Friday, December 13 – 12:30 CET
After claiming second place at DreamHack Open Winter, Tricked Esports ($1.40) will look to keep their wheels spinning in Sevilla when they face Gambit Youngsters ($2.77) in the opening match of the group stage.
Tricked have been on the rise recently, ascending from 70th spot in the CS:GO global rankings back in March to 20th as of December 9, 2019.
Looking back at Tricked’s venture in DreamHack Open Winter, Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen and co. defeated forZe (16-10) and FURIA (16-14) in the group stage, to which they added a convincing 2-0 win against CR4ZY in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, Tricked ran out of steam in the grand finals, where they lost 1-2 to forZe.
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Gambit Youngsters’ most recent tournament was the EPICENTER 2019: CIS Qualifier, where they started off strong and defeated both Syman Gaming (2-0) and MELBET (2-0) to secure a spot in the grand finals. However, just like their next opponents, Gambit ran out of gas when it mattered and had to admit defeat to forZe (0-2).
GambitY have not played a single competitive match since that event ended on November 24, which does raise some questions as to whether they are ready to perform this Friday.
Tricked and GambitY have met twice in 2019. Their first meeting came at the Copenhagen Games in April, when Tricked won 2-1. The second clash came at WePlay! Forge of Masters Season 2 last month, where Tricked saluted again with a 16-7 win.
Tricked are the superior team here and should come out of this bout victorious with at least four rounds to spare.
Prediction: Tricked -3.5 – $1.75 at GG Bet
Friday, December 13 – 15:30 CET
The second fixture of the day will feature GODSENT ($1.50) locking horns with Illuminar Gaming ($2.45) for the very first time.
GODSENT will arrive at Sevilla fresh from a third-fourth finish at DreamHack Open Winter, where the former SMASH roster put up a very solid run but came up short in the semi-finals against eventual champions forZe. Since then, GODSENT have lost to Hard Legion Esports (1-2) at United Masters League Season 2 and defeated Nemiga (2-1) at SECTOR: MOSTBET, meaning they head to Spain with a 3-2 record in their last five.
Illuminar Gaming have had much more success in their recent fixtures. They triumphed at ESL Mistrzostwa Polski – Fall 2019 and then claimed the gold medal at WESG 2019 East Europe after defeating AGO (2-1) for the second time that week, thus extending their winning streak to nine games.
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As these two sides have not yet met on the battlefield, all we have to work with is their performances against other teams.
While GODSENT produced a weaker run over the course of the last month, they were facing much tougher opponents compared to Illuminar. We must also take into consideration the individual performances of the players, where GODSENT come out ahead.
Over the course of the last three months, GODSENT’s players averaged a 1.07 rating, while Illuminar’s roster averaged 1.02, with two of their players averaging less than 1.00. Again, we have to factor in that GODSENT’s roster reached the higher rating against tougher opponents.
Good form is without a doubt a huge factor, especially in best-of-one (Bo1) fixtures, but GODSENT should prove too tough of a nut to crack for Illuminar. GODSENT lose 9.48 rounds on average when they win and Illuminar win 9.47 per map when they lose, so the numbers suggest the favourites should cover the 3.5-round line.
Prediction: GODSENT -3.5 – $1.98 at GG Bet
]]>Friday, December 13 – 11:00 CET
The opening clash between CR4ZY ($1.44) and Movistar Riders ($2.63) is expected to be a rather one-sided affair.
The last tournament CR4ZY participated in was DreamHack Open Winter 2019, where they left a lot to be desired. While Luka “emi” Vukovi? and his crew made it through the group stage with a 2-1 record next to their name, they failed to deliver in the playoffs as Tricked Esports bested them 16-7 on Dust II and 16-6 on Vertigo.
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While we cannot be too satisfied with what CR4ZY achieved in recent weeks, Movistar Riders are not in a much better spot heading to Sevilla.
Movistar’s most recent tournament was the OMEN Atlantic Challenge, which was a two-day B-Tier event. While they won their semi-final against Team Heretics (2-0), they fell short against DETONA Gaming (1-2) in the upper bracket finals. In the lower bracket finals, Heretics avenged their earlier defeat to Movistar with a 2-0 sweep.
Neither side is in great form, yet CR4ZY should be the alpha dogs in this bout. While this will be a best-of-one (Bo1) fixture, where upsets are common, CR4ZY are far stronger than Movistar and should prove that here.
Prediction: CR4ZY to win – $1.44 at GG Bet
Friday, December 13 – 14:00 CET
The second fixture of Group A will see North ($1.70) clash with BIG ($2.05) in their sixth meeting of 2019.
North head to Andalusia following a short stint at the ESL Pro League S10 Finals. While the Danes were far from embarrassed in their 12-16 loss to Team Liquid in round one of the upper bracket, their 0-2 defeat to ATK in the lower bracket was humiliating. Not only did ATK sweep North in two maps, but they did so in a very convincing fashion with a 16-9 win on Overpass and a 16-8 result on Vertigo.
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BIG will travel to Sevilla with a 6-4 record in their last 10 fixtures. Their most recent match came on November 24 in United Masters League Season 2, where the Germans defeated Copenhagen Flames (2-0). Prior to that, BIG defeated the ex-Windigo roster (2-0) in the European Champions Cup and lost to Hard Legion Esports (0-2) in the finals of the same tournament.
North and BIG have met five times throughout 2019. North have won four of those five meetings, including a 2-1 victory in the ESL Pro League S10 European qualifiers in their most recent bout. In total, the aggregate score shows 7-3 in favour of North.
There is a level of uncertainty around Bo1 fixtures, which provides BIG with a chance to cause an upset. But while we believe an upset is possible, the odds offered on the favourites are way too good to pass on.
Prediction: North to win – $1.70 at GG Bet
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