🕹️ Esports 🎮 Prediction & Discussion Thread

[Pulsar77]

I checked out Eternal Fire about what they have been doing recently. It looks like I haven't missed anything as they look the same.    There was a tournament named CCT North Europe Series. Their opponent was SAW in the semi finals. SAW have been a quite challenging team to beat for them so far considering their head-to-head history.

Eternal Fire needed to stay solid against them. But even on one of their best maps which was Anubis they lost and gave a big advantage to them. After a tough fight with 2 OTs on Inferno they won by 22-20 maybe but the loss was still inevitable for them. Actually Vertigo is a map on which Eternal Fire played the most so far maybe. But they still have serious issues there like this 16-8 defeat.

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[arallmuus]

Micke is a strong carry
-snip

Whatever it is, Team Liquid had 5 grandfinals and ended up getting runner up on all of them. Prize money that they won is still pretty good but yeah its seems they jinxed all of it


Took a live bet combo on this, personally I wont really bet like this normally but yeah I think Im taking my chances with this. Also took Navi to win as well on another single to hedge this

[STT]

Ironic thing with Astralis and Navi is you have many great players there but two of which are opposite ends of their all time ratings.  Device has never played and rated better in games then he is doing right now.  S1mple has never registered so badly with the lowest ratings he has ever had.     In a match up we should probably be favoring Astralis more then normal till some normality occurs or we just write off the old s1mple perhaps which I wont do personally for at least a year

[ralle14]

Took a live bet combo on this, personally I wont really bet like this normally but yeah I think Im taking my chances with this. Also took Navi to win as well on another single to hedge this

Congrats on getting both correctly and most of the underdogs won on the last day of the groups.

ENCE beating Heroic at the third map was unexpected and this 4k from Nertz turned the momentum around in the second half.

I can't wait to see their possible matchup against Vitality in the semi-finals because there's no way Vitality loses against a struggling Cloud9 squad that barely squeezed their way out of the lower bracket group stage.

[execijutiere]

Ence managed to defeat Heroic in the Group A upper bracket final match. When we look at the roster, we can say that Heroic has a successful roster and they play a good team game. In addition, we see that they were defeated with close scores on the maps they lost. Thus, we can say that they are lacking in some issues. It's okay for Cadian to talk about the other side, but as an IGL, I think he should focus on the game. In this way, they could have made it to the finals without any defeats, but they could not achieve this. When we look at the scores of the players, we see that sunpayus was the leader of the team this match. He had a good game against the young and talented awper Heroic.

[boltz]

Ence managed to defeat Heroic in the Group A upper bracket final match. When we look at the roster, we can say that Heroic has a successful roster and they play a good team game. In addition, we see that they were defeated with close scores on the maps they lost. Thus, we can say that they are lacking in some issues. It's okay for Cadian to talk about the other side, but as an IGL, I think he should focus on the game. In this way, they could have made it to the finals without any defeats, but they could not achieve this. When we look at the scores of the players, we see that sunpayus was the leader of the team this match. He had a good game against the young and talented awper Heroic.

Mega job by Ence and a well deserved victory. Heroic are always goofy when they play on LAN and this time it didn't work as all that trash talk before the game ended up being a bad thing for Heroic.

I've more shocked of how did Navi lose the game against Astralis ? 1st map it went overtime and Navi trowed 2 consecutive rounds and then in 3rd map , they started to play once again on timing ...and it all went wrong as Navi is not used to have very late push and since Alekisb came , Navi is doing this strategy over and over again .

[execijutiere]

Ence managed to defeat Heroic in the Group A upper bracket final match. When we look at the roster, we can say that Heroic has a successful roster and they play a good team game. In addition, we see that they were defeated with close scores on the maps they lost. Thus, we can say that they are lacking in some issues. It's okay for Cadian to talk about the other side, but as an IGL, I think he should focus on the game. In this way, they could have made it to the finals without any defeats, but they could not achieve this. When we look at the scores of the players, we see that sunpayus was the leader of the team this match. He had a good game against the young and talented awper Heroic.

Mega job by Ence and a well deserved victory. Heroic are always goofy when they play on LAN and this time it didn't work as all that trash talk before the game ended up being a bad thing for Heroic.

I've more shocked of how did Navi lose the game against Astralis ? 1st map it went overtime and Navi trowed 2 consecutive rounds and then in 3rd map , they started to play once again on timing ...and it all went wrong as Navi is not used to have very late push and since Alekisb came , Navi is doing this strategy over and over again .

I thought Heroic would have won if they focused on the game as usual, but cadian didn't. He might be a good IGL but it's not nice to have trash talk when you are not guaranteed to win. This reflected in them losing the match. Heroic has become a good team and they are one of the teams that are doing team play well right now. I don't think there is a need for such things when the players have such a good chemistry with each other. After all, everyone is human and one mistake can change the fate of the game. The fact that Astralis players are all from Denmark says a lot about their cohesion. NaVi is a new squad and it will take time for the players to get used to each other. Both teams have a good roster at the moment, but Astralis won the match thanks to Buzz's extra performance.

[emrecemsan]

GamerLegion was the biggest surprise of Paris Major as you might remember. They reached the finale even though they couldn't win the tournament. Here in IEM Cologne they seemed quite competitive after dropping to lower bracket. But Cloud9 stopped them by 2-1 and ended their hopes. GamerLegion even won the first map of the series and got even closer to be Vitality's opponent in next round. But the comeback on Ancient and Mirage was lovely by Cloud9. Both teams deserved the last map though as it ended after an OT.

Still that Major success was enough to carry GamerLegion to upper positions in top 10 on HLTV. They are shown as the 6th best team now. This is a really nice success story for them.

[passwordnow]

Micke is a strong carry provided he had a good start, or their supports are having a good time roaming around the map and making space for the man. Unfortunately for him, TS didn't want to give up even an inch of the map to them and it resulted to a lot of catastrophe.

Team Spirit just know how to counter and was able to read how micke moves in the map. And every opportunity that they see him, they're not wasting that and that's how they made him look like nothing on that grand finals.

This is what gave TS the edge: map control. It became too scary for anyone to move around the map for a while because TL's heroes are squishy, and can easily be picked off from the map.

I agree and they're just so good at it. And even they're not having a good start, they still manage to at least prolong the game by controlling the map and giving space to yatoro.

[ralle14]

GamerLegion was the biggest surprise of Paris Major as you might remember. They reached the finale even though they couldn't win the tournament. Here in IEM Cologne they seemed quite competitive after dropping to lower bracket. But Cloud9 stopped them by 2-1 and ended their hopes. GamerLegion even won the first map of the series and got even closer to be Vitality's opponent in next round. But the comeback on Ancient and Mirage was lovely by Cloud9. Both teams deserved the last map though as it ended after an OT.

Still that Major success was enough to carry GamerLegion to upper positions in top 10 on HLTV. They are shown as the 6th best team now. This is a really nice success story for them.

That was when GamerLegion still had the original squad, but during the IEM Cologne, they played with their two new players, so it's expected for them to have a rocky performance. They'll probably lose their top spot in the HLTV ranking since their new squad kind of had a downgrade but we'll see in the future if they can surprise us again and regain the form they've had before.

After the Riyadh Masters, we're starting to see a couple of teams make changes to their roster and the hottest one is probably Taiga being benched. I surely thought if they were going to make a change before the qualifiers, it'd be DM instead of Taiga.

[passwordnow]

As the TI qualifiers are about to happen soon, left and right roster changes and goodbyes have already been said and announced by the teams.

After the Riyadh Masters, we're starting to see a couple of teams make changes to their roster and the hottest one is probably Taiga being benched. I surely thought if they were going to make a change before the qualifiers, it'd be DM instead of Taiga.

Ceb wants to play and that's why Taiga is out. Too bad that Old G won't be having Ceb on this qualifier while technically, it's still OG. I wonder if Topson is going to be playing for some teams on this one together with ana again. Another news is that Xepher and 343 will be with Blacklist International as their head and assistant coach. BLR is investing a lot in these qualifiers.

[ralle14]

Ceb wants to play and that's why Taiga is out. Too bad that Old G won't be having Ceb on this qualifier while technically, it's still OG. I wonder if Topson is going to be playing for some teams on this one together with ana again. Another news is that Xepher and 343 will be with Blacklist International as their head and assistant coach. BLR is investing a lot in these qualifiers.

Even with Ceb in the lineup, the Taiga change felt unnecessary because the other two support players (Chu and Misha) already moved to the coaching position.

After the Old G squad somewhat fell apart with Ceb moving to OG and Noone out of the roster, I could see that announcement happening together with Jerax, as they still need a fourth position.

It's good that BLR finally got a decent coach, and we'll see if it makes a difference in the qualifiers.

[passwordnow]

Ceb wants to play and that's why Taiga is out. Too bad that Old G won't be having Ceb on this qualifier while technically, it's still OG. I wonder if Topson is going to be playing for some teams on this one together with ana again. Another news is that Xepher and 343 will be with Blacklist International as their head and assistant coach. BLR is investing a lot in these qualifiers.

Even with Ceb in the lineup, the Taiga change felt unnecessary because the other two support players (Chu and Misha) already moved to the coaching position.

After the Old G squad somewhat fell apart with Ceb moving to OG and Noone out of the roster, I could see that announcement happening together with Jerax, as they still need a fourth position.

Honestly, I'd love to see some reunion of Jerax, Topson and ana. I still see ana playing good pub and the same goes with topson. I just don't know with jerax or he's all good and set being a coach just like what he did with EG before and also for Team Liquid. Too many good players are free this season and I am sure that we'll see some good combination of them, it just didn't worked with Old G but I think they'll still participate.

It's good that BLR finally got a decent coach, and we'll see if it makes a difference in the qualifiers.

People thought that it's gonna be henrydota but who's that? I'd get those that have pro experience and not just one but two.

[arallmuus]

Even with Ceb in the lineup, the Taiga change felt unnecessary because the other two support players (Chu and Misha) already moved to the coaching position.

Probably need a fresh roster to start with on the WEU qualifiers as sometimes teams that sticks together get lesser motivation to actually win because of all these losses they suffered so yeah kinda feel that it is necessary to do that

After the Old G squad somewhat fell apart with Ceb moving to OG and Noone out of the roster, I could see that announcement happening together with Jerax, as they still need a fourth position.

Probably not Jerax, for some reason I think it is a possibility to add Topson in the roster especially with old G being left in the dust. He is a decent player and could play the 4th post with Ceb moving to the 5th post. Well this is just a silly possibility but I would love to actually see Topson return as an OG player in the qualifier

[dbshck]

The IEM Cologne playoffs start today, and we've got two banger quarter-final matches. First up, we've got Vitality vs Cloud9. This time Ax1le is playing instead of Buster. Seeing how this new 'super team' works out will be interesting. Then in the second match, we've got Astralis taking on Heroic. Heroic is the favorite here but Astralis might surprise us. They did beat Navi in the group stage after all. I'm betting on both underdogs (Cloud9 and Astralis).

[ILuckyGuyI]

ENCE can be like the secret favourite of the IEM Cologne title. Because there has been a huge improvement in their performance lately. They have drawn a huge level of attention after defeating Heroic in the group stage. I mean that Heroic are the number one team now in rankings so this is a great work by ENCE.

SunPayus made a big effect on that win by showing an extra performance on Nuke and Overpass in that series. He is definitely a great transfer made by ENCE.

Vitality - Cloud9 series is going on. I think probably Vitality will be winning by 2-1 at worst. I'm wondering what ENCE will do against Vitality in that case.

[arallmuus]

The IEM Cologne playoffs start today, and we've got two banger quarter-final matches. First up, we've got Vitality vs Cloud9. This time Ax1le is playing instead of Buster. Seeing how this new 'super team' works out will be interesting. Then in the second match, we've got Astralis taking on Heroic. Heroic is the favorite here but Astralis might surprise us. They did beat Navi in the group stage after all. I'm betting on both underdogs (Cloud9 and Astralis).

Got these two parlays yesterday and I think both would be easily over 2.5 maps but just in case this fails, I decided to pick the favourites parlay again. I mean normally favourites ended up winning in csgo though, so this is just an insurance for the over 2.5 maps bet. Totally would love both of these two to win and its possible to happen

[Mauser]

What a crazy week this was in the IEM Cologne 2023 tournament, so many close games and surprising results that lost me some money. GamerLegion one of the teams I wouldn't have suspected to reach so far in the tournament got 7-8th place together with NaVi. I am going to keep a closer eye on them in the next few matches. The biggest loss this tourney was for me the poor performance of Heroic, they lost 2-1 against ENCE and 2-0 against Astralis. Such a weak performance for a team that didn't lose a single match in their last few tournaments. Hopefully I can recover my losses today in the semi finals and the grand final tomorrow. The first match will be ENCE vs Vitality, where Vitality should be winning as they are the stronger team with more experience. I am just a bit afraid that ENCE is going to keep pushing their winning streak. The second match will be G2 vs Astralis, which is going to be a hard match that could be pretty close. But the two teams already played each other in the first match of the tournament and G2 won 2-1. I think they are going to repeat it and will reach the finals playing against Vitality. The final would be G2 vs Vitality, which we also saw already this week where G2 managed to win 2-1 also. G2 has really good chances to win the overall tournament tomorrow, my money is with them.

[Pulsar77]

What a crazy week this was in the IEM Cologne 2023 tournament, so many close games and surprising results that lost me some money. GamerLegion one of the teams I wouldn't have suspected to reach so far in the tournament got 7-8th place together with NaVi. I am going to keep a closer eye on them in the next few matches. The biggest loss this tourney was for me the poor performance of Heroic, they lost 2-1 against ENCE and 2-0 against Astralis. Such a weak performance for a team that didn't lose a single match in their last few tournaments. Hopefully I can recover my losses today in the semi finals and the grand final tomorrow. The first match will be ENCE vs Vitality, where Vitality should be winning as they are the stronger team with more experience. I am just a bit afraid that ENCE is going to keep pushing their winning streak. The second match will be G2 vs Astralis, which is going to be a hard match that could be pretty close. But the two teams already played each other in the first match of the tournament and G2 won 2-1. I think they are going to repeat it and will reach the finals playing against Vitality. The final would be G2 vs Vitality, which we also saw already this week where G2 managed to win 2-1 also. G2 has really good chances to win the overall tournament tomorrow, my money is with them.

Heroic are absolutely the most shocking team of the tournament right now.

This is one of the biggest tournaments in this game as the prize is 1 million dollars. Heroic reached the first spot in world rankings by being quite successful in some tournaments recently. But it is never easy to keep this place from now on. They did the last thing they should have done and were eliminated early. After being defeated by ENCE my suspicions about them raised quite much. And after that they got a shocking 2-0 loss against Astralis. Actually Astralis have been in great shape by winning 8 of their last 9 official matches. But still it was Heroic they were facing.

[execijutiere]

Quarterfinal matches were played in the IEM Cologne tournament.First of all, if we talk about the Vitality-C9 match; Ax1le, who participated in the tournament in the quarterfinals, did not help much and the team was defeated against Vitality.We can easily say that Zywoo was the name that relieved the team in the match where he showed a superior performance again.In addition, when we look at the performance of IGLs, apeX's obvious superiority over hobb1t and electronic's poor play were the factors in this.
In the other match, we watched Astralis-Heroic fight.So we can say that it is a Danish derby.Astralis has not been able to win against Heroic for a long time, but as of yesterday, I can say that he broke this bad luck. Buzz's legendary performance was a big factor in the match and played a big role in the win.As a team, Astralis was better than Heroic and I think Astralis will only get better with time.They have a good roster and once they get used to each other, it could be a great success story.