In the lead up to the annual IEM Sydney tournament in a few weekend’s time, CS:GO is the talk of the eSports community at the moment. The ESL Pro League finals are also coming up, which makes this weeks DreamHack Masters in Marseille a massive tournament as teams hope to take form into May.
We take a look at this weekend’s DreamHack tournament which features all of the teams in the current Top 10 rankings and a massive $250,000 prize-pool. CrownBet are the clear leaders in eSports offerings, so we’ll be making our tips based on their markets.
Group A – FaZe Clan, G2 eSports, EnVyUs, Could9
Group A sees the number one ranked team in the world ‘FaZe Clan’ as the $2.10 favourites to take out the group alongside Cloud9 and hometown hopefuls G2 and EnVyUs. FaZe are currently ranked #1 in the world but have recently undergone a major roster change as one of the top fraggers in the world in ‘Olofmeister’ took a leave of absence for personal reasons. It will be FaZe’s first LAN tournament with the new line-up which features ‘Xizt’ as a replacement to the Swedish star.
Luckily for FaZe, the other three teams in the group will also be playing their first tournament with new line-ups, as Cloud9 adjust to life with new in game leader ‘FNS’. Cloud9 were unstoppable in the ELEAGUE Major just a few months ago but the change in IGL has me favouring FaZe in Group A.
FaZe Clan to win Group A
$2.10
Group B – SK Gaming, Mousesports, NIP, Valiance
Group B is a really interesting one that sees Brazilian juggernauts SK Gaming favourites to top the group. They will also be sporting a new player in Marseille, however, as ‘Stewie2K’ replaces ‘TACO’ in the line-up. The move is an interesting one and poses a few problems as the former all Brazilian line-up will now have to speak in English to cater for American Stewie2K. Communication was a massive part of why SK was so dominant for so long and being unable to speak in Portuguese looks to have already caused problems in online tournaments recently.
Mousesports enter Group B as the #2 ranked team in the world behind only FaZe, but might be the most in form roster in the world after back to back wins in their last two tournaments. They are one of my dark horses for the whole tournament here with outstanding form and I love them to top Group B as underdogs.
Mousesports to win Group B
$2.25
Group C – Fnatic, Natus Vincere, Renegades, Tyloo
Group C features the semi Australian line-up of Renegades taking on two top 10 ranked teams in Fnatic and Natus Vincere. Fnatic are coming off two massive back to back wins at the WESG World Finals and the IEM Katowice to elevate them to #3 in the world on the HLTV Rankings. Their online form has been a bit shaky of late but they should handle both Renegades and Tyloo quite comfortably, with NV being their only competition in this group.
Fnatic to win Group C
$1.65
Group D – Astralis, Liquid, Space Soldiers, Gambit
Group D is wide open in my opinion, and it’s where I see some real value as Danish powerhouse Astralis come up against some in form outfits in Liquid and Space Soldiers and the always dangerous Gambit. As the number five ranked team in the world and arguably the most experienced outfit, Astralis have proven time and time again why they deserve to be one of the favourites for any tournament they are in, particularly on LAN. But it’s elsewhere where we are looking for value in Group D.
Space Soldiers have had a month to remember. After finishing second to Fnatic at the WESG World Finals and picking up a tidy $800,000, they continued to dominate online in late March and early April, qualifying for a further four international events. XANTARES is one of the top players in the world at the moment and the Turkish side love causing an upset. Great value in Group D.
Space Soldiers to win Group D
$4.00
Outright Markets
I’ve tipped them to win Group C, and I think they’ll be too good for everyone in Marseille. Fnatic come into the tournament with the most settled lineup and some of the best form in the world after winning $1.5 million at the WESG World Finals. JW is one of the best Awpers in the world and if he has a strong showing at Marseille I love him to get the MVP and tournament win double.
Fnatic to win DreamHack Marseille
$6.50
