B8 won their previous YaLLa Compass 2024 Summer fixture against BLEED Esports — who had to field two stand-ins — yet dropped 21 total rounds, needing overtime to win on Anubis. Since then, B8 have played seven games and won all but two, against TSM and 9Pandas, so they are in solid form.

AMKAL Esports have not played a single match since winning their second-round fixture against Passion UA on September 3. With that win, AMKAL are 3-7 from their last 10 outings, with a few concerning losses against Insilo, Young Ninjas, and B8, who bested them during Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024: European Open Qualifier #2.

While there is no significant quality difference between the two lineups, AMKAL Esports’ form does not inspire much confidence. Nor does their map pool, with positive win rates on just Vertigo and Inferno. At $1.59, B8 are an easy choice.

Nemiga Gaming and Monte will face off for the first time since 2022, and according to the top Counter-Strike betting sites, it should be a close affair.

Monte are 1-4 from their last five outings, beating SINNERS Esports but losing close games to BetBoom Team and GamerLegion. Nemiga Gaming are 2-3 over the same stretch, with wins against Sashi Esports and Permitta.

In terms of map pools, there is not much to set the teams apart. Nemiga have a better win rate on Anubis and Mirage but worse on Vertigo and Nuke, which they generally don’t play. This looks to be a three-map series.

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Natus Vincere benched the player on June 30 after seven months of uninspiring results. He will replace Alexey “alex666” Yarmoshchuk on B8 following his departure from the Ukrainian lineup on July 5.

B8 wrote in a welcome post, “We’re thrilled to announce Andrii’ npl’ Kukharskyi’s entry into our CS:GO team from @natusvincere, coming onboard for a long-term period with a priority buyout right.”

“This is a big boost for our team, filling a gap we felt in our recent two RMRs. Anyway, building a strong team and perfecting our gameplay can take some time, but we’re committed to working hard to achieve this as fast as we can.”

npl joined NAVI in December 2022 as a sixth player for the team. He eventually replaced Viktor “?sdy?” Orudzhev on the starting lineup in January 2023.

While with NAVI, npl had issues adapting to tier-one competition and reached a 0.92 average rating across 63 maps. He recorded his only positive rating during the BLAST.tv Paris Major RMR. During the event, he posted a 1.34 rating, his highest while with NAVI.

NAVI also reached the semifinals of the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2023, and the Electronic Sports League Pro League Season 17 during npl’s stint.

With a new player among their ranks, B8 aim to elevate their current rank in the CS:GO scene. The team previously qualified for the IEM Rio and the BLAST.tv Paris Major RMRs, where they earned impressive wins in the opening matches. B8, however, failed to go much further in the events and, in the process, lost out on Major appearances.

B8 currently consists of npl, Artem “?r1nkle?” Moroz, Mykhailo “?OWNER?” Lymar, Arseniy “?cptkurtka023?”Derevinskiy, and Denis “?amster?” Liashenko. They are set to debut the new team in the Thunderpick World Championship 2023 qualifier. The online event will kick on July 27 to August 13.

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Team LDLC and B8 will clash in the first round of the lower bracket at ESL Challenger League Season 45: Europe. It��ll mark their first meeting since February when B8 defeated Team LDLC in the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023: European RMR Qualifier A.
Since crashing out of the RMR, Team LDLC have looked solid, but they��ve not won a single tournament. Their best tournament results came at RES Western European Masters: Spring 2023 (fifth-sixth) and CCT West Europe Series #2 (fifth-eighth).

Like LDLC, B8 didn��t make it to the BLAST.tv Paris Major after crashing out of the RMR, and they��ve since played just six fixtures; however, most were compacted at the end of April, so it��s not like B8 will enter this match rusty. Still, B8 haven��t faced any tough opponents, so it��s hard to explain why they��re priced as $1.44 favourites.

B8 defeated Team LDLC last time, but the French squad have since made some changes and now look better, so there��s no reason to have them priced as heavy underdogs. Team LDLC to win at $2.62 or better is a solid value bet with esports betting sites.

LookingForOrg (former HEET) failed to qualify for the RMR and thus missed a chance to attend the Paris Major. However, even though HEET didn��t show much against the world��s top teams, they��ve done well for themselves.

At the end of April, the French squad won CCT Central Europe Series #6 and started their ESL Challenger League Season 45 campaign with a win against Into the Win (2-1), but proved to be no match for SAW (1-2). Regardless, LFO have shown decent results over the last few weeks.

The German CS:GO squad enter this match with a 2-3 record with wins against Insilio (2-0) and Dynamo Eclot (2-0) and three defeats against 9INE (1-2), Websterz (1-2), and Nexus Gaming (7-16).

Even before that run, Sprout haven��t produced anything remarkable, nor were they very consistent with their showings.
Esports bookmakers have LFO priced as favourites, which can be explained by looking at their title-run at CCT Central Europe Series #6, but if we zoom out, there isn��t much to set these two teams apart, so betting on LookingForOrg at $1.57 makes no sense. Value is with Sprout.

Movistar Riders had an explosive start to the tournament and demolished Iron Branch (2-0) before getting reverse-swept by EYEBALLERS (1-2) in the second round of the upper bracket. The Spaniards have since attended and won the ESL Challenger at DreamHack Melbourne 2023 by beating Rare Atom (19-16), Bad News Eagles (16-11), ECSTATIC (2-0), and Bad News Eagles (2-0) in the finals.

Their next opponents, ex-Partizan have not achieved nearly as much recently or throughout this season. Since getting cut by the Serbian esports organisation, the Balkan roster have attended two events, the Elisa Invitational Spring 2023 and CCT West Europe Series #3, but didn��t accomplish much, with a 21st-23rd and 23rd-24th-place finish, respectively.
Even in their recent outings, ex-Partizan failed to impress, making it tough to believe we��ll see an upset on Tuesday. Movistar Riders to win 2-0 at $2.20 is more than fair.

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According to a social media post by B8, alex666 would transition to a bench player while searching for new opportunities with other organizations.

��We are sad to announce that alex666 will be leaving our team. We’ve had an amazing run with him, passing through the RMR twice in a row. However, we have to split apart. alex666 will now be transitioning to a bench player status and will be actively seeking new opportunities,�� the Twitter post read.

In a follow-up tweet, B8 appreciated alex666, who had been with them since August 2022, for his efforts toward the team and wished him the best.

��We want to express our sincere appreciation for all the hard work and dedication alex666 brought to our team. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors, and we know he will be a valuable asset to any team lucky enough to have him,�� they concluded.

Alex666 joined B8 late last year alongside players like Denis “?amster?” Liashenko and the team��s coach Ivan “?maddened?” Iordanidi. With the Ukrainian player out of the starting five, B8 currently consists of amster, Arseniy, “?cptkurtka023?” Derevinskiy, Artem “?r1nkle?” Moroz, and Mykhailo “?OWNER?” Lymar.

Prior to alex666��s move to the bench, B8 faced a disappointing run at the RMR. After reaching a 2-0 record following victories against Virtus.pro and MOUZ in the opening best-of-ones, the team were defeated by Into the Breach, Fnatic, and Apeks, racking up a 2-3 record.

B8 eventually faced a hard elimination in the Major after losing to Cloud9 in the last chance qualifier. The BLAST.tv Paris Major RMR loss is similar to one B8 suffered in the IEM Rio RMR in 2022. The squad started the tournament with a 2-1 lead but lost two consecutive best-of-threes and failed out of the Swiss system qualifier.

B8 are yet to reveal any information about a replacement for alex666; however, the team will need to find one soon in order to participate in the CCT South Europe Series 4. The event is set to kick off on Sunday with B8 as one of the opening teams in their match against KS in the tournament��s Swiss group stage.

B8 are also set to take part in the lower bracket of the ESL Challenger League Season 45. The squad will face off against French lineup LDLC following an earlier loss to Falcons.

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According to the announcement, the team was released because of their underwhelming performance in the 2022 DPC season. In 18 games played, they managed only one victory, which came against IVY in the Dota 2 Champions League Season 7.

Dendi revealed that several factors caused serious roadblocks for the team, most especially the ongoing war in Ukraine. He stated that the team’s training camp was disrupted as a result, and that interfered with their rhythm.

In the video discussing the release, Dendi, alongside every team member gave their opinion on why they had such a poor run together. They also revealed that there were no hard feelings, knowing that their performance was subpar.

Dendi, the team captain, said:
“We decided to say goodbye to our Dota 2 team. It��s sad, but our results were underwhelming. That’s why we decided to part ways. We tried to find the guys that would match well together, it took a long time to select these players.

“It’s not the result we’ve counted for. That’s why we made such a decision.”

In November 2021, B8 completed an overhaul of their roster. They announced a new team via Twitter. Unfortunately, that is the team that has been released after seven months of action.

The 2021 recruitment, as stated by Dendi, was not an easy process. The team captain revealed that they scouted a lot of players, 25 for each position, before making their picks.

“It��s hard to build a Dota team from scratch again, but B8 is ready for the difficulties. We see it as an opportunity. So guys, await some new information about the new team.

“We will be moving forward in our separate ways. I’d like to thank the guys for the time we’ve spent together.”

The founder also congratulated their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, who is having a better run. He urged B8 supporters to rally behind the CS: GO team.

Even as the release included Dendi, there is a high chance he will be on the roster of the next group of guys who will compete under B8’s banner. Dendi has been with the team through perilous times and has always found his way back to the roster.

Perhaps their biggest failure came in 2020. Dendi was part of the team that suffered a 26-game losing streak, the longest in Dota 2 history.

B8 has undergone several roster overhauls in the past couple of years but have not found the right mix. As an organization, they have a 32% win rate.

Dendi has promised updates regarding a new team. If they follow the same rigorous scouting process, it might take a while, especially as they will be looking to put together a stronger team.

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Khan are 2-2 after four rounds in this season of the Dota 2 Champions League . While we can’t say they are one of the bottom teams since they’ve beaten Nemiga Gaming and Team Empire, they also can’t be viewed as proper contenders due to their losses against Brame and Creepwave.

While we don’t know where to place Khan, it’s fairly easy to evaluate B8, who are evidently one of the weakest teams at the tournament. You can forgive them for losing against Creepwave, but it’s hard to defend B8 for getting swept by NoMarci and Nemiga Gaming.

There’s always room for an upset, but it’s hard to believe that B8 can defeat Khan. This bout has a 2-0 sweep written all over it, and we’re getting good odds with the top esports betting sites on that outcome.

HellRaisers have managed only two wins from four outings, and even those came against NoMarci and HYDRA last week. Since then, they have played only one game, losing 0-2 against Team Empire.

V-Gaming are in a similar spot with a 3-2 record; however, unlike HellRaisers, they won against Team Empire on Tuesday (2-1). What’s more, V-Gaming are the only team at the tournament to take a map away from Creepwave.

V-Gaming had an iffy start to the Dota 2 Champions League tournament, losing to HYDRA (1-2) last Monday, but they have since looked much better, suggesting that Aybek “Naive-” Tokayev and his crew might have found their stride. Based on recent showings, V-Gaming should win, but it will likely be a closely contested three-map series.

VIKIN.GG VS B8 DOTA 2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS

VIKIN.GG VS B8 ESL ONE LOS ANGELES DOTA2 ONLINE: EU & CIS BETTING PREVIEW

Vikin.gg and B8 are slated to meet on the 11th day of ESL One Los Angeles Dota2 Online, which will mark each side’s sixth fixture of the tournament and their first-ever meeting in the competitive arena.

Vikin.gg have enjoyed a solid start to their ESL One LA venture, having picked up three wins in the opening five rounds. While their displays against Gambit (2-0) and Cyber Legacy (2-1) were promising, the 2-1 victory over the reigning TI champions, OG, will go down as one of the biggest Dota2 upsets in 2020. However, the Romanian squad did not see the same success against CIS squads HellRaisers (0-2) and Virtus.pro (0-2) in rounds two and four.

The biggest question is how and where we rank Vikin.gg. There is no denying this is a B-Tier team at most, but they are very strong in their weight class and have shown they can match it with some of the world’s best Dota 2 esports teams.

Indji “Shad” Lub, Miroslav “BOOM” Bi?an, Tobias “Tobi” Buchner, Adam “Aramis” Moroz and Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp have already seen a lot of success in minor tournaments throughout 2020. In January, they picked up a third-place finish at the Hainan Master Spring Invitational – Europe Qualifier, made it to the finals of OMG.BET Cup 2, and won Hot Price League Season 1 while losing only one map. That form continued into March when Vikin.gg hoisted titles at Winter Madness, Hot Price League Season 2 and GGBET Championship 2.

While those are far from top-tier tournaments, it’s hard to ignore Vikin.gg’s impressive 24-3 record since the start of March. Prior to ESL One Los Angeles, their only loss in that run came against Aggressive Mode (0-2) in the SIGUL Pro League.

B8 have had a far less successful run through the opening stages of ESL One LA. While they claimed a 2-1 win over HellRaisers, Danil “Dendi” Ishutin’s team fell flat against Cyber Legacy (1-2), OG (1-2), Nigma (0-2) and Gambit (0-2). Although 1-4 record is nothing to write home about, their three-map series against OG is something B8 can look at with pride.

B8’s preparation was less than ideal, as the newly established CIS squad failed to secure top-four finishes at the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 CIS Open Qualifier, WePlay! Dota 2 Tug of War: Mad Moon, Arena of Blood and WeSave! Charity Play – EU & CIS. Since Dendi formed his team on January 27, 2020, they have produced only five wins in 21 outings.

VIKIN.GG VS B8 ESL ONE LOS ANGELES DOTA2 MAJOR: NA BETTING PREDICTIONS

Esports bookmakers have Vikin.gg priced as heavy favourites, which is no surprise. Having said that, we must take into consideration that ESL One LA is an online tournament, where underdogs tend to have a much greater chance to shine.

That does not necessarily mean we can count on B8 to win, as they clearly need to make a couple of roster swaps if they wish to find any stability with their results. However, it’s still fair to expect B8 can pick up at least one map.

B8’s prospects are heavily dependent on the performance of owner-captain Dendi, who, on his best day, can take over any match. Although he is not playing at the same elite level as he once did, Vikin.gg are also not the same calibre of team Dendi is used to playing against.

We are counting on Dendi to deliver. B8 picked up maps against HellRaisers, Cyber Legacy and OG, which suggests they are more than capable of doing the same against Vikin.gg.

The announcement surfaced on Friday, March 27 in a Twitter that said, “Unfortunately, we have to part ways with Pio65. We are grateful for his help, especially in the hard times, and for the work we all did during this time.”

Excalibur began his professional Dota2 career with Fnatic.EU, who signed him as a stand-in member in 2014 after he reached the top three in the European Dota2 rankings with 6,900 MMR points. Excalibur helped Fnatic pocket a top-four placement at ESL One Frankfurt 2014, a silver medal at Dota 2 Champions League Season 3 and a bronze medal at the HyperX D2L Western Challenge, yet he left the prominent European esports organisation in August 2014 to join Team Tinker.

In the years that followed, Excalibur played for House of Gamers, MeePwn’d, GameOnline, Ancient Warriors, (monkey) Business, No Logic Gaming, OG, Memento Mori, Horde, Crescendo and in August 2017 re-united with Fnatic. His return was rather short-lived, as Excalibur was moved to the substitute position in November the same year. He left soon after and has since played for Planet Dog, Double Dimension, Going In, DeToNator, Bursaspor Esports, The ReaL DeaL and most recently Team Singularity.

Mostly known for playing Meepo and Tinker, Excalibur has had quite a colourful Dota2 career. Besides his five-month stint as a substitute for OG between March and August 2016, he has never spent more than four months under the same banner. As such, the journeyman carry has spent the last few years playing mostly in the second-tier of the Dota2 competitive scene.

B8 are a Ukrainian, player-owned esports organisation formed in January 2020 by the legendary Dendi, who was part of the Natus Vincere squad that won the inaugural edition of The International in 2011. B8’s first-ever Dota 2 roster featured Nikola “LeBronDota” Popovic, Rinat “KingR” Abdullin, Andrey “Ghostik” Kadyk, Alexandr “pio65” Zalivako, and Dendi himself as the team’s captain and mid laner.

Thus far, B8 have participated at four events with varying degrees of success. Dendi’s team finished fifth-eighth at the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 CIS Open Qualifier, fifth-sixth at WePlay! Dota 2 Tug of War: Mad Moon and most recently pocketed a top-six finish at Arena of Blood. B8 also made an appearance at WeSave! Charity Play, where they lost to Natus Vincere in round one.

The first test for B8’s new-look roster will come in early April when Dendi and co. take part in the revamped ESL One Los Angeles 2020. Due to coronavirus concerns, the tournament has been moved to an online format and divided into five separate regional events: Europe & CIS, North America, Southeast Asia, South America and China.

B8 will participate in the Europe & CIS section of the Dota 2 LA Major, which will see 16 Dota2 teams compete for the largest slice of US $200,000 in prize money.