ESL Pro League Season 14 will be the biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament between now and the $2 million PGL Major Stockholm in October.
The 24 teams in attendance include most of the best CSGO squads in the world. With so many matches to play, the sequential group stage will take nearly three weeks to complete. That means plenty of opportunities to pad out your betting purse for the Stockholm Major. ESL Pro League Season 14 begins on August 16.Â
Out of 24 teams, only one can become the champion. If you’re looking to make an outright bet or just want to get acquainted before watching, these are the favorites and dark horses for ESL Pro League Season 14.
Natus Vincere’s CSGO squad is heading into ESL Pro League after a massive championship win at IEM Cologne. Na’Vi dominated the $1 million LAN tournament without losing a single match. Despite the big field of competition, it’s difficult to call any team other than Na’Vi the favorite.
Natus Vincere’s success is synonymous with star AWPer Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. The undisputed best CSGO player of 2021 has averaged 88.6 damage and .87 kills per round over the last three months. Natus Vincere’s other rifles are also quality. Natus Vincere’s likely chance of winning ESL Pro League Season 14 can still earn a chunky 4.33 return on your outright.Â
G2 Esports wasn’t a top pick heading into IEM Cologne, but the pan-European squad tore through the group stage and scored a big victory over Astralis in the playoffs. Nikola “NiKo” KovaÄŤ leads G2 Esports in terms of firepower. His 83.1 damage and .74 kill average will hopefully carry over to ESL Pro League Season 14.
G2’s biggest roadblock to winning the ESL Pro League is Natus Vincere. The two teams collided in the IEM Cologne grand finals, but a convincing 3-0 gave Na’Vi the crown. If another team takes down Natus Vincere, G2 will suddenly become the favorite. A $20 outright for G2 Esports would earn $120 if they win ESL Pro League Season 14.
FaZe Clan might seem like a complete underdog thanks to its sky-high 15.00 odds, but the superteam should stand a much better chance than that. FaZe took down both Gambit and Heroic at Cologne and gave more of a fight to Natus Vincere than the 2-0 score would suggest. FaZe Clan has the potential to go far at ESL Pro League.
Most FaZe fans cheer for Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken and HĂĄvard “rain” Nygaard, but don’t sleep on Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer Gustafsson. Though not as bloodthirsty as his teammates, the storied Swedish player is adept in the clutch. He’s gone 9-5 in clutch situations over the past three months, with three one-on-two victories.
A rough finish at IEM Cologne set Gambit back in the rankings, but a $750,000 online tournament is basically the team’s comfort zone. Gambit Esports was the best CSGO team of the online era thanks to incredible consistency online. The transition back to online could grant Gambit an edge on teams that are more comfortable on LAN.
With 4.50 odds to win, Gambit Esports is a solid bet to triumph at ESL Pro League Season 14. Pay particular attention to rifles Abay “Hobbit” Khassenov and Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov. The gruesome pair are responsible for nearly half of Gambit’s kills over the past three months.Â
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