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Counter Strike Global Offensive ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals Playoffs

The ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals is the most important Counter Strike Global Offensive event of June. The competition brought together some of the best teams in the world, with 16 squads competing for a guaranteed prize pool of $600,000. The event started on June 18 with the group stage, which was played in a two double elimination format. Each group had eight teams and the opening matches were played in a best of one format, with the rest games requiring up to three victories to decide the winner.

Now that the group stage is over, the most successful six teams have advanced to the Counter Strike Global Offensive ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals Playoffs. Four of them play the quarterfinals on Friday, June 21, with the group stage leaders waiting for the winners in the semifinals. These will take place on Saturday and the winners will be decided on Sunday in the grand final played in a best-of-five series. The first place team will get the lion’s share worth $250,000, while the runner-up will have to settle for $80,000. The next two teams get $40,000, while the ones in 5th and 6th place collect $20,000.

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FaZe Clan are Slight Favourites Over G2 Esports

FaZe Clan have had a hard time throughout the group stage, but found a way to win the first two series. They fell in the third round to mousesports, but they are credited with the first chance and odds of 3/4 by Rivalry to reach the semifinals. Right from the start of the CS:GO ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals they were among the favourites to lift the trophy. The team currently standing in their way is G2 Esports, one that has caused them plenty of problems at the end of 2018. This year, however, they have dominated the series and they also have an overall advantage in the head to head record.

G2 Esports also had to fight very hard for every victory they have earned at the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals. The opening victory over Grayhound should have sounded the alarm as the match could have really gone either way. They were unable to recreate that performance in the second round against NRG Esports, despite starting the series with a victory. Two defeats by 19:17 sent them to the lower bracket, where they had swept opponents to earn their place in the quarterfinals. Because of their recent struggles and the inability to defeat FaZe Clan in 2018, Pinnacle Sports only offers even odds on them to win.

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Astralis Take on Team Liquid in the Quarterfinals

Astralis were the main favourites at the start of the Counter Strike Global Offensive ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals. They did start the group stage in impressive fashion and swept opponents to set an epic confrontation with NRG Esports in the third round. Eventually, they went down by the same score as G2 Esports they were sent on a collision course with Team Liquid. They didn’t lose the most recent match against this team, but they’ve won the previous six in a dominant fashion. Under these circumstances, the odds of 7/10 offered by ArcaneBet on Astralis to qualify for the semifinals are fully justified.

Out of the six teams that have made it to the quarterfinals, Team Liquid is the one credited with the smallest chance of winning the Counter Strike Global Offensive ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals Playoffs. This doesn’t come as a surprise, given the fact that they were sent to the lower bracket right from the start, after losing the opening match against North. Here, they’ve met weaker teams and were able to claw their way to the quarterfinals, when they meet a familiar foe. Their recent win over Astralis should give them a glimmer of hope, but odds of 11/10 at Buff88 are not high enough to justify the risks.

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What to Expect from the Semifinals?

Friday is going to be busy day at the Counter Strike Global Offensive ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals Playoffs, with both the quarterfinals and the semifinals to be played on this day. We expect Astralis and FaZe Clan to confirm their status as favourites and advance to the semifinals. Mousesports and NRG Esports will be waiting here and in theory, they should be heavily favourites to win. Even though they’ve made it this far by winning all the series during the group stage, we expect them to have a hard mission.

Astralis is a phenomenal team and even though they’ve lost against NRG Esports in round three, that series was a perfect coin flip. The immense experience of their players and the great results recorded in 2018 and this year, should convince punters to give them a chance. We expect even odds on Astralis and Mousesports in the semifinals, but at the end of the day we trust Astralis to advance. Risk-averse punters can settle for a bet on the outright winner, but those who seek higher esports odds should consider a 2:1 win.

In the other semifinal, which is actually going to be played first in the day, NRG Esports is also likely to struggle regardless of the opponent. FaZe Clan has alternated great games with mediocre performances, but at its core, this team is rocksolid. If they find a way to defeat G2 Esports they should be able to give the group winners a run for their money. We believe that G2 Esports won’t survive the quarterfinals, but if they do, they should exact revenge upon NRG Esports. The series they’ve lost in the second round was extremely close, just like most of their head to head matches and anything can happen.