PGL Stockholm Major semifinals betting picks and analysis

William Davis Published 05/11/2021

What might be the most exciting series in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history is just two matches away.

The Stockholm Major champions stage is the pinnacle of CSGO. The final eight teams have been cut in half. All that’s left is to decide the teams on the podium. The Stockholm Major semifinals features two exciting matchups with $2 million hanging in the balance. Savvy bettors have a chance to bank off the event with smart betting picks. This is our wagering analysis for the semifinals of the CSGO Stockholm Major.

All odds included in this article were accurate at the time of writing. For the best odds on all CSGO esports matches, head to Winners.bet.

Heroic vs G2 Esports Stockholm Major analysis

Heroic has really polished itself up at the Stockholm Major. The Danish squad barely squeaked into the Legends stage but bounced back with wins over Vitality and Astralis to make the top eight. Although usually a quieter player, Martin “stavn” Lund has flexed his rifling skills with a 1.32 KD ratio. His new aggressive style is paying off with a 52.5% opening duel success rate. Despite that great performance, Winners.bet still rates Heroic the underdog at 2.17 odds.

By contrast, G2 Esports cruised into its final four by crushing Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0 in the first round. Nikola “NiKo” Kovač is one of the scariest CSGO players on the planet right now. His clean Deagle triple against NiP is the best clip of the tournament so far. NiKo’s cousin Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač is no slouch either, with 83.9 damage and .80 kills per round. The team is playing hot, as reflected in G2 Esports’ 1.60 odds to beat Heroic.

The teams have only played once in 2021, way back in May, and that series ended 2-1 for G2 Esports with a decisive map three on Mirage. In terms of sheer talent, G2 has a step up on Heroic. Several G2 players are popping off in Stockholm, including François “AmaNEk” Delaunay and cousins NiKo and huNter-. A G2 victory on map three will yield a boosted payout at 1.71 odds. Considering the team’s wide map spread and lack of history, G2 Esports versus Heroic is likely to go the distance.

Gambit Esports vs Natus Vincere Stockholm Major analysis

Natus Vincere is the undeniable favorite to win PGL Major Stockholm. The Russian-Ukrainian roster is looking unstoppable now that LANs are back on the table, taking an all-too-easy victory at IEM Cologne. That factors into the Na’Vi’s low 1.48 odds to beat Gambit. While most eyes are on AWPer Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, rookie Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi has been the real star in Stockholm. 84.1 damage per round and a 71.4% headshot rate make him a terrifying rifler to play against.

All of that is a big problem for Gambit Esports. The team couldn’t ask for a tougher opponent. Lucky for it, Gambit is one of the only squads able to touch Natus Vincere in 2021. The Russian side managed a 2-0 victory on Na’Vi to win IEM Fall: CIS. Young AWPer Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov played hot then and he’s scorching now. He boasts one of the highest KDAs in CSGO major history at 1.73. Despite taking the most recent matchup, Winners.bet rates Gambit at a steep 2.45 to take the best-of-three.

Unlike the other Stockholm Major semifinal, this match has plenty of precedence. While recency favors Gambit, Natus Vincere is playing in championship form. s1mple alone is a lot to handle, but with b1t breaking records, Natus Vincere deserves the favorite status. A bet for either team to win in two maps will net a nice 1.94 return on Winners.bet. The majority of Gambit and Natus Vincere matches this year have been blowouts one way or another, so this could be the best bet to make.

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