Bet Live on Afreeca Starleague Season 8 Round of 16 Group Stage Matches
The most important StarCraft esports tournament in South Korea is just one step away from reaching the playoffs. The Afreeca Starleague Season 8 Round of 16 Group Stage matches are underway, with the final two groups to be decided before the end of the month. A few surprises were recorded in the previous stage, but most of the top seeds are still in the race and will compete for a share of the guaranteed prize pool. The winner will walk away with a bit over $25,000, three times more than the runner-up. Players in the third and fourth places will receive $4200, respectively $2400, so they’ve got plenty to fight for.
Afreeca Starleague Season 8 Format
The Afreeca Starleague Season 8 matches are played in three stages, starting with the first six groups, comprising of six players each. These matches have concluded at the end of June and 12 players have made it to the next round, where they were joined by the top four seeds. During the Afreeca Starleague Season 8 round of 16 group stage, the first games are played in a best of one series. The loser’s, winner’s and final games will require up to three matches to decide the winner.
Only the top two players from each group will advance to the elimination stage which is set to begin in early August. Eight players will make it this far and Afreeca Starleague Season 8 quarterfinals and semi finals are played in a best-of-five series. Ultimately, the two most successful players will lock horns in a best-of-seven game that will determine the winner of the tournament. The decisive round of the last championship was full of surprises, with Mini and Last causing the upsets to reach the final.
Afreeca Starleague Season 8 Round of 16 Group Stage Results
Earlier this week, players from Groups A and B have played a total of 18 matches to determine the final placement. There was no Protoss in Group A and three Terrans, with the only Zerg to suffer back-to-back defeats and finish in the fourth place. Last and Sharp were credited with the first chance by Betway and won both their matches with relative ease. Ultimately, it was Last who swept Sharp in the decisive match, so the latter had to stage an impressive comeback against Rush to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
Group B was by far the most exciting one and that’s because all four players have a good chance to qualify. Mini was the only Protoss player and he lost all three games to finish in the fourth place, after playing the final last season. Larva was the one to cause the first upset and he managed to win the opening match of the Zerg vs Zerg battle against Action. In the end, he was defeated and also lost the decisive match against Light, while Action has qualified from the first position.
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Group C is an All-Protoss Affair
It only happened a few times in the history of the Afreeca Starleague to have four people playing the same race in a single group. This is precisely what has happened this year, when four Protoss players try to reach the playoffs from Group C. Once again we have a clear favorite and it comes as no surprise that Pinnacle credits Rain with the first chance to win the opening match in the group. The multiple champion will play against Snow first and the bookmaker offers odds of 3/10 on his victory. This is a best of one series, so in the absence of a handicap wager, punters can consider the odds of 2/1 on Snow to prevail.
The second match of Group C is the most balanced of all the games played during the Afreeca Starleague Season 8 Round of 16 Group Stage. This is a mirror-match between Stork and Best and each player gets identical esports odds of 9/10 at Rivalry. They have an excellent performance against fellow Protoss players and have won all the games played so far in this tournament. We like Stork a bit more in this game, simply because he has been more consistent in the previous seasons of the Afreeca Starleague.
Flash vs Soulkey is the Highlight of Group D
There are many matches scheduled to be played in Group D, but one particular game stands out from the crowd. Flash plays a game Soulkey in a rematch of one of the most famous series ever played in professional Korean StarCraft. The Zerg player prevailed in five games, but once again bookmakers give preference to Flash to win the opening match of Group D. Buff88 offers odds of 2/5 on the Terran player, while pricing a victory for the underdog at 17/10.
Horang2 and Sacsri will be chasing an elusive second place and they can’t afford to win the opening match. With the stakes being as high as they are, the even odds offered on Horang2 are quite tempting but he is yet to prove his quality at the Afreeca Starleague Season 8. He has reached this stage of the event by securing a wildcard in the qualifiers, whereas his opponent won the first group stage. We believe that the Zerg will ultimately prevail, so risk-averse punters should bet on the odds of 7/10 currently available.
All the Afreeca Starleague Season 8 matches can be watched live on the official Twitch channel, mark it on your esports calendar:
