Intel Extreme Masters XV – New York Online: CIS – Round 1 predictions
The Intel Extreme Masters XV – New York Online: CIS CS:GO tournament is scheduled to begin on Tuesday with the opening four fixtures of the group stage. Here we will explore the best CS:GO betting opportunities for next week and provide our take on which teams have what it takes to start their journey through the tournament on the right foot.
Virtus.pro vs. K23
The Intel Extreme Masters XV – New York Online: CIS will begin with a clash between the renowned Virtus.pro and K23 (formerly known as Syman Gaming).
These two sides last met at the start of May during ESL One: Road to Rio – CIS, where Virtus.pro secured a comfortable 2-0 win with 16-2 on Mirage and 16-8 on Inferno. Their only previous clash happened in April during #HomeSweetHome: Week 2, where Virtus.pro came away with slightly less one-sided, yet still very convincing 2-0 win with 16-12 on Overpass and 16-7 on Inferno.
Since their last meeting in May, K23 made a few changes to their squad, with the most notable being the suspension of their head coach Asset "Solaar" Sembiev, who was caught exploiting the spectator bug. On the side of Virtus.pro, the most notable change came in August when they parted ways with Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev.
While we would normally side with VP, we have to consider the ex-AVANGAR core haven’t been active for over a month, which suggests they will enter this match a bit ring rusty. For that reason, we expect VP to drop at least one map, so it makes the most sense to side with K23 at +1.5 map handicap.
MyBookie Free Prediction
K23 +1.5 maps | Bet on the Team Now!
ESPADA vs. forZe
Since their three-week break from competition, ESPADA played three games and managed to win only one. ESPADA’s sole win came against a semi-amateur squad APOLOGIS Esport, while they failed to see the same success against Lyngby Vikings (16-14) and Nemiga Gaming (19-15, 16-9).
ForZe, on the other side, played six games since the start of October and won four. Their only losses came against ENDPOINT (16-11) and Sprout (16-1), while they had no issues defeating Singularity (16-11), SAWO Esports (16-7), 9INE (16-7), Mustang Crew (16-5) and Galaxy Racers (16-8).
Despite Forze’s strong record, we have to note most of their wins came against weak teams. Meanwhile, they looked very lost against teams of equal quality. This suggests their bout with ESPADA won’t be as one-sided as it may seem.
Since this is an online tournament, we can expect a bit more volatile results. Considering neither side looked very strong in recent weeks, there is a high chance we could be in for a three-map series.
Had ESPADA showed a bit more against Nemiga last Tuesday, we would consider backing the outsiders, but as it stands now, we find over 2.5 maps bet the safest option to go for.
MyBookie Free Prediction
Over 2.5 maps | Bet on the Team Now!
Winstrike vs. Ethereal
Winstrike versus Ethereal is billed as one of the most one-sided bouts of the day, and while it surely looks that way on the paper, there is more to this match than meets the eye.
Ethereal is a roster assembled from three ex-Team Unique players and two relatively unknown names in Andrey "BELCHONOKK" Yasinskiy and Aleksandr "KENSI" Gurkin. Winstrike, on the other side, is an established name in the CIS CS:GO scene.
While they’re hardly one of the best teams in the region, Winstrike has managed a few notable achievements this year, namely a silver medal from ESL One: Road to Rio – CIS in May and gold from Legend Series Season 6 in September.
Since the start of October, Winstrike played three games and won two against Garminate (16-12) and MNA esports (16-14), but had to admit defeat to Illuminar Gaming (16-14). Ethereal played only one game this month; however, they managed to edge out 9INE (25-23), a fairly solid achievement for a team of this caliber.
On paper, Winstrike is a much stronger team and looks like the most likely victors, but we have a hard time believing they will manage a clean sweep. Their results across the last week were very poor. After seeing Winstrike struggle against the likes of Garminate and MNA esports, there are reasons to believe Ethereal can give them a run for their money.
We are not ready to believe Ethereal can win here, but they have shown a few impressive performances before, and on top of that, hold a better record on Nuke (67%-36%) and Mirage (80%-62%). There is a high chance Ethereal can steal one map off the shaky Winstrike, and at the provided odds, a +1.5 map bet is worth a shot.
MyBookie Free Prediction
Ethereal +1.5 maps | Bet on the Team Now!
Natus Vincere vs. Cyber Legacy – optional bet
We are not counting Natus Vincere versus Cyber Legacy match as a part of our main predictions, since it will be a complete blowout. To put it into perspective, Natus Vincere are the former No. 1 CS:GO team in the world and the reigning IEM Katowice champions, while Cyber Legacy are a semi-amateur team with three rookies on the roster.
The match can end in only one way, and that is with a 2-0 win for NaVi, which we aren’t comfortable betting on at the offered odds.
On that note, a +8.5 round bet on Cyber Legacy can be considered, since NaVi are known for starting tournaments slow and the fact that Cyber Legacy field Denis "seized" Kostin, who has previously played for NaVi, which could give them a slight edge.
MyBookie Free Prediction
Cyber Legacy +8.5 rounds (Map 1) | Bet on the Team Now!
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