Players (World rank: #4) vs. Movistar Riders (World rank: #23) - 7:30 A.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: Players (-840) | Movistar Riders (+575)
Map Handicap: Players -1.5 (-190) | Movistar Riders +1.5 (+155)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+195) | Under 2.5 (-245)
- 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: nafany 1.67 | sh1ro 1.59 | interz 1.48 | Ax1Le 1.30 | HObbit 1.27
- Players - Rating past three months: sh1ro 1.36 | Ax1Le 1.18 | Hobbit 1.12 | interz 1.05| nafany 0.99
- Movistar Riders - Rating at event: dav1g 1.42 | alex 1.21 | mopoz 1.14 | DeathZz 1.13 | SunPayus 1.00
- Movistar Riders - Rating past three months: SunPayus 1.13 | alex 1.07 | DeathZz 0.98 | mopoz 0.96 | dav1g 0.95
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other.
Map Projections:
Movistar Riders removes Dust2
Players removes Nuke
Movistar Riders picks Inferno
Players picks Ancient
Movistar Riders removes Overpass
Players removes Mirage
Vertigo is left over
Prediction/Narrative: Players win 2-0.
Players AKA Gambit are the highest-rated team at this event through the first day of Group C with a 1.46 team rating after they dominated Space Astronauts. Their individuals look to be in good form as well with nafany, sh1ro, and interz as the three highest-rated players at the event after two maps played. This is a LAN event, but it is studio-LAN, and a no crowd environment seems to be perfect for Players, who have previously struggled in front of live audiences. This should be smooth sailing for Players as they have another soft match-up, though Movistar Riders are certainly more capable of winning some rounds than Party Astronauts. Inferno would be the most likely chance for an upset since Players will ban away Nuke, which is one of Movistar’s favorite maps historically. Movistar Riders also play a ton of Vertigo, but that is one of Players’ best maps, so the map pool looks rather thin for Movistar Riders. Players are a huge favorite at (-840) moneyline odds, and I expect them to sweep here.
- On Inferno, sh1ro leads Players with a 1.31 Rating and 1.37 K/D ratio across four maps played in 2022.
- On Ancient, sh1ro leads Players with a 1.47 Rating and 1.93 K/D ratio across five maps played in 2022.
- On Vertigo, sh1ro leads Players with a 1.38 Rating and 1.79 K/D ratio across four maps played in 2022.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
sh1ro ($10,200) | HObbit ($8,000) | nafany ($6,200) | Ax1Le ($9,200) | interz ($7,000) | mopoz ($5,000)
BIG (World rank: #17) vs. Party Astronauts (World rank: #40) - 11:00 A.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: BIG (-1185) | Party Astronauts (+760)
Map Handicap: BIG -1.5 (-245) | Party Astronauts +1.5 (+195)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+240) | Under 2.5 (-305)
- This is a best-of-three series on LAN for the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 15 - Group C
- BIG - Rating at event: tabseN 1.15 | syrsoN 1.12 | faveN 1.07 | Krimbo 0.73 | tiziaN 0.57
- BIG - Rating past three months: syrsoN 1.21 | Krimbo 1.14 | tabseN 1.10 | faveN 1.05 | tiziaN 0.95
- Party Astronauts - Rating at event: Jonji 0.91 | djay 0.80 | ben1337 0.77 | PwnAlone 0.50 | ptr 0.34
- Party Astronauts - Rating past three months: PwnAlone 1.25 | Jonji 1.18 | djay 1.16 | ben1337 1.04 | ptr 0.96
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other.
Map Projections:
Party Astronauts removes Vertigo
BIG removes Inferno
Party Astronauts picks Nuke
BIG picks Dust2
Party Astronauts removes Ancient
BIG removes Mirage
Overpass is left over
Prediction/Narrative: BIG wins 2-0.
BIG are the heaviest favorite on the slate at (-1185) moneyline odds against a Party Astronauts lineup that only managed to win 10 rounds across two maps played against Players on Wednesday. BIG’s only real vulnerability right now would be Krimbo since he was just recently promoted from the Academy team. Krimbo did not have the strongest performance on Wednesday against Liquid, but the team has played well with a 5-2 W/L in the seven maps that he has played with them, and Krimbo has a 1.05 Rating and 1.15 K/D ratio during that time. Meanwhile, Party Astronauts have ptr standing in and he managed to get eight total kills with a 0.34 Rating across two maps against Players, so it shouldn’t take much from BIG to get the win here against a weak team with a weak stand-in. I expect Party Astronauts to win a few more rounds on Thursday, but I don’t see a map that they should be able to beat BIG on, so this should be a 2-0 sweep for the Germans.
- On Nuke, faveN led this lineup with 30 kills and a 1.40 Rating in their 19-15 win against MAD Lions.
- On Dust2, tabseN leads this lineup with a 1.40 Rating and 1.51 K/D ratio across three maps played.
- On Overpass, syrsoN leads BIG with a 1.28 Rating and 1.39 K/D ratio across seven maps played in 2022. Krimbo has been excellent on Overpass with a 1.33 Rating and 1.36 K/D ratio across three maps played with BIG Academy in 2022, though this lineup has not played the map yet.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
faveN ($7,200) | tabseN ($8,200) | syrsoN ($10,400) | Krimbo ($9,600) | tiziaN ($6,400) | PwnAlone ($6,600)
Liquid (World rank: #31) vs. GODSENT (World rank: #28) - 2:30 P.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: Liquid (-275) | GODSENT (+220)
Map Handicap: Liquid -1.5 (+115) | GODSENT +1.5 (-135)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+125) | Under 2.5 (-155)
- This is a best-of-three series on LAN for the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 15 - Group C
- Liquid - Rating at event: oSee 1.43 | NAF 1.30 | EliGE 1.18 | shox 0.92 | nitr0 0.83
- Liquid - Rating past three months: NAF 1.17 | EliGE 1.17 | oSee 1.08 | shox 0.95 | nitr0 0.94
- GODSENT - Rating at event: dumau 1.09 | latto 1.01 | HEN1 0.80 | b4rtiN 0.79 | TACO 0.71
- GODSENT - Rating past three months: dumau 1.12 | latto 1.03 | HEN1 0.98 | b4rtiN 0.89 | TACO 0.88
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other. The teams last met in October at IEM Fall 2021 NA when GODSENT won 2-0 (16-14 Inferno / 16-8 Nuke), though both rosters have changed since.
Map Projections:
GODSENT removes Dust2
Liquid removes Nuke
GODSENT picks Ancient
Liquid picks Mirage
GODSENT removes Overpass
Liquid removes Vertigo
Inferno is left over
Prediction/Narrative: Liquid wins 2-1.
Liquid showed up on Wednesday against BIG with a convincing 2-0 win, which puts them at the third-highest-rated team at the event through two maps (1.13 team rating). Their individuals look to be in good form with oSee as the fourth-highest-rated player at the event, with NAF not far behind as the sixth-highest. GODSENT had flashes of brilliance with HEN1 in the lineup against Movistar Riders on Wednesday, but they showed plenty of flaws, particularly with their T side. Liquid would have to be the favorite here based on the day one results of Group C, but I do think GODSENT have a ton of potential and they should continue to look more comfortable on the server with HEN1 over time. Maybe it’s too early for GODSENT to upset Liquid, but they did win this match-up last time, and I think they can at least grab a map here. The odds/Draftkings pricing is not juicy enough for me to completely hammer GODSENT here, but I do think that this could be a tight series and I don’t mind having some GODSENT exposure. There isn’t a single map that Liquid are a lock to beat the Brazilians on, so anything could happen here.
- On Ancient, EliGE leads Liquid with a 1.18 Rating and 1.12 K/D ratio across two maps played in 2022.
- On Mirage, NAF leads Liquid with a 1.14 Rating and 1.14 K/D ratio across six maps played in 2022.
- On Inferno, NAF leads Liquid with a 1.22 Rating, while oSee leads with a 1.14 K/D ratio across four maps played in 2022.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
oSee ($7,400) | NAF ($8,600) | EliGE ($8,800) | dumau ($7,800) | HEN1 ($6,800) | nitr0 ($5,600) | TACO ($5,600)