FURIA (World rank: #14) vs. ENCE (World rank: #15) - 7:30 A.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: FURIA (+105) | ENCE (-130)
Map Handicap: FURIA -1.5 (-275) | ENCE +1.5 (+215)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+105) | Under 2.5 (-130)
- This is a best-of-three series on LAN for the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 15 - Group B
- FURIA - Rating at event: KSCERATO 1.32 | yuurih 1.29 | arT 1.22 | saffee 1.01 | drop 1.01
- FURIA - Rating past three months: KSCERATO 1.19 | saffee 1.06 | yuurih 1.05 | arT 1.05 | drop 0.92
- ENCE - Rating at event: hades 1.25 | Maden 1.11 | Spinx 1.09 | Snappi 1.00 | dycha 0.94
- ENCE - Rating past three months: Spinx 1.17 | hades 1.16 | dycha 1.07 | Maden 1.00 | Snappi 0.96
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other. The teams last faced each other in June 2021, but that was only a charity event.
Map Projections:
ENCE removes Inferno
FURIA removes Dust2
ENCE picks Mirage
FURIA picks Vertigo
ENCE removes Ancient
FURIA removes Nuke
Overpass is left over
Prediction/Narrative: FURIA wins 2-1
These teams are competing for first place in Group B, which would give them a free pass to the quarter-finals of the playoffs. ENCE have already secured their playoff spot, while FURIA could technically still not qualify despite both teams being 3-0. FURIA are the highest-rated team at ESL Pro League Season 15 through the first three days of Group B and they have multiple players in great form. KSCERATO leads all players at the event with a 1.32 Rating across eight maps played, and yuurih is right behind him in second place with a 1.29 Rating. FURIA’s fearless IGL, arT, is also playing notably well as the sixth-highest-rated player with a 1.22 Rating during that time. FURIA are playing the best Counter-Strike that we have seen from them since HEN1 left over a year ago, and they need this win more than ENCE to secure their playoff spot, so I am backing the Brazilians here against a hot ENCE team.
- On Mirage, KSCERATO & arT lead FURIA with a 1.09 Rating, while saffee leads with a 1.11 K/D ratio across six maps played in 2022.
- On Vertigo, yuurih leads FURIA with a 1.77 Rating, while KSCERATO leads with a 2.33 K/D ratio across two maps played in 2022.
- On Overpass, KSCERATO leads FURIA with a 1.07 Rating, while saffee leads with a 1.04 K/D ratio across three maps played in 2022.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
yuurih ($5,600) | KSCERATO ($8,400) | saffee ($7,400) | arT ($6,400) | hades ($7,800) | Spinx ($8,800)
Outsiders (World rank: #6) vs. Sprout (World rank: #30) - 11:00 A.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: Outsiders (-595) | Sprout (+430)
Map Handicap: Outsiders -1.5 (-155) | Sprout +1.5 (+125)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+175) | Under 2.5 (-215)
- This is a best-of-three series on LAN for the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 15 - Group B
- Outsiders - Rating at event: FL1T 1.18 | YEKINDAR 1.10 | Jame 1.03 | Qikert 0.90 | buster 0.85
- Outsiders - Rating past three months: YEKINDAR 1.19 | FL1T 1.18 | Jame 1.14 | Qikert 0.99 | buster 0.98
- Sprout - Rating at event: Staehr 0.98 | slaxz- 0.86 | Marix 0.82 | raalz 0.80 | Spiidi 0.80
- Sprout - Rating past three months: slaxz- 1.15 | Spiidi 1.02 | Marix 0.99 | Staehr 0.97 | raalz 0.94
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other.
Map Projections:
Sprout removes Mirage
Outsiders removes Nuke
Sprout picks Dust2
Outsiders picks Inferno
Sprout removes Overpass
Outsiders removes Vertigo
Ancient is left over
Prediction/Narrative: Outsiders win 2-0
Sprout have no chance to qualify for playoffs, though you could argue that they are playing without any pressure on Saturday. As for Outsiders, they control their own destiny as a win here and a win on Sunday against Vitality would lock them into a spot in the playoffs. If Outsiders lose, then they aren’t necessarily eliminated from playoff contention yet, but they would be in dire straits. Thus, Outsiders have plenty of motivation to win here against a Sprout roster that has not yet won a single map at ESL Pro League Season 15. Outsiders have had mixed results so far at this event, but their two losses came against undefeated teams: FURIA & ENCE, so perhaps those losses were the result of facing hot opponents. Outsiders are heavy favorites at (-595) moneyline odds, and I see no reason not to back them in this meaningful spot against a weak team.
- On Dust2, YEKINDAR leads Outsiders with a 1.26 Rating, while Jame leads with a 1.33 K/D ratio across three maps played in 2022.
- On Inferno, Jame leads Outsiders with a 1.46 Rating and 2.22 K/D ratio across three maps played in 2022.
- On Ancient, YEKINDAR leads Outsiders with a 1.47 Rating and 1.67 K/D ratio across three maps played in 2022.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
Jame ($7,600) | YEKINDAR ($9,400) | FL1T ($8,600) | buster ($6,800) | qikert ($6,000) | slaxz- ($7,000)
FaZe (World rank: #3) vs. Vitality (World rank: #8) - 2:30 P.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: FaZe (-145) | Vitality (+120)
Map Handicap: FaZe -1.5 (+200) | Vitality +1.5 (-250)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+110) | Under 2.5 (-135)
- This is a best-of-three series on LAN for the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 15 - Group B
- FaZe - Rating at event: broky 1.21 | Twistzz 1.08 | ropz 1.08 | rain 1.01 | karrigan 0.81
- FaZe - Rating past three months: broky 1.23 | ropz 1.15 | Twistzz 1.10 | rain 1.05 | karrigan 0.88
- Vitality - Rating at event: Magisk 1.19 | ZywOo 1.07 | dupreeh 0.99 | apEX 0.95 | misutaaa 0.87
- Vitality - Rating past three months: ZywOo 1.16 | dupreeh 1.11 | Magisk 1.08 | apEX 0.99 | misutaaa 0.92
H2H Data:
- These rosters faced each other twice in a best-of-one format in January at BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2022. Vitality won the first match-up on Inferno, 19-15, with ZywOo leading the way (31 kills, 1.39 Rating). FaZe went on to win the second, more important match-up, 16-10 on Overpass, with ropz topping the leaderboards (29 kills, 1.85 Rating).
Map Projections:
Vitality removes Ancient
FaZe removes Vertigo
Vitality picks Inferno
FaZe picks Mirage
Vitality removes Overpass
FaZe removes Dust2
Nuke is left over
Prediction/Narrative: Vitality wins 2-1
Neither of these teams has met expectations at ESL Pro League Season 15 with a 1-2 record for both teams through three days of Group B. For FaZe, this series is a must-win; if they lose then they are eliminated from the playoffs. Vitality can control their own fate as a win here would mean that a win in their match-up on Sunday against Outsiders would guarantee them a playoff spot. If they lose, then there is still a scenario where they could qualify for playoffs, but it would be dire straits for Vitality. Thus, both teams have plenty of motivation to win here. I am surprised to see both teams with a 1-2 record, but I am even more surprised to see ZywOo underperforming with a 1.07 Rating at the event. If there is one player that we can expect to bounce back quickly, it would probably be the HLTV number one player of 2019 & 2020, ZywOo. Vitality’s two losses came against red-hot teams: FURIA & ENCE, while FaZe got swept by an Outsiders team that has not looked overly dominating. Vitality makes a lot of sense here as an underdog, and I expect them to return to better form with playoffs looming.
- On Inferno, ZywOo leads Vitality with a 1.27 Rating and 1.38 K/D ratio across nine maps played in 2022.
- On Mirage, dupreeh leads Vitality with a 0.87 Rating and 0.86 K/D ratio across four maps played in 2022.
- On Nuke, apEX leads Vitality with a 1.30 Rating, while ZywOo leads with a 1.40 K/D ratio across two maps played in 2022.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
ZywOo ($8,200) | apEX ($5,800) | dupreeh ($7,200) | magisk ($6,600) | broky ($9,000) | ropz ($8,000) | misutaaa ($4,600)
*Top Stacks: Outsiders, Vitality, FURIA
*Favorite captain options: Jame, ZywOo, YEKINDAR, KSCERATO, FL1T, saffee, broky
*Favorite value plays: apEX, yuurih, dupreeh, buster, magisk, qikert, arT