CS:GO is the key focus of the esports world at the moment as teams are staking their claim to qualify for the next major championship, the ESL One Rio in November. The Road to Rio continues this Thursday night and into Friday morning and we have another slate of best bets below.
Esports Betting Tips: Thursday, April 23rd
Yeah vs MIBR
CS:GO ESL One: Road to Rio – North America
MIBR and Yeah have been given a green light to compete in the same league, despite the fact that some of the MIBR players own a share of Yeah team. Both teams are filled with Brazilian players, but are allowed to play in the NA league because both teams have their training facilities located in the US.
Looking back, MIBR were on fire in the FLASHPOINT league, where they won all of their matches against lower-ranked opposition, however, they seemingly somehow forgot how to play in the grand finals when they entered their final map in the final match against MAD Lions. MIBR had a 12-3 lead at the half time, meaning they basically had the title in their pockets, but then it all came crashing down, as MAD Lions rallied to produce a remarkable comeback to win the map (16-13). So don't go fish fish if your fishing hat is not on the right way.
Yeah's record, on the other side shows only matches against lower-ranked NA opponents, including AA, Stations7, Big Frames, Thunder Logic, etc., which suggests Yeah will have to produce a miracle to win here.
MIBR's finals defeat in the FLASHPOINT leagues will probably still be a fresh wound for this team ahead of this bout. Additionally, there is a lot of controversy surrounding this match, seeing how MIBR players own shares in Yeah, which will give Yeah a great opportunity to walk away with something. Despite what the odds would suggest, Yeah should be capable of winning at least one map here.
Dignitas vs Heretics
CS:GO ESL One: Road to Rio – Europe
Dignitas run through the FLASHPOINT league was quite disappointing, but perhaps they deserve some slack, as they were playing with a stand-in Ladislav 'GuardiaN' Kovács instead of their star player Håkon 'hallzerk' Fjærli. Looking back, they won only two matches (both against Orgless), while they lost the remaining four against Gen.G (twice), Cloud9 and Orgless. Dignitas also lost the quarter-finals bout at the DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 – EU Qualifier against LDLC.
Heretics have won three out of the last five matches played; 2-1 against SKADE, 2-0 against Movistar Riders and NaVi Junior, but lost against AGF (14-16) and Sprout (1-2). All of Heretic's recent matches were very close and based on their results I am having a hard time believing this team will see any success in this league.
Heretics might be better ranked and are coming into the match in better form, but most of their matches were played against significantly weaker opponents. Additionally, all matches at ESL One: Road to Rio are played online, which usually makes matches wide open. The high odds on Dignitas are not doing them any justice. Value bet on Dignitas.
FaZe vs North
CS:GO ESL One: Road to Rio – Europe
FaZe are coming into the match following a disappointing ESL Pro League Season 11 Europe campaign, where they won only five matches out of 11 played. Their only wins came against TyLoo, Virtus.pro, forZe and OG (twice), who are all low-ranked teams so it's hard to be overly optimistic about those wins, as it seems like FaZe will do a fine job defeating weaker teams, but when they face stronger opponents, FaZe usually fall flat.
North made a couple of important roster changes in 2020, namely the re-signing of their former IGL Mathias "MSL" Lauridsen and benching of Jakob "JUGi" Hansen. North also released Torbjørn "mithR" Nyborg from his coaching duty and replaced him with Jimmy "Jumpy" Berndtsson, who arrived from fnatic. Looking back, North played a total of five matches in the EPL, where they produced an upset win against Natus Vincere, but fell flat against forZe, fnatic and Complexity in the matches that followed. Their only other win of the tournament came against BIG. North also participated at Home Sweet Home Cup, where they finished third-fourth.
North are coming into the match priced as big underdogs, which is reasonable considering they don't have the same quality players FaZe do. Having said that, FaZe might field a lot of fire-power, but they're still without a proper IGL, which is a huge problem at the high level of play. North, on the other side field one of the best IGLs in the scene and while they might lack the individual quality, they should be more than capable of winning at least one map here.
