Players (World rank: #4) vs. Party Astronauts (World rank: #40) - 7:30 A.M. ET

Moneyline Odds: Players (-3825) | Party Astronauts (+1835)

Map Handicap: Players -1.5 (-495) | Party Astronauts +1.5 (+370)

Map Total: Over 2.5 (+405) | Under 2.5 (-555)

  • This is a best-of-three series on LAN for the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 15 - Group C
  • Players - Rating at event: N/A
  • Players - Rating past three months: sh1ro 1.34 | Ax1Le 1.18 | Hobbit 1.11 | inters 1.02 | nafany 0.94
  • Party Astronauts - Rating at event: N/A
  • Party Astronauts - Rating past three months: PwnAlone 1.28 | Jonji 1.19 | djay 1.18 | ptr 1.09 | ben1337 1.05

H2H Data:

  • These rosters have never faced each other. 

Map Projections:

Party Astronauts removes Vertigo

Players removes Nuke

Party Astronauts picks Inferno

Players picks Overpass

Party Astronauts removes Ancient

Players removes Mirage

Dust2 is left over

Prediction/Narrative: Players win 2-0.

ESL recently suspended teams with ‘ties to the Russian government’, which is why Gambit are playing under the name Players - the same situation as Outsiders/VP in Group B. Party Astronauts are one of the better North American teams, but they will still likely get completely outclassed by Players, as reflected by the odds that are about as lopsided as it gets with Players as a (-3825) moneyline favorite. Viz did not have his passport in time for this event, so Party Astronauts are playing with a stand-in, ptr, who retired from Counter-Strike in August 2021 to pursue a career as a poker player. Sure, Players have struggled on LAN in the past, but ESL Pro League is a studio-LAN event, meaning there is no live crowd, so Players should be fine in that regard. I see no reason to pick against Players here, and they should be heavy favorites on any map that is played.

  • On Inferno, Ax1Le leads Players with a 1.25 Rating, while sh1ro leads with a 1.25 K/D ratio across three maps played in 2022.
  • On Overpass, Ax1Le leads Players with a 1.44 Rating and 1.50 K/D ratio across three maps played in 2022.
  • On Dust2, sh1ro leads Players with a 1.42 Rating and 1.78 K/D ratio across five maps played in 2022.

Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):

Ax1Le ($9,200) | sh1ro ($10,200) | HObbit ($8,600) | nafany ($6,400) | interz ($7,400) | ptr ($4,400)

 

Movistar Riders (World rank: #23) vs. GODSENT (World rank: #28) - 11:00 A.M. ET

Moneyline Odds: Movistar Riders (-115) | GODSENT (-105)

Map Handicap: Movistar Riders -1.5 (+240) | GODSENT +1.5 (305)

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 C
  • Movistar Riders - Rating at event: N/A
  • Movistar Riders - Rating past three months: SunPayus 1.16 | alex 1.05 | DeathZz 0.95 | mopoz 0.94 | dav1g 0.88
  • GODSENT - Rating at event: N/A
  • GODSENT - Rating past three months: dumau 1.13 | HEN1 1.07 | latto 1.04 | TACO 0.92 | b4rtiN 0.91

H2H Data:

  • These rosters have never faced each other. The teams did play in November at the qualifier for this event and Movistar Riders won 2-0 (16-13 Overpass / 16-9 Nuke), though GODSENT were still playing with felps instead of HEN1 at that time. Mopoz topped the leaderboards with 48 kills and a 1.28 Rating across two maps played.

Map Projections:

GODSENT removes Inferno

Movistar Riders removes Dust2

GODSENT picks Ancient

Movistar Riders picks Nuke

GODSENT removes Vertigo

Movistar Riders removes Overpass

Mirage is left over

Prediction/Narrative: GODSENT wins 2-1.

GODSENT recently announced they were benching felps and having HEN1 stand-in, then on Tuesday they confirmed that HEN1 would be a permanent fifth member going forward. HEN1 has somewhat fallen from grace since leaving FURIA, but this opportunity with GODSENT is exciting for a player that we know is still insanely talented. GODSENT used to juggle around the AWP depending on the map, so it is nice for them to have a primary dedicated AWPer now, too. Movistar Riders did sweep when these teams last met, but I think the addition of HEN1 is an x-factor that could really help the Brazilians. GODSENT won a majority of their CT rounds on both maps last time, but they just couldn’t really get their T side going, so it was still a close series that GODSENT kept fairly competitive. Movistar Riders have now lost eight maps in a row against top 30 teams, so I’m not expecting too much from them in this series, and at this event as a whole. 

  • On Ancient, dumau leads GODSENT with a 1.26 Rating and 1.39 K/D ratio across three maps played in 2022. 
  • On Nuke, dumau leads GODSENT with a 1.00 Rating and 1.00 K/D ratio across four maps played in 2022.
  • On Mirage, dumau leads GODSENT with a 1.00 Rating and 1.08 K/D ratio across three maps played in 2022.

Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):

dumau ($8,800) | HEN1 ($7,800) | TACO ($6,000) | latto ($6,800) | mopoz ($6,000) | SunPayus ($8,400) | b4rtiN ($5,400)

 

BIG (World rank: #17) vs. Liquid (World rank: #31) - 2:30 P.M. ET

Moneyline Odds: BIG (-135) | Liquid (+110)

Map Handicap: BIG -1.5 (+215) | Liquid +1.5 (-270)

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
  • BIG - Rating at event: N/A
  • BIG - Rating past three months: syrsoN 1.21 | Krimbo 1.16 | tabseN 1.09 | faveN 1.05 | tiziaN 0.98 
  • Liquid - Rating at event: N/A
  • Liquid - Rating past three months: EliGE 1.17 | NAF 1.15 | oSee 1.03 | shox 0.96 | nitr0 0.95

H2H Data:

  • These rosters have never faced each other. 

Map Projections:

Liquid removes Nuke

BIG removes Inferno

Liquid picks Ancient

BIG picks Dust2

Liquid removes Vertigo

BIG removes Overpass

Mirage is left over

Prediction/Narrative: Liquid wins 2-1.

BIG recently announced that they were promoting Krimbo from BIG Academy to switch spots with k1to. The new German roster played five maps earlier this month at the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Europe RMR Open Qualifier and they found immediate success with a 5-0 W/L record. Krimbo was the fourth-highest-rated member of BIG during that sample size with a 1.19 Rating, and he tied syrsoN with the highest K/D on the team at 1.36. Krimbo seems like a great replacement for k1to, but I don’t feel as confident in the short term with this roster move as much as I do with GODSENT’s move to sign HEN1. Krimbo is a young player with limited experience against top teams, while HEN1 is a veteran with years of experience at huge events. Thus, I expect BIG to hit some bumps in the road in the near future, especially at this big event against a solid team like Liquid. Liquid have had their own struggles with their new roster with a 6-9 W/L record across 15 maps played, but I think it is only a matter of time before they start finding more success based on their talent. BIG would be favorites on Dust2, but the rest of the map pool looks like it could truly go either way. This seems like a winnable spot for Liquid and their cheap Draftkings pricing is just too good to pass up… oSee has one of the highest ceilings on the entire slate and is only $6,600?!

  • On Ancient, EliGE leads Liquid with a 1.18 Rating and 1.12 K/D ratio across two maps played in 2022.
  • On Dust2, oSee dominated in 2021 with a 1.21 Rating and 1.29 K/D ratio across 21 maps played in 2021, though Liquid have yet to play that map with their new roster.
  • On Mirage, NAF leads Liquid with a 1.12 Rating, while nitr0 leads with a 1.16 K/D ratio across five maps played in 2022.

Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):

oSee ($6,600) | NAF ($7,200) | EliGE ($8,200) | nitr0 ($4,600) | faveN ($6,200) | tabseN ($7,000) | shox ($5,800) | syrsoN ($9,600)

 

*Top Stacks: Players, GODSENT, Liquid

*Favorite captain options: Ax1Le, dumau, sh1ro, HEN1, EliGE, HObbit

*Favorite value plays: oSee, nafany, interz, NAF, TACO, latto, nitr0