Betting favorites and dark horses for ESL Pro League Season 14

William Davis Published 10/08/2021

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. 

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.

ESL Pro League Season 14 betting favorites

Natus Vincere

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. 

G2 Esports

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” Kovač 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.

ESL Pro League Season 14 betting dark horses

FaZe Clan

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 Håvard “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.

Gambit Esports

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. 

Read Also

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions Owen Harsono It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...

Counter-Strike

Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major Owen Harsono It was pretty weird seeing Team Spirit having to start the IEM Cologne Major from Stage 2, but they quickly proved why that was a mistake. With donk shooting on all fronts, the Eastern Europeans speed ran the competition to book their spot in Stage 3. With how they’ve been playing, it’s hard not to wonder whether they can actually win the entire thing. These boys can sometimes be known ...

Counter-Strike

BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap Owen Harsono We’ve just witnessed arguably the worst choke in Counter-Strike Major history, and we’re only on the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major. If you didn’t tune into the Stage 1 matches, here’s what you need to know heading into Stage 2. Many fans tend to underestimate Stage 1 teams for fair reasons, but some survivors in this tournament look extremely promising. Two Eastern European teams, BetBoom Team and B8, ...

Counter-Strike

Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026? Owen Harsono If you’re looking to play it safe and back one team at the Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 Major, traders prediction markets platforms have a clear frontrunner – it’s Team Vitality. But if it’s not meant to be, there are a few other candidates that could lift the trophy. Here’s what traders on Polymarket and Kalshi think. If you haven’t been watching CS2 this year and are only jumping on ...

Counter-Strike

The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major Owen Harsono In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg's list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major. ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike's most famous players for one ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds Owen Harsono Mark your calendars, as the IEM Cologne Major kicks off on June 2, 2026. We’re going to see the best teams in the world compete, but which ones are actually favored to take the title? This will be the first time in 10 years that IEM Cologne will return as a Counter-Strike Major, so the stakes this year are much higher than they’ve been in a decade. In this guide, ...

Esports Betting

All IEM Cologne winners and rosters in Counter-Strike history Owen Harsono IEM Cologne is one of Counter-Strike’s biggest events, happening every single year. Some seasons, the event is labeled as one of Valve’s two Counter-Strike Majors of the year, but if not, still stands as one of the big events every player chases to win. With the IEM Cologne 2026 Major right around the corner, let’s take a trip down memory lane and check out every single winner of the tournament, ...