StoRm v Ram Squad tips

Match odds: StoRm ($1.22); Ram Squad ($4.00)

Comment: Storm Squad are one of the form teams of the tournament, having dropped just one game, and they have bounced back to form with a 2-0 win over NAVI Jr. The $1.22 on offer at esports betting sites is short, but keep an on the markets ahead of this one.

LVLUP v Money Makers prediction

Match odds: LVLUP ($1.30); Money Makers ($3.40)

MarsBet v NAVI Jr tips

Match odds: MarsBet ($1.22); NAVI Jr ($4.00)

Comment: Navi played well in their last outing against Storm, and we think they are a major chance of upsetting MarsBet in this one.

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Thomas ��birdfromsky�� Due-Frederiksen will lead the new line-up, which consists of Florian ��syrsoN�� Rische, Jon ��JDC�� de Castro, Nikolaj ��niko�� Kristensen and Tim ��susp�� Angstrom, with Faruk ��pita�� Pita as coach.

There's no question about it.

Introducing our new CS:GO lineup pic.twitter.com/x8nh6TGMWW

— 00NATION DNB (@zerozeronation) August 15, 2023

The Norwegian organisation has followed the lead of Cloud9 and Team Liquid over the last year to move from a North or South American roster to a full European squad for their CS:GO teams.

According to a statement from 00NATION, the former Brazilian roster of Marcelo ��coldzera�� David, Eduardo ��dumau�� Wolkmer, Bruno ��latto�� Rebelatto, Lucas ��nqz�� Soares and Gabriel ��NEKIZ�� Schenato will be picked up and supported by a local investor.

“Building two separate companies, one in Brazil and the other in Europe, caused great pressure on the teams and resources,” the announcement stated.

“We came to the conclusion that it would make much more sense for Brazilian management and investors to take over Brazilian operations.”

The statement also said that ��the new project will be totally Brazilian, and all the lineups and staff will move into the new organisation��.

The new roster debuted under the 00NATION tag against Sampi in Pinnacle Cup V on Tuesday, where they dominated the all-Slovakian team 16-6 and 16-7.

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The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament is scheduled to commence on June 8 and run through to June 11.

With the event drawing closer, Fnatic were the only team without a complete roster and had to act fast. Fortunately, the CSGO esports oufit successfully acquired the service veteran.

The British team made the announcement via their official Twitter page. They also thanked his current team Dignitas for making it happen.

More: Pinnacle Cup tips for June 8

“We’re beyond excited to welcome back f0rest to the Black & Orange as a stand-in for our upcoming appearance at the PinnacleCup! Patrik last served under Fnatic from 2006-2010, helping us cement our historic legacy in 1.6.”

“We’d like to thank Dignitas for allowing this loan to happen, and we can’t wait to see Patrik back in action tomorrow. We’ll update you regarding our plan to lock in a permanent fifth in the coming weeks, and thank you for your support & patience as we navigate these changes.”

We'd like to thank @dignitas for allowing this loan to happen, and we can't wait to see Patrik back in action tomorrow.

We'll update you regarding our plan to lock in a permanent fifth in the coming weeks, and thank you for your support & patience as we navigate these changes.

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) June 7, 2022

Although he currently plays for Dignitas, he has been inactive for a month, which was one of the reasons the loan deal pulled through. In May, Dignitas put their entire roster on the inactive list, stating that all players are available for transfer.

While having f0rest on the roster will be a big boost, he was not in the original plan. The team was currently testing players for the last slot on the roster but their first-choice fell ill at boot camp, hence f0rest’s acquisition.

That revelation was brought to light by the team’s co-owner Patrik ��cArn�� S?ttermon. He stated that their search for a permanent fit is not completed.

“We’ve had a few busy days following the player we’ve been trialing falling ill at boot camp, and as a consequence not being able to compete. Standin for Pinnacle has been found, I’m sure it will excite some people out there. Work to finalize a permanent fifth continues.”

We've had a few busy days following the player we've been trialing falling ill at bootcamp, and as a consequence not being able to compete. Standin for Pinnacle has been found, I'm sure it will excite some people out there. Work to finalize a permanent fifth continues. #fncwin

— Patrik S?ttermon (@cArn) June 7, 2022

Fnatic has had a slow start to the year and will be grateful for a do-over if given the opportunity. Their need for a player stems from the fact that they are undergoing a roster revamp.

The team failed to qualify for the Antwerp Major and did not make it out of the close qualifier for the 2022 Intel Extreme Master Dallas. These poor performances prompted the organization to consider making changes to the roster.

A few days ago, Fnatic acquired Fredrik “roeJ” J?rgensen and Nico “nicoodoz” Tamjid from Copenhagen Flames. Fnatic will be hopeful that their new-look team will have better results in tournaments.

Although F0rest will get the thrill of participating in a cup series once again, his future is uncertain. Four other players on the Dignitas roster, along with F0rest will be hoping for a strong Pinnacle Cup to claim a permanent roster position.

Perhaps a stellar display from f0rest, one of the best players in CS: GO history, will sway Fnatic to offer him a proper contract.

In his earlier days, f0rest spent four years with Fnatic (2006-2010), helping them win several events. A reunion might be in the cards, but first, he has to help them win the lion’s share of the $250,000 Pinnacle Cup prize fund.

Fnatic will open the Pinnacle Cup tournament with a best-of-1 match against Heroic. Subsequent fixtures will follow a best-of-3 format.

Fnatic is paying $13.00 to win the Pinnacle Cup with esports betting sites, which looks decent value, given they are a great unknown with their new line-up.

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?Team GamerLegion and SKADE have met four times this year – most recently in the fourth open qualifiers for PGL Major Antwerp at the start of March, when GamerLegion won 2-1 with 16-14 on Inferno, 12-16 on Mirage, and 16-13 on Nuke. It marked their first and only victory against SKADE since November 2021, meaning the Swedes are still 1-3 down in the head-to-head.

GamerLegion enter this match as $2.62 underdogs despite going 3-0 in the Swiss Stage, but we have to note that they��ve only beaten Bad News Bears (2-0), SINNERS Esports (2-1), and Apeks. Meanwhile, SKADE have made it to the playoffs with a 3-2 record, with defeats against Isurus (1-2) and ECSTATIC (1-2) and wins against 4glory Esports (2-1), SINNERS (2-0), and AGO (2-0).

Since the end of the Pinnacle Cup Swiss Stage, SKADE have won six straight games, albeit against lesser teams, so we wouldn��t put too much weight on that. But we have to acknowledge that GamerLegion lost their last two outings against INDE IRAE (1-2) and Lilmix (14-16).

Based on what we��ve seen from these two teams, SKADE should come out ahead, but they��re not a good bet at $1.44. Instead, we��ll take over 2.5 maps and trust GamerLegion to show some resistance and win a map.

?There is very little cross-regional data to look at, and there are no past meetings between K23 and Isurus for us to check. Still, the esports betting sites have K23 priced as $1.33 favourites, which sounds right, but the offered odds are way too low.

Admittedly, Isurus didn��t look too clean during the Swiss Stage with three-map victories against SKADE, MASONIC, and Wisla Krakow, but it��s not like K23 have shown much more. The CIS squad ended the first stage with a 3-1 record and have only beaten Dynamo Eclot (2-1), SINNERS Esports (2-1), and AGO (2-1) �C three teams that didn��t even reach the playoffs.

Talent-wise, there is very little to separate K23 and Isurus, and even though we favour K23 to win, the value is with the Brazilian squad.

?Team Spirit recently completed an incredible run at the Antwerp Major, where they reached the semi-finals and lost only two series across the entire tournament �C against G2 Esports in the group stage, and to eventual champions FaZe Clan in the semis.

Moreover, Spirit had a realistic chance to upset FaZe, and they came just a few rounds of that incredible feat. The Russian squad fell short in the end, but their 23-25, 13-16 series against FaZe did leave a strong impression.

Team Finest have never come close to achieving as much success at the highest level of play, and with the current roster, they likely won��t ever do it. There isn��t much to compare in this match, knowing that we have a B-Tier team that has not won a single tournament since October 2021 going against one of the top-performing CS:GO esports squads in the world currently.

You could argue that Spirit are worn out and won��t care too much about this tournament, but we��re not ready to follow this narrative. Anything less than a 2-0 sweep for Spirit would be a disappointment.

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Here are our selections for 777 Esports vs PACT and Savage vs KOVA, with top odds courtesy of the best esports betting sites.

777 Esports have yet to find their footing this season and have recently crashed out from the second European open qualifiers for PGL Major Antwerp. Likewise, PACT are not in a good spot and have yet to win nor come close to winning a single tournament since last year.

On a more positive note, PACT made a couple of roster changes last week by signing Adrian “SAYN” ??czy��ski and Mateusz “TOAO” Zawistowski. And even though they’re not star-level players, things can only go up for the Poles from here.

PACT have won only two of their last nine outings, whereas 777 have managed three wins in their last five. Still, 777 had to face much weaker opponents. There is no clear favourite for this match, and there is no reason for 777 Esports to be priced at $1.66. Value is with PACT at even money or better.

Savage completed its roster last week with Maikil “Golden” Selim, Jesper “tenzki” Plougmann, and coach Jonatan “Devilwalk” Lundberg to form a reasonably competitive roster. Admittedly, Golden is not as good as he once was, and the team doesn’t field any star players, but the potential is there.

KOVA are a constant in the second tier of professional CS:GO, and it doesn’t seem like the Finns will manage to break into the big boys league anytime soon. Still, they had a moment at the end of February, when KOVA won Elisa Open Suomi Season 1, but have since been largely disappointing; with seven wins across 14 outings, five of which came against semi-pro teams.

Savage are a bit of an enigma with the new faces, but you have to take their side over KOVA, who have not achieved anything outside of some minor regional competitions in months.

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?Team Fiend and Young Ninjas last met just over two weeks back at European Development Championship Season 4, when Team Fiend won with 16-11. The Bulgarian squad have since played 15 games and won all but five.

Young Ninjas have played 14 games during that stretch and won only four, against KOVA (16-14), Sangal (2-1), Zaran’s Jeans (16-11), and NASR Esports (16-11). Obviously, Fiend have been playing much better, but this is still a very high number on the Swedes.

Even though Fiend should be favoured to win, the offered betting odds make it worth taking Ninjas with a map advantage. Just last week, Fiend stumbled against 777 Esports (1-2), so it’s not like they can’t drop the ball here as well.

?ENCE enter this match as heavy favourites with CS:GO betting sites, which makes sense. They’re a more established team and much higher rated (no.21) than the Brazilians (no.45).

However, ENCE seem like they only do well when their star players Pawe? “dycha” Dycha and Olek “hades” Miskiewicz are on point, which isn’t exactly a good trait. Even though the Polish duo have been playing well of late, averaging 1.11 and 1.15 ratings across the last three months respectively, they have had off days before.

TeamOne have recently won the 37th season of North American ESEA: Premier Division, which secured them a spot at the ESL Pro League Season 14. Although they likely won’t make it far in Malta, TeamOne played well in the qualifiers and should cause some damage here. This is an underdog-or-nothing type of match.

?Team Unique and Level Up are already eliminated from the playoff race, meaning this bout holds no particular value for either side. Regardless, it’s easy to understand why the esports bookmakers have Team Unique priced as $1.65 favourites. Unique took down Brame (2-0) and Natus Vincere (2-1) last weekend to take their record to 2-6, and they also forced Vikin.gg and Chicken Fighters to three maps a couple of days prior.

Level UP have been far less convincing with their showings, going 0-4 in their last four. However, they have had some flashes of greatness during the tournament, taking down PuckChamp (2-1) and Hellbear Smashers (2-1). They even stole a map off HellRaisers in a 1-2 loss on Thursday.

Team Unique might have shown higher highs, but their current form makes it tough to believe they can sweep Level Up. We are taking the overs on total maps.

?Vikin.gg are guaranteed to finish inside the top six and could leapfrog HellRaisers to grab the upper seed for the playoffs with a win here. For that to happen, however, HellRaisers would have to lose against Chicken Fighters on Monday.

Regardless of whether Vikin.gg remain in the race for the upper seed, it wouldn’t be fair to question their chances to defeat EXTREMUM. The Russians enter this match with a 1-4 record in their last five, with their only win coming against Level Up (2-0) on Tuesday.

Vikin.gg have been far more convincing with their showings across May (9-3) and enter this match on a three-game winning streak. Although Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp and co. aren’t as good as they were in late 2020 – when they won DOTA Summit 13 Online: Europe & CIS and finished top three in EPIC League Season 2 Division 1 – they’re still a class above most of these Tier-2 teams.