Our esports tipster Michael Lee is back with more Counter-Strike: Global Offensive betting predictions for three Intel Extreme Masters Road to Rio matches on Tuesday, October 4. Today he looks at ENCE vs HEET, Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Astralis, and Team Spirit vs 1win.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, October 4th
ENCE vs HEET - European RMR B
ENCE might be viewed as a significantly stronger team than HEET due to their success earlier this year (semifinals at PGL Major Antwerp), but ENCE are not nearly as good as they were five months ago.
Last month, ENCE attended Pelaajat.com Nordic Masters: Fall 2022, where they finished 3rd/4th, which is quite disappointing considering the competition did not feature a single top-10 team. A week prior, ENCE also played at ESL Pro League Season 16, but they did not make it out of the group stage, finishing it with a 1-4 record.
Interestingly, HEET were also present at ESL Pro League S16 and got seeded in the same group. Moreover, they also didn’t reach the playoffs, as they exited the group stage with one win and four defeats, one of which came against ENCE (6-16, 11-16).
Since ENCE already won against HEET just three weeks ago, it might be logical to believe that they can do it again. That’s true, but it doesn’t justify why esports betting sites have priced ENCE at just 1.36.
Despite their defeat against ENCE, HEET have won maps against Heroic and MOUZ, and they even defeated Astralis, and if those results are any indication, they can definitely defeat ENCE on a good day. Actually, they only need to have a good map since the opening rounds of European RMR are BO1. Value is with HEET.
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Astralis - European RMR A
Ninjas in Pyjamas and Astralis last met on the server in August, during BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022, when Ninjas in Pyjamas won the first game (16-10) but lost the rematch (9-16). Since then, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Astralis played at ESL Pro League S16 and finished in 17th-20th and 13th-16th place, respectively. Astralis placed higher but had a slightly weaker group, so I can’t take much from those numbers.
This is a match between two solid teams in terrible shape, making it hard to figure out what will happen. We know that Astralis are getting ready for roster changes, and the same thing might happen with Ninjas in Pyjamas, who have been struggling to perform in bigger events.
And besides the fact that there is no clear pattern on how the teams will do, we’re also talking about a BO1 match, adding a bit more uncertainty and volatility to our prediction. At the current odds, I like Astralis better since I can’t find a good reason why Ninjas in Pyjamas are 1.57 favourites. This is a 50/50 match.
Astralis to win
$2.25 (1 Unit)
Team Spirit vs 1win - European RMR A
Back in May, Team Spirit peaked at no.5 in the CS:GO rankings, and even though the Russian team has since slipped down the ladder, Spirit have been holding onto a top-15 ranking spot for the last three months. That’s pretty impressive but also deserved.
Spirit have won just one tournament this year, the Malta Vibes Knockout Series #6, but they also reached the semifinals of PGL Major Antwerp 2022, where they lost against the eventual champions FaZe Clan. Since then, Spirit have attended Pinnacle Cup IV, Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Cologne, and ESL Pro League Season 16 and placed 9th/12th, 9th/12th, and 13th/16th, respectively.
Not the most impressive results, but I will give Spirit some slack since they had to play against some of the top teams in the world. On that note, even in their losses, Spirit looked good, which tells a lot.
1win are ranked 33rd in the global rankings, which tells a lot about how much weaker they are. And even though 1win are in better form (6-2) than Spirit, most of their wins came against mediocre teams such as SKADE, TITANS, and Tricked.
Results and achievements-wise, Spirit are a much superior team, and the only reason why you might consider giving 1win a chance to cause an upset is that this is a regional derby. But even so, Spirit are too good for 1win and should walk away from this match with a comfortable victory.
Team Spirit -2.5 rounds
$1.72 (1 Unit)
