The Paris Major has reached its final stage, and the Pick’ems for the playoffs marks the very last time fans will get to engage with this piece of Global Offensive history.
The Paris Major started with a whopping 24 teams, but only eight remain in the fight for CSGO’s last major championship. The playoffs are already set, with first-round matches announced shortly following the legends stage. If you went with WIN.gg’s picks for the challengers and legends stages, you’ve already secured a shiny gold coin and two free souvenir gun skins. However, there are still seven matches between you and that beautiful platinum. We try to repeat our success at the Antwerp and Stockholm majors with our Pick’ems for the Paris Major playoffs.
The first step is to predict the winner of each quarterfinal match. There are four options, and players only have to guess two correctly. However, getting more right at the start can make the later stages much easier.
Heroic and FaZe Clan is a grand finals-worthy matchup right at the start, and it’s also one of the hardest to predict. Match history is close, with Heroic going 3-2 over FaZe in the last six months. However, that included a decisive best-of-one win for Heroic in the legends stage. Considering its recent form, we believe that Heroic should take this over FaZe in three maps.
Next is a battle of the underdogs in Monte and GamerLegion. Both squads are surprises to see in the champions stage, and there’s zero match history to go off of. We give Monte a slight edge due to it beating Na’Vi in the legends phase, a team that GL solidly lost to. However, this is probably the least predictable match in the quarterfinals.
The next two matches are much easier to predict. Apeks impressed in the challengers and legends stage, even taking the opening map off Team Liquid in the first round. However, in terms of major experience and pedigree, Liquid simply outclasses Apeks in every major way. The best-of-three format should favor the more established roster, so we pick Liquid to advance. However, we wouldn’t blame anyone anticipating the classic Liquid choke on map three.
Into The Breach and Team Vitality round out the quarterfinals. Vitality is on fire in Paris, sweeping the legends stage with big wins over G2, ENCE, and Monte. ITB put up an impressive run too, but it just barely squeezed into the playoffs after losing to Apeks and Liquid. Due to historical performance and home-field advantage, Vitality is a very easy pick to win this match.
That would make the semifinals Heroic versus Monte, followed by Liquid and Vitality. The first match is an easy choice, as Heroic’s lockstep style makes it nearly immune to upsets from less established rosters. Heroic also trounced Monte 2-0 in the European RMR, setting a precedent for this matchup.
The opposite end of the bracket hosts a similarly straightforward decision. Team Liquid is a noble stack that has been through a lot in the past few years, but sadly, we do not believe in their potential to win the final CSGO major. Team Vitality, fresh off an IEM Rio championship, is simply too big of an ask for the American juggernaut. Vitality is playing hot, and a freak loss at IEM Katowice last year isn’t enough to convince us. In their home country on a ten-match win streak, Vitality should take this in two maps.
And finally, that leaves Heroic and Team Vitality as the final Pick’ems prediction of the Paris Major playoffs. This matchup is tight, with a 2-2 match history in the last year. However, nearly every intangible factor favors the French. The home crowd, win streak momentum, and a matchup win at IEM Rio all point to Vitality winning the Paris Major and taking home CSGO’s final major championship. We expect it to be close, likely ending 3-1 or even going the distance. However, we’re willing to bet a platinum coin that Vitality will win it all and end the CSGO era on the highest note possible.
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