Gamers8 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports tournament kicks off on Wednesday, August 16, and our esports tipster, Michael Lee has prepared his top pick for the first day of play. Today he looks at Cloud9 vs Fnatic, MIBR vs Team Vitality, and Team Liquid vs ENCE, who will face off in the first round of the tournament.
Check out our expert previews and betting tips below, and make sure to head over to Picklebet – Australia’s #1 esports betting site.
Esports Betting Tips: Wednesday, August 16th 2023
Cloud9 vs Fnatic - Gamers8
Cloud9 and Fnatic will face off for the second time since the two teams restructured their CS:GO divisions, and for the first time since July 29, when Fnatic defeated Cloud9 during IEM Cologne 2023. It was an incredible series which came down to the wire, and while Fnatic ended up winning, it could've easily been Cloud9.
But despite beating Cloud9, Fnatic are the underdogs for this match, and I'm not too shocked by that. Cloud9 haven't looked amazing at IEM Cologne 2023, but they still made the final six and played a handful of good games, all while missing their star player Ax1Le. So it's fair to bump them up a bit now that the Russian squad has its full lineup ready.
But at 1.33, it's fair to start questioning whether Cloud9 are worth a bet.
Cloud9 field some of the best CS:GO players in the world, and on paper, this looks like a roster that can win a Major. But this new juggernaut also has just one match with the ful roster under its belt, so I wouldn't go out and expect Cloud9 to start crushing everyone. It could happen once the players get comfortable, but it's probably too early to expect much from Cloud9.
Fnatic proved that they can defeat Cloud9 a couple of weeks ago and but I don't expect them to do it again, mainly because it'll be much tougher to make it past Cloud9 with Ax1Le. Still, since I don't have high expectations for Cloud9 yet, I expect another close game.
Over 2.5 Maps
$2 (1 Unit)
MIBR vs Team Vitality - Gamers8
MIBR made some roster changes in June and July, but not enough to become a competitive team at the top level, so I'm not shocked to see the priced as 7.50 underdogs. MIBR have attended two tournaments with the new roster, the CCT North Europe Series 6 and CCT Online Finals #2, and failed to deliver in both – finishing in 5th-8th and 5th-6th place, respectively.
Team Vitality, on the other hand, are one of the best CS:GO teams in the world. This lineup won the Major before the break and earlier this month made the semi-finals of Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2023. Those results alone are enough to show how big of a gap there is between MIBR and Vitality and ultimately, how this game should end.
MIBR are hardly a tier-two team whereas Vitality are the current second-highest rated team in the world. I don't expect any surprises on Wednesday.
Team Vitality -12.5 Rounds
$1.80 (2 Units)
Team Liquid vs ENCE - Gamers8
Team Liquid made some roster changes in June and July, but this team has yet to find any success. After the summer break, Team Liquid attended BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023 and IEM COlogne 2023, and finished the two tournaments in 7th-9th and 17th-20th place.
With time, Team Liquid should be stronger, but looking at this roster, TL don't have a very high ceiling and will struggle against other strong teams regardless of how much time they get. And I fully expect Team Liquid to struggle against ENCE.
ENCE recently made the finals of IEM Cologne 2023, where they lost against G2 Esports with 1-3, but despite the poor ending to the event, ENCE looked very good. They defeated Fnatic (2-0), Heroic (2-1) and Team Vitality (2-1) en route to the finals.
Bookmakers have ENCE priced as 1.57 favourites and that's a solid offer. They're clearly much better than Team Liquid, who don't have players or the synergy to accomplish much at the top level, and I wouldn't even be shocked if Team Liquid get swept.
ENCE -1.5 Maps
$2.75 (1 Unit)
