Michael Lee is back with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive betting predictions and tips for the first round of matches at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2022. Today, he takes a look at four fixtures throughout the night, you can check out all of his betting tips below.
Esports Betting Tips: Monday, February 14th
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Wisla Krakow
Ninjas in Pyjamas will compete in Katowice without their star player Nicolai 'device' Reedtz, severely hurting their chances of getting anything out of this event. There are also rumours that device is done with this team and is looking for a way out, but so far, those are only rumours. Instead of the Dane, Ninjas in Pyjamas will play with Love 'phzy' Smidebrant, who is an obvious downgrade.
Wisla Krakow enter the match with a 56.7% win rate across the last three months and only four defeats in the previous 15 games - since the player break, in December 2021. They are probably the best Polish team right now, and while they are not winning against the same calibre of teams as NiP, Wisla should be in good spirit and will fancy their chances against a team that is missing a star player.
An online BO1 match featuring a team without their star player and a lower-ranked team that is hungry for results is a perfect recipe for an upset. Bet on Wisla Krakow to make it entertaining!
Wisla Krakow +3.50 Rounds
$1.90
Copenhagen Flames vs Fnatic
Since their surprising Legends Stage finish at the recent major, Copenhagen Flames have cooled down a little, and now they are losing against the likes of HEET, Akimbo, BLUEJAYS, BLINK, which is not surprising if you ask me. These kinds of teams always fall flat when the hype runs out; think of QBF and their post major struggles.
Fnatic have not been too active since the player break. They have played a total of three matches in the past two months, losing all three against BIG, Astralis and most recently, Apeks. There was a lot of hype and optimism around this team as it features a lot of exciting players, but they haven’t really shown anything so far. Sure, they won events like REPUBLEAGUE TIPOS Season 2 and DreamHack Open November 2021, but in terms of big events, Fnatic haven't really done anything.
There is no denying that Fnatic look better on paper, but the lack of activity worries me a little. These kinds of BO1 matches are known to be unpredictable, and if the Flames get rolling early, we are in for a close match! Bet on Copenhagen Flames to keep it close!
Copenhagen Flames +3.50 Rounds
$1.83
GODSENT vs MOUZ
GODSENT might now have any flashy players in their roster, but so far, I am impressed with the work their IGL Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo is doing. They have played quite a couple of tournaments in Europe. While they didn't win anything, GODSENT have managed to beat the likes of BIG, Heroic, Sprout, Endpoint, forZe, which is quite an achievement for a team of this calibre. I feel like a lot of people are undervaluing GODSENT as a team without star players in their roster.
I don't know why MOUZ are favourites in this match. They are a completely new team, and they haven't played a single official match together! Sure, they might look better on paper, but you never really know what to expect from a team playing their first match. MOUZ will also play without Aurimas "Bymas" Pipiras, who will be replaced by their academy player Jon "JDC" de Castro.
I have no idea what to expect here. MOUZ are a new roster, while GODSENT haven't played a single official match for ten weeks! This looks like a complete coin-toss, so value should be on GODSENT.
GODSENT +2.50 Rounds
$1.80
Sprout vs FaZe Clan
FaZe Clan won't be able to count on their star player Robin 'ropz' Kool for the whole event, as he is out with COVID. As ropz's replacement, FaZe added Justin 'jks' Savage, who was last seen stealing paychecks at Complexity. Jokes aside, this is an obvious downgrade, which severely hurts FaZe's chances at this tournament.
FaZe have placed 1st-3rd at the recent BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2022, where they lost only one match against Vitality. Other than that, FaZe won twice against Team Liquid, got their revenge win against Vitality and in the end, they beat BIG. It is worth noting that apart from victory over BIG, all these matches were BO1, so take these results with a grain of salt.
Sprout have lost only our matches since the player break (9-4), so they should be confident heading into this match. But Sprout have been playing only against T2 and T3 teams.
FaZe are once again dealing with roster problems, and a lot can go wrong in a BO1 type of match against a young team hungry for results. I expect this fixture to be much closer than most people expect.
Sprout +4.50 Rounds
$1.83
