Today's Esports betting previews and predictions focus on all four Snow Sweet Snow #1 Quarter-Finals fixtures, where we will see eight Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squads fight for a spot in the semis, which will take them one step closer to a $40,000 paycheck. The games are scheduled for Tuesday, February 9 at 9:00 and 12:00 CET.
Esports Betting Tips - Tuesday, February 9th
CS:GO Snow Sweet Snow 1 Quarter-Finals
sAw vs ENCE
According to the latest HLTV global rankings update, sAw are ranked as the 21st-best team in the world, which is somewhat misleading, considering there are plenty of teams that are ranked below them but are much stronger. The Portuguese squad have won three out of their last five matches against Young Ninjas, TPT and Lyngby Vikings, but lost a BO1 match against Movistar Riders and Young Ninjas.
ENCE, on the other side, is a team I was pleasantly surprised with. Sure, they have played only four games with their new squad, but you must be impressed with their clean wins against Sprout, Endpoint, Izako Boars and Lyngby Vikings, who were also the only team out of four who took a map off ENCE, but even that was a close 16-14 win on Vertigo.
Even though sAw are not a very bad team, they don't deserve to be ranked as high as they are, mostly because they usually underperform against much weaker squads. Unless sAw somehow get ahead early into this series, they will struggle to stop ENCE, who boast impressive firepower, which can easily earn them a 2-0 win.
Virtus.pro vs Endpoint
Virtus.pro have been on a tear recently and won the cs_summit 7 where they haven't dropped a single map against tier 1 teams, which is quite impressive. What's even more impressive is that Virtus.pro have now won three events in a row and look set to add another one here.
It's also fair to mention that Virtus.pro are on an eight-game winning streak, with victories against the likes of Fnatic, mousesports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, FURIA, sAw, Gambit and Espada. With that, VP now hold a 80% win rate across the last three months, which is a solid indication of just how strong this team is.
Endpoint have played five games so far this tournament and lost only once against ENCE (0-2), but had no real issues taking down Sangal (twice), forZe and Dignitas. While I can praise Endpoint for their results, they also haven't faced a tough opponent yet, so it's not like we can expect another commanding victory on Tuesday.
Virtus.pro have won bigger and tougher events like this one - including Flashpoint 2, DreamHack Open December 2020 and cs_summit 7 - so it's hard to imagine them struggling against Endpoint and teams of similar quality. Anything less than a 2-0 win for Virtus.pro will be viewed as a disappointment.
Virtus.pro -1.50 Maps
$1.60
FunPlus Phoenix vs forZe
FunPlus Phoenix might not seem like a strong team, especially with Chris "chrisJ" de Jong as their stand-in. However, they have a scary amount of firepower with the likes of Asger "farlig" Jensen and Pavle "maden" Bošković, which should be more than enough to earn them comfortable wins against weaker sides such as forZe.
Since the formation of the team, FPX have played only five games with their current roster. They have won three against HellRaisers, Evil Geniuses and Gambit, but had to admit defeat to Spirit (0-3) in the finals of DreamHack Open January 2021 Europe and once against Evil Genuises (0-2).
FPX and forZe last met in June 2020 when FPX were still playing as GODSENT, while forZe were regarded as one of the top-three teams in the region. ForZe won that match 2-1, but I expect a completely different result this time one.
ForZe have since benched Dmitriy "facecrack" Alexeev and have not long ago also lost their coach, which leads me to believe there might be some issues in the team and their results definitely make it seem like something isn't clicking. ForZe have been on a decline since they peaked at no.12 in the world and I can't trust them to turn things around here.
FunPlus Phoenix -1.50 Maps
$2.30
Gambit vs GODSENT
Gambit have played only six games since the player break and managed to win all except for their bout with GODSENT's old roster (currently playing as FunPlus Phoenix). They have, however, managed to defeat the likes of Winstrike, Nemiga, Sinners, Sprout and Spirit.
Gambit have also won 88.9% of their games across the last three months, which might look very impressive, however, they have been participating in some low-rated tournaments, so their win rate is slightly inflated. Regardless, Gambit have won six events in the online CS:GO era and are regarded as the best CIS team outside of Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere.
After selling their team to FPX, GODSENT have rebuilt their squad by signing an all-Brazillian roster, which features a mix of washed-up veterans and a trio of young players with "potential". Since the roster rebuild, GODSENT have played five games and won all (against Sinners, PACT, EXTREMUM and Izako Boars) but one against Lyngby Viking.
Despite their 4-1 run, GODSENT have not shown anything remarkable yet. They're now set to face their first tough opponent and I just don't see how they can escape a 0-2 loss against Gambit.
