Dynamo Eclot and Copenhagen Flames will clash on Thursday in the first round of Elisa Invitational Winter 2023 Main Stage, marking their first meeting since CCT Central Europe Series #4 in December, when the Danes won 2-0. Copenhagen Flames have since played 15 matches and won all but five (10-5), whereas Dynamo Eclot have won just half of their 12 outings (6-6).

The Czech squad are 4-2 over their last six outings, which looks decent, but that run includes only wins against ECSTATIC (2-1), 00 Prospects (2-0), and two lower-tier teams in Eughxuls (22-18) and Turów Zgorzelec Esport (16-9). So even though Dynamo Eclot have been winning games, they only do well against weaker teams.

Copenhagen Flames are not the powerhouse they were in early 2022, but they’re still a tier above Dynamo Eclot, who have not shown anything noteworthy since their third-place finish at Global Offensive Champions League Season 2 in December.

BIG Academy made it through Elisa Invitational Winter 2023 Contenders Stage with a 3-2 record, but they’ve only beaten GTZ.ESPORTS and Turów Zgorzelec Esport (Team Falcons forfeited). Since then, the German squad attended the MistGames Heroes of Lofoten Closed Qualifier, where they won against Metizport (2-1) but were no match for 00 Prospects (0-2).

Endpoint were last seen playing at the end of January when they crashed out of Intel Extreme Masters Spring 2023 EU Open Qualifier #1 with a 10-16 defeat against Spirit Academy. However, they did well in the ESL Pro League European Conference a week prior, finishing the event one victory short of qualifying for ESL Pro League Season 17.

There are question marks above both teams. BIG Academy haven’t been playing well, whereas Endpoint have not shown anything too remarkable lately. So even though this is Endpoint’s game to lose, over 2.5 maps at $2.08 looks the right play.

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?Monte finished the tournament’s first stage with a perfect 3-0 record, beating Enhanced Esports Club, BIG Academy, and EYEBALLERS. They’ve since won six more matches, including four Intel Extreme Masters Spring 2023 European Open Qualifier #1 bouts and the opening series of ESL Challenger League Season 44 Europe against SAW (2-0).

Tricked Esports have not looked nearly as good lately, with a 1-4 record over their last five outings. That run includes a sole victory against SINNERS Esports (2-1) and four losses against Boston crab (9-16), Sangal Esports (0-2), forZe (1-2), and MOUZ NXT (1-2).

Monte had an easier schedule, but that doesn’t change that they’re in much better form. So even though Tricked and Monte look evenly matched talent-wise, we have to side with Monte to keep their win streak alive and add another commanding victory to their resume.

Partizan Esports finished Elisa Invitational 2023 Winter Contenders Stage with a 3-1 record, which includes wins against Team Falcons, Dynamo Eclot and EYEBALLERS and one defeat against IKLA. 9INE didn’t have to participate in the tournament’s opening stage, but they have been active elsewhere, winning Intel Extreme Masters Spring 2023 European Open Qualifier #2 with a perfect 5-0 record.

That run of five straight victories includes a dominant showing against Partizan Esports (16-6) last Monday, and that result alone is enough to view 9INE as favourites on Tuesday. But even though they were outclassed last time out, Partizan had an unusually poor performance on the day, so we wouldn’t put too much weight on the result.

Trust Partizan Esports to show a bit more on Tuesday and force a closer series.

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?Team Falcons kicked off the tournament with a rough loss against Partizan Esports (6-16) but then bounced back with a convincing victory against Turów Zgorzelec Esport (16-10). Beating Turów Zgorzelec Esport is hardly inspiring, but the Falcons have since won three more fixtures against Permitta (2-0), BIG Academy (19-17), and Partizan Esports (2-1).

00 Prospects won their Elisa Invitational 2023 Winter first-round match against ENCE Academy (16-14), but were no match for EYEBALLERS (12-16) last week, marking their second loss over the last five games. Like Falcons, 00 Prospects also compete in other events, including CCT South Europe Series #2, where they’ve recently won against Websterz, HONORIS, and INVSN Team.

We also got to see 00 Prospects play a solid series against GamerLegion on Monday, so even though this is not a top-tier team, 00 Prospects have shown that they can be competitive.

Team Falcons are priced as favourites for this affair, but $1.57 looks a bit too short. They might have a higher ceiling, but of late, they’ve hardly shown more than the Swedes. Take 00 Prospects at the outsider odds.

?GODSENT and GTZ.ESPORTS have both won one and lost one series this tournament, but considering the quality of the opponents they had to face, we would rank GODSENT’s results much higher. They lost against EYEBALLERS (10-16) in the opening round of Elisa Invitational 2023 Winter and added a 16-11 victory against Astralis Talent two days later.

On the other side, GTZ.ESPORTS lost their tournament opener against BIG Academy (5-16) and bounced back with a 16-12 victory against Enhanced Esports Club. Losing 5-16 against BIG Academy is as bad as it seems, and needing 28 rounds to defeat EEC is not convincing.

GTZ.ESPORTS are 9-2 since the turn of the year, with a couple of notable wins, against Illuminar Gaming (16-12) and For The Win Esports (16-13, 2-1). However, those are not exceptional results by any means.

GODSENT are rightly priced as massive favourites. Barring any surprises, this should be a quick 2-0 sweep for the Swedish squad.

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BIG Academy enter this match with a win against GTZ.ESPORTS (16-5) and a loss against Monte (13-16), whereas ECSTATIC lost their tournament opener against EYEBALLERS (4-16) but then won against ENCE Academy (16-12).

ECSTATIC and BIG Academy have never met before and have shown similar performances of late, so it’s tough to say how this affair will go. Even looking at the map pool doesn’t help, seeing how ECSTATIC have a better win% on Anubis, Nuke, and Mirage, while BIG Academy tend to do better on Inferno, Overpass, and Vertigo.

This should be a very close game with no clear winner. At the offered CS:GO betting odds, BIG Academy are the more appealing pick of the two teams, but we like the overs.

Dynamo Eclot kicked off Elisa Invitational 2023 Winter with a 16-10 victory against GODSENT but lost their second match against Young Ninjas (12-16) on Thursday. Partizan Esports hold the same 1-1 record, with a 16-6 win against Team Falcons and a forfeit loss against IKLA.

Partizan Esports had to forfeit the game due to a scheduling conflict with CCT South Europe Series #2, where they locked in a playoff spot with a 3-1 record and wins against MASONIC (2-1), Tricked Esports (2-0), and 00 Prospects (2-0). Dynamo Eclot, on the other side, have been far less impressive of late, with just two wins from their last six outings.

Talent-wise, Dynamo Eclot look just as strong as Partizan, but their shaky form makes it hard to trust them. At $1.66, Partizan Esports are a no-brainer pick.

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GODSENT relaunched their CS:GO division January 13, returning to an all-Swedish roster for the first time since 2018. Headlined by former Young Ninjas player Erik “ztr” Gustafsson and coach Maikil “Golden” Selim, this is a solid team, but we’ve yet to see them play, so we can only speculate how good the Swedes will be.

Dynamo Eclot didn’t make any roster changes ahead of 2023, but perhaps they should. The Czech squad hasn’t achieved much over the last 12 months and had a particularly bad run in late 2022.

Even earlier this month, Dynamo Eclot failed to impress at OMEN WGR Challenge 2023: Open Qualifier #1 and #2, crashing out in fifth-eighth and ninth-16th place.

Even though we can’t say how good GODSENT will be, it’s tough to imagine them losing against Dynamo Eclot, who’ve not achieved much outside of lesser events.

Young Ninjas and Astralis Talent last met in October during WePlay Academy League Season 6. During the regular season, the two academy CS:GO teams won one game apiece, but Young Ninjas got the last laugh with a 16-13 victory in the Group B second-place tiebreaker.

Ahead of the 2023 season, Young Ninjas parted ways with Erik “ztr” Gustafsson, who left for GODSENT and replaced him with Linus “LNZ” Holt?ng, who re-joined the team after eight months. On the other side, Astralis Talent added Alexander “br0” Bro from Tikatakan, and a new coach in Mathias “R0nic” Pinholt from Team Atlantic.

Even after the roster moves, there isn’t much to separate Astralis Talent and Young Ninjas, so it’s fair to expect another close game on Tuesday. Astralis are an appealing pick at $2.02, but we like over 27.5 rounds at $2.23 better.