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Heroic (World rank: #9) vs. Fnatic (World rank: Unranked) – 4:30 A.M. ET

Moneyline Odds: Heroic (-325) | Fnatic (+250)

Round Handicap: Heroic -4.5 (-110) | Fnatic +4.5 (-110)

  • This is a best-of-one series on LAN for Group A of Pinnacle Cup Championship 2022.
  • Heroic - Rating at event: N/A
  • Heroic - Rating past three months: stavn 1.23 | TeSeS  1.12 | cadiaN 1.10 | sjuush 1.08 | refrezh 1.03
  • Fnatic - Rating at event: N/A
  • Fnatic - Rating past three months: roeJ 1.20 | nicoodoz 1.12 | mezii 1.11 | KRIMZ  1.02 | f0rest 1.00 

H2H Data:

  • These rosters have never faced each other.   

Prediction/Narrative: Heroic wins 16-9.

Fnatic just added nicoodoz & roeJ from Copenhagen Flames, and they are playing this event with f0rest as a stand-in, so we really have no idea what we are getting from them. I want to believe in the raw firepower on Fnatic but taking down a top ten team like Heroic is no easy task. Heroic have been solid on LAN in 2022 with a 24-15 W/L record across 39 maps played despite their reputation as ‘onliners’, and they have been playing well in the past three months with a 27-14 W/L record across 41 maps played overall. I have faith in the Danes in this spot.

  • Heroic K/D Leaders Past Month: stavn 1.18 | cadiaN 1.18 | sjuush 1.01
  • cadiaN leads Heroic with 0.14 opening kills per round across 12 maps played in the past month.

Favorite Draftkings Plays (In order of priority): 

cadiaN ($8,000) | stavn ($9,800) | sjuush ($7,000) | refrezh ($5,800) | TeSeS ($9,000) | nicoodoz ($6,400) | f0rest ($4,200) 

 

BIG (World rank: #11) vs. MIBR (World rank: #21) – 6:00 A.M. ET

Moneyline Odds: BIG (-335) | MIBR (+260)

Round Handicap: BIG -4.5 (-110) | MIBR +4.5 (-110)

  • This is a best-of-one series on LAN for Group A of Pinnacle Cup Championship 2022.
  • BIG - Rating at event: N/A
  • BIG - Rating past three months: syrsoN 1.14 | tabseN  1.12 | faveN 1.10 | Krimbo 1.02 | tiziaN 0.91
  • MIBR - Rating at event: N/A
  • MIBR - Rating past three months: JOTA 1.22 | chelo 1.15 | exit 1.09 | Tuurtle  1.08 | brnz4n 1.08

H2H Data:

  • These rosters have never faced each other.  The teams faced at the end of May at IEM Dallas 2022 and BIG won 2-0 (22-18 Mirage / 16-4 Nuke), but MIBR were playing with their coach, BIT as a stand-in for brnz4n. TabseN led the server with 53 kills and a 1.31 Rating across two maps. 

Prediction/Narrative: BIG wins 16-10.

We can expect a better performance from MIBR with brnz4n in the lineup, but I still think BIG will have another decisive win. Mirage went to overtime when these teams last played, but BIG blew out MIBR on the Brazilians’ map pick, and I expect more of what we saw at the end of that series. BIG have looked elite since adding Krimbo and they have a 25-13 W/L record across 38 maps played. They have a strong map with Dust2 (6-2 W/L record), Nuke (6-2 W/L record), Mirage (5-2 W/L record), Ancient (4-3 W/L record), and Overpass (2-0 W/L record) all looking like favorable maps for the Germans. I’ll take BIG to beat MIBR once again even with MIBR’s full roster. 

  • BIG K/D Leaders Past Month: syrsoN 1.17 | faveN 1.08 | tabseN 1.01
  • syrsoN leads BIG with 0.14 opening kills per round across 15 maps played in the past month.

Favorite Draftkings Plays (In order of priority): 

syrsoN ($10,000) | tabseN ($9,200) | Krimbo ($7,200) | faveN ($8,200) | JOTA ($6,800) | brnz4n ($4,200)

 

Astralis (World rank: #13) vs. EG.PA (World rank: #42) – 7:30 A.M. ET

Moneyline Odds: Astralis (-560) | EG.PA (+410)

Round Handicap: Astralis -6.5 (-105) | EG.PA +1.5 (-115)

  • This is a best-of-one series on LAN for Group B of Pinnacle Cup Championship 2022.
  • Astralis - Rating at event: N/A
  • Astralis - Rating past three months: blameF 1.24 | k0nfig 1.13 | Farlig 1.02 | gla1ve 0.95 | Xyp9x 0.94  
  • EG.PA - Rating at event: N/A
  • EG.PA - Rating past three months: PwnAlone 1.11 | djay 1.07 | Jonji 1.07 | viz  1.03 | ben1337 0.93

H2H Data:

  • These rosters have never faced each other.   

Prediction/Narrative: Astralis wins 16-8.

Astralis are the biggest favorite on the slate, and they are facing the former Party Astronauts lineup that is now playing under the Evil Geniuses organization. I disagree with such lopsided odds in a best-of-one, but Astralis should certainly beat a team that has only produced decent results playing in the soft North American region. Party Astronauts haven’t played a top 20 team with this lineup yet, and against Top 50 teams they have an 18-27 W/L record across 45 maps played. PA have struggled against the upper echelon of North American teams, and I expect them to get farmed against one of the top teams from Europe. Astralis have a 27-23 W/L record across 50 maps played since adding Farlig, and they should make a statement in this opening match of the event.

  • Astralis K/D Leaders Past Month: blameF 1.39 | k0nfig 1.00
  • blameF leads Astralis with 0.14 opening kills per round across 13 maps played in the past month.

Favorite Draftkings Plays (In order of priority): 

k0nfig ($9,400) | blameF ($10,200) | gla1ve ($7,400) | Farlig ($8,400) | Xyp9x ($6,400) | PwnAlone ($6,600) 

 

Imperial (World rank: #14) vs. Finest (World rank: #29) – 9:00 A.M. ET

Moneyline Odds: Imperial (-135) | Finest (+110)

Round Handicap: Imperial -2.5 (+115) | Finest +2.5 (-140)

  • This is a best-of-one series on LAN for Group B of Pinnacle Cup Championship 2022.
  • Imperial - Rating at event: N/A
  • Imperial - Rating past three months: fer 1.22 | boltz  1.12 | FalleN 1.10 | VINI 1.07 | fnx 0.92
  • Finest - Rating at event: N/A
  • Finest - Rating past three months: anarkez 1.10 | PlesseN 1.07 | shokz 1.07 | kreaz  1.05 | twist 1.02

H2H Data:

  • These rosters have never faced each other.   

Prediction/Narrative: Finest wins 16-13.

Imperial have cooled off after their run at the Major having lost four of their last five series, meanwhile Finest have played well during that time winning six series in a row prior to their loss to Sprout on Tuesday. Imperial really don’t have that deep of a map pool with Overpass & Inferno as their best maps by a wide margin, so the best-of-one format could work in the advantage of the underdog. Finest’s win streak came against Sprout who have been on fire, and they have impressive wins against Spirit, Movistar Riders, and Eternal Fire in the past month, so I wouldn’t sleep on them in this spot. This could be a close series depending on the map, but I’ll ride with Finest as the team that is trending in a better direction.

  • Finest K/D Leaders Past Month: anarkez 1.28 | shokz 1.19 | kreaz 1.10 | PlesseN 1.04 | twist 1.01
  • PlesseN leads Finest with 0.13 opening kills per round across 22 maps played in the past month.

Favorite Draftkings Plays (In order of priority): 

shokz ($7,600) | anarkez ($8,600) | PlesseN ($6,600) | fer ($8,800) | VINI ($6,000) | kreaz ($5,600)

 

Top Stacks: Astralis, Heroic, BIG, Finest

Top Captains: k0nfig, cadiaN, syrsoN, blameF, stavn, tabseN, Farlig, anarkez, faveN, TeSeS, fer 

Top Value: shokz, Krimbo, sjuush, gla1ve, PlesseN, refrezh, Xyp9x, JOTA, nicoodoz, VINI, f0rest, kreaz, brnz4n, PwnAlone