat TyLoo on last year, but they will likely lose if playing them on it, given what we saw of both teams so far. In all likelihood, the map will not matter too much, as TyLoo appear to have more individual skill and be better organised than the Koreans.
Immortals (7/100, 1.07 GG Bet) vs 5Power (8/1, 9.00 Mr Green Esports)
These two teams share very similar map pools so we are likely to end up on Inferno, Cache or Cobble. Quite simply, 5Power have been dreadful and are not at the calibre required to compete at this event. For all that Immortals have also looked awful, based on their record so far in CS:GO, their opponents in this match do not deserve to share a server with them. Even with an 8.5 round handicap, Immortals should manage to win out with a score of 16-7 or better. However, the value is clearly in backing 5Power to win both pistol rounds at a massive 9/1.
Gambit (21/10, 3.10 Mr Green Esports) vs FaZe Clan (4/9, 1.44 Betfair Esports)
At first glance, first blood appears to go to FaZe in this fixture, as Gambit’s best map, Cobblestone, is their perma ban. However, Gambit do not play Mirage, and rarely play Nuke, which are FaZe’s two strongest maps, which also will not be played here. Gambit have shown a tendency to want to play Inferno, even though they have appeared weak on it, and as such FaZe will not risk playing a map they have shown a propensity to avoid, despite showing some reasonable form on it.
That leaves Cache, Overpass and Train. Of the three, Gambit would rather play Overpass, and will almost certainly take out Train, as they did at the ELEAGUE Major. There, Gambit came out on top 16-14, on Overpass, and FaZe may opt for Cache rather than a repeat. Gambit do play Cache, albeit rarely, and have not yet shown any tier one form on it. FaZe should have too much firepower regardless. Gambit have looked mediocre at this tournament so far, whilst FaZe’s performance on Mirage against Immortals was solid.
CLG (39/20, 2.95 Betway Esports) vs HellRaisers (1/2, 1.50 Betfair Esports)
This event has certainly been a tale of two halves for HellRaisers, who looked very solid when beating FaZe, but awful when being annihilated by G2. CLG showed some promise vs Astralis, whilst their victory over 5Power does not mean too much in the context of this match.
HellRaisers are capable of playing every map in the pool, though they have been avoiding Nuke and Train at this event so far. However, that is unsurprising given they are strong maps for both their previous opponents, FaZe and G2. As such, CLG will be forced to remove Nuke, whilst HellRaisers will remove Train, due to CLG’s performance on it on day one. CLG have been steering clear of Inferno, as have HellRaisers, though the Europeans’ online performance has been far better on it than the Americans. After their awful showing against G2, HellRaisers will not have to play Cobble, and they would be happy to play Cache, Mirage or Overpass. On all those maps they would be heavily favoured, and given the clear veto advantage, they can be backed on the handicap.
Natus Vincere (21/25, 1.84 Betway Esports) vs North (11/10, 2.10 Ladbrokes Esports)
North will get rid of Train, Overpass and Mirage, and Na’Vi will remove Cache. It will then come down to whether they would like to try yet again on Cobble – which they prefer but where they have lost to North three times – or on Nuke or Inferno. On paper, this looks like a match that North should win, but Na’Vi have looked like a proper team this event, which they have yet to do since the addition of Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev.
At the same time, North also seem to be going through somewhat of a revival, as they had also fallen off a cliff since linking up with FC Copenhagen. At the prices, it will hopefully pay to side with North in what should be a very even match. Neither 5Power or Fnatic have the same raw fragging ability as North, when they are on form, and this may pose more problems for Na’Vi than they have experienced so far at StarLadder.
Ninjas in Pyjamas (7/4, 2.75 Betway Esports) vs Virtus Pro (8/13, 1.61 Betfair Esports)
The prices for this match are inexplicable. Whilst Virtus Pro were smashed by SK Gaming, it was clear to see that their issue was not contesting mid on Mirage. On the other hand, NiP have been dreadful. They have shown little signs of playing as a coherent team and they are not the stars that they once were. They showed nothing against G2 and could well have lost to MVP Project, who VP brushed aside with ease.
Both teams will ban their two least favoured maps: Mirage and Train for NiP, and Cache and Overpass for VP. Nuke, Inferno and Cobblestone will remain. NiP love Nuke, but a lack of playing time looks like it may have hamstrung their ability on the map. As such, VP should be happy to ban Cobble which they have appeared reluctant to play. This will leave the ninjas free to pick Nuke, but VP should still pick this up in convincing fashion. The newest ninja, William “draken” Sundin, has never shone on Nuke and ultimately, VP will outclass NiP here.
SK Gaming (4/5, 1.80 Betfair Esports) vs G2 (6/5, 2.20 Betway Esports)
G2 will remove Mirage, whilst SK will be forced to ban Nuke and Inferno. Past that, G2 would be expected to ban Cache, but it is difficult to decipher their preferences solely from online matches. They have looked sloppy on Overpass, so it is more likely they let SK choose between Cobble or Train, and they would fancy their chances on both maps.
SK did not look special against TyLoo, and their victory over VP was almost a free victory given that Virtus conceded mid control throughout. G2 have been on fire, albeit against two opponents who are not at SK’s level. Our feeling here is that Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo’s selfless play, choosing to play more massive roles to accommodate Joao “felps” Vasconcellos will come back to bite SK here. G2’s leader Richard “shox” Papillon does not hesitate to build the game around himself and G2’s aggressive style, combining his dual AWPing with Kenny “kennyS” Schrub, will more than likely open up map control for G2.
Fnatic (38/25, 2.52 GGBet) vs Astralis (4/7, 1.57 Betfair Esports)
This match will be played on Inferno, Mirage or Train. Astralis will remove Cache and Cobble, whilst Fnatic will take out Overpass and Nuke. Fnatic cannot afford to face Astralis on Train, and the Danes are likely to opt for a repeat of their IEM Katowice fixture on Inferno. That day, Astralis required overtime to win 19-17. Fnatic have looked solid on the map since, though Gambit did not really show up on the first day of StarLadder, but their online victory over North is impressive given North managed to beat Astralis here. It is difficult to oppose Astralis, given the level everyone knows they can play at, but Fnatic should be able to keep this close.
StarLadder i-League Betting Tips:
5Power to win both pistol rounds vs Immortals with Betway at 9/1 (10.00)
FaZe -3.5 rounds vs Gambit with Betway at 3.4 (1.75)
HellRaisers -3.5 rounds vs Gambit with Betway at 9/10 (1.90)
North to beat Na’Vi with Ladbrokes at 11/10 (2.10)
VP to beat NiP with Betfair at 8/13 (1.61)
G2 to beat SK Gaming with Betway at 6/5 (2.20)
Fnatic +3.5 rounds vs Astralis with GG Bet at 4/5 (1.80)
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