FACEIT Major: London 2018 New Challengers Stage Predictions
FACEIT Major: London 2018 is one of the most important tournaments in CS:GO this year. With 24 participating teams and 1 million dollars in prizes, the event provides a tremendous amount of CS:GO betting opportunities.
The first stage of FACEIT Major: London 2018, called the New Challengers Stage, is already underway and is about to enter day 3. This article analyzes the 16 participants taking part in this stage, what they’ve done so far and what is likely to happen next, in the upcoming clashes.
Current standings
These are the results after the first two days of FACEIT Major: London 2018 New Challengers Stage:
Team Liquid – 2 W – 0 L
Ninjas in Pyjamas – 2 W – 0 L
Astralis – 2 W – 0 L
Vega Squadron – 2 W – 0 L
BIG – 1 W – 1 L
Gambit Esports – 1 W – 1 L
Rogue – 1 W – 1 L
Team Spirit – 1 W – 1 L
TyLoo – 1 W – 1 L
HellRaisers – 1 W – 1 L
compLexity Gaming – 1 W – 1 L
OpTic Gaming – 1 W – 1 L
North – 0 W – 2 L
Space Soldiers – 0 W – 2 L
Virtus.pro – 0 W – 2 L
Renegades – 0 W – 2 L
Day 3 betting predictions
Team Liquid vs. Vega Squadron
In its first two matches, Team Liquid defeated OpTic Gaming (16 – 4) and HellRaisers (16 – 9). On the other side, Vega Squadron won against Team Spirit (16 – 14) and BIG (19 – 16). Overall, Team Liquid’s results in recent months have been much better than Vega’s, and its roster is way stronger at every level.
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.15 – 4.75 in favor of Team Liquid, simply because the skill difference between them and Vega is absolutely enormous at this point. It would take an absolute miracle for the CIS squad to upset Liquid in this Bo1.
Betting prediction: Team Liquid to win.
Astralis vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas
Astralis is by far the strongest and most consistent team in CS:GO at the moment and has been for the past 6 months. So far at FACEIT Major: London 2018, Astralis defeated compLexity Gaming (16 – 4) and Rogue (16 – 13). On the other hand, Ninjas in Pyjamas is a top 8 team but with very few notable results in 2018. Its opponents in the first two matches at this event were Virtus.pro (16 – 5) and TyLoo (16 – 12). Overall, Astralis is much stronger and should win this Bo1 with ease.
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.35 – 2.95 in favor of Astralis. This encounter constitutes a great betting opportunity due to the fact that Astralis has already crushed NiP multiple times in direct confrontations this year, proving to be one class above the Swedes. Astralis’ chance of success in this match is more than 90%.
Betting prediction: Astralis to win.
compLexity Gaming vs. BIG
So far, BIG has underperformed at FACEIT Major: London 2018 but will likely make a comeback in this next dispute against a fairly weak opponent.
Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.40 – 1.50 in favor of BIG, which is understandable given BIG’s results in recent months.
Betting prediction: BIG to win.
Team Spirit vs. Rogue
Arguably, both teams have performed reasonably well in their first 2 matches of the tournament, going 1 W – 1 L. In particular, Team Spirit should have won its match against Vega Squadron, but lost it barely. On the other side, Rogue came close to producing a huge upset in its match against Astralis. Overall, I strongly favor Rogue to win here.
Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.20 – 1.60 in favor of Rogue and based on what we’ve seen so far from both of these teams, this assessment is definitely correct.
Betting prediction: Rogue to win.
Gambit vs. HellRaisers
Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.40 – 1.50 in favor of HellRaisers, but the situation is actually upside down. Gambit is quite clearly on an upward trend and is more than likely to beat HellRaisers in this match.
Betting prediction: Gambit to win.
TyLoo vs. OpTic Gaming
Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.10 – 1.65 in favor of OpTic Gaming. This is another strange assessment, as TyLoo has proved to be a very strong team in recent months.
Betting prediction: TyLoo to win.
Renegades vs. Space Soldiers
Both teams have been a complete mess so far at FACEIT Major: London 2018, losing their first two matches. Renegades is completely out of shape at this point, while Space Soldiers is playing with a substitute.
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.30 – 3.20 in favor of Renegades for the following reason: Space Soldiers are playing with the coach as their 5th man and are a much weaker team as a result. However, given everything we’ve seen so far, they still have a good chance of winning against this weak Renegades squad. I would put the real odds at 50-50 so considering Betway’s odds, you’d be much better off betting on the underdog here.
Betting prediction: Space Soldiers to win.
North vs. Virtus.pro
North came into this event as one of the strongest CS:GO teams in the world, having bested Astralis in 2 consecutive Bo3 matches at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. But then disaster struck twice and they lost against two considerably weaker opponents. On the other side, Virtus.pro has been a mess this entire year and its results so far at FACEIT Major: London 2018 speak for themselves.
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.30 – 3.20 in favor of North, regarding VP as a complete outsider to the world of big CS at this point. But while it is true that Virtus.pro has been struggling for many months now, North has had a terrible performance itself at this event. Which is quite surprising, given that it recently won DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. North is definitely the favorite here, but you should be a bit careful here and bet a smaller amount.
Betting prediction: North to win.
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