?The RMR tournament was organized to filter teams participating in the IEM CS:GO Major and will take place simultaneously in three separate regions: Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

While the Americas RMR tournament was initially organized to be held in either North or South America, ESL reportedly switched to Sweden after considering a number of factors.?

ESL Senior Vice President of Product Ulrich Schulze revealed the decision to use Sweden as the tournament venue was related to visa issues.

In previous events, the problem of delayed visas or full-on non-issuance of visas has caused several teams to drop out of games and organizations to make last-minute changes to their plans.? ?

After being quizzed on Twitter concerning ESL’s decision, Schulze said: “We had planned to host it in the US until a few weeks ago but had to move it when it became clear that due to current waiting times for visa appointments, many SA players would not get visa in time, so we had to resort to a location that would work on short notice.”?

?The ESL executive also revealed they were fully aware of how important it was to conduct events in the regions where the teams were located, and they initially planned to do so.

“But ultimately, it is more important that all teams can qualify for the Major and are not hindered by visa issues,” he said.

https://twitter.com/theflyingdj/status/1562370672420163584?t=GWzLtaxJdBgqYR3u_s4INA&s=19? ?

The RMR events in the different regions will reportedly run from October 4 to October 9, contrary to the concluded PGL Antwerp CS:GO Major that ran sequentially.

Electronic Sports Leaguer also revealed the locations and dates for each event on August 23.?

?The events across the regions will reportedly host over 50 CS:GO teams vying for the 24 spots in the IEM Rio Major.

Malta and Australia were chosen as the venues for the European and Asia-Pacific RMR events, respectively.

?More esports news

The post ESL says border issues forced hand in hosting CSGO RMR in EU appeared first on Esport Bet.

Hard Legion Esports vs Team Spirit

Thursday, December 19 – 11:30 CET

Hard Legion ($1.82) are slight favourites for their first fixture. While they technically defeated Team Spirit ($1.92) in the European Champions Cup in late November, the match was a walkover. That result put HL into the finals, where they bested BIG 2-0 to claim the title.

After that title-winning run in European Champions Cup, Hard Legion defeated GODSENT 2-1 at United Masters League Season 2 and lost 20-22 to Hellraisers in a round-of-16 thriller at the IEM World Championship European Open Qualifiers.

MORE: CHAMPIONS CUP FINALS GROUP A BETTING TIPS

Since their forfeit against HL at the end of November, Team Spirit have beaten HAVU (2-0) and GODSENT (2-1) at SECTOR:MOSTBET to secure a spot in the grand finals. However, they fell short at the ESEA S32 Global Challenge last weekend, losing to forZe (14-16) and Riot Squad Esports (1-2) to end the tournament in fifth-sixth place.

Based on their recent results, there is not a lot to separate the two teams. That being said, Team Spirit have a slight edge because of their deeper map pool and better form ranking. It should be close, but we will side with Spirit to clinch the win.

Prediction: Team Spirit to win – $1.92 at GG Bet

G2 Esports vs BIG

Thursday, December 19 – 14:30 CET

G2 Esports ($1.42) head to the Champions Cup Finals following a solid run at cs_summit 5, where they claimed a silver medal after losing 1-2 against the surging mousesports in the grand finals. While losing to an in-form team is nothing much to worry about, what will annoy G2 is that they swept mouz 2-0 only three days earlier in the group stage.

Other than their two meetings with mouz at the cs_summit, G2 also defeated FURIA 2-0, drew with OG and MiBR, and defeated Virtus.pro twice, on the final day of the group stage (2-0) and in the semi-finals (2-1).

While G2 were making waves at cs_summit 5, BIG ($2.74) were struggling to find their form at DreamHack Open Sevilla, where they finished dead-last alongside Gambit Youngsters.

SEE ALSO: CS:GO ESPORTS BETTING

BIG played only two fixtures in Spain and failed to impress in both. They gave up a 9-6 lead to lose in overtime to North and the copped a 0-2 sweep in their elimination match against Movistar Riders.

The last meeting between these two sides took place in mid-November at ESL Pro League S10 Europe, where G2 won 2-0. Neither roster has changed since that bout, which suggests the balance of power remains mostly the same.

BIG are in terrible shape right now and will struggle compete at this tournament. The line for this match is set at 4.5 rounds, which G2 are more than capable of covering.

Prediction: G2 Esports -4.5 rounds – $1.95 at GG Bet

The post Champions Cup Finals Group B betting odds, tips & predictions appeared first on Esport Bet.

FURIA vs TYLOO

Thursday, December 19 – 10:00 CET

FURIA ($1.38) enter this bout as heavy favourites despite their subpar results at cs_summit 5, where they claimed an underwhelming fifth-place finish with only one win to their name. They started the tournament with a 1-1 stalemate against Virtus.pro and then a convincing 2-0 win against their compatriots MiBR, but a pair of 0-2 losses to OG and mouz saw them finish three points short of the playoffs.

TYLOO ($2.91) are no stranger to disappointing results either. Although the Chinese squad finished in the top three at both WESG 2019 Greater China and NEST Pro Series 2019, neither tournament boasted a strong field. TYLOO have won only three of their last seven fixtures, and all against much weaker teams in Rising-Stars, Keyd Stars and Big Time Regal Gaming.

SEE ALSO: CS:GO BETTING SITES

Both these teams are struggling for form. While FURIA faced stronger opponents compared to TYLOO, they are still 1-1-5 in their last seven fixtures.

When it comes to picking a winner here, this match seems like a hit or miss with both teams. While FURIA are rated higher than TYLOO, their recent form suggests they won’t have an easy time in this clash.

The handicap line is set at 4.5, which is way too high. TYLOO might not be one of the best teams out there, but their aggressive playstyle should throw FURIA off guard.

Prediction: TYLOO +4.5 rounds – $1.85 at GG Bet

ENCE vs Movistar Riders

Thursday, December 19 – 13:00 CET

All esports bookmakers have ENCE ($1.23) pegged as heavy favourites for their opening bout of the Champions Cup Finals. While it’s hard to praise Aleksi “allu” Jalli and his squad too much on their recent form, we have to consider the quality of the teams they have faced and the quality of the team they will face this week.

ENCE claimed a silver medal at the CS:GO Asia Championships, where they beat ViCi (2-0), mouz (2-1) and MiBR (2-1) en route to the finals. They couldn’t quite finish the job, losing 0-2 against mousesports in the decider. Those are ENCE’s only results since their appearance at IEM Beijing in early November.

There is not a lot to say about Movistar Riders ($3.86) besides the obvious, which is that they are a B-Tier team at most. The Spanish squad’s world ranking (30th) and recent results show just that.

Movistar’s most recent tournament was DreamHack Open Sevilla, where they failed to make it out of the group after losing to CR4ZY (8-16) and North (0-2). Prior to that, they claimed a second-place finish at the C-Tier Liga de Videojuegos Profesional – La Copa 2019 in early October.

There is no universe where Movistar Riders are a better team than ENCE. While this might seem like a bold statement given the unpredictable nature of best-of-one (Bo1) fixtures, we would not feel comfortable saying Movistar have a legitimate chance of winning this one. Back the Finns to win with at least six rounds to spare.

Prediction: ENCE -5.5 rounds – $1.89 at GG Bet

The post Champions Cup Finals Group A betting odds, tips & predictions appeared first on Esport Bet.

ESIC is a not for profit organisation established in 2015 by key esports stakeholders to ensure the e-sports industry runs free from match manipulation, cheating, betting fraud, online attacks, doping and other integrity issues unique to the world of esports.

The MoU between ESIC and MGA aims to promote cooperation between the two organisations to ensure the e-sports industry runs free from manipulation. As part of the agreement, the Malta Gaming Authority and its licensed gaming operators will be required to provide information about any “suspicious betting patterns” to assist ESIC with investigations into suspected insider betting or match fixing.

ESIC Integrity Commissioner Ian Smith said, “We are delighted that the Malta Gaming Authority has agreed to work with us in making e-sports a safer wagering environment.

“The MGA is a very highly respected regulator of sports betting and it has been a pleasure developing this information sharing mechanism with them. Adding the experience and vital information of our other partners in the information exchange to the Authority’s intelligence database and vice versa will undoubtedly strengthen all our efforts considerably.”

The MGA is an independent regulatory body responsible for overseeing and governing all gambling activity in Malta, both online and land based. The organisation aims to ensure all gaming is conducted fairly, transparently and free from crime or corruption.

Working under the laws set by The Lotteries and Other Games Act 2001, the MGA works to protect minors and vulnerable players, safeguard player rights, promote responsible gambling practices and ensure the integrity of all games and gaming devices.

The MoU with ESIC is further proof of Malta’s commitment to remaining one of the world’s leading gambling jurisdictions, and will help attract operators to seek licensing from the MGA.

MGA Chairman Joseph Cuschieri said, “Keeping abuse and crime out of sports betting is high on our agenda and the MGA will always be at the forefront to collaborate in such matters both locally and internationally”.

In March this year, the UK Gambling Commission also signed a MuA with ESIC to further improve the integrity of the e-sports gambling scene in the United Kingdom.

At the time of signing the agreement, UK Gambling Commission programme director Richard Watson said, “Esports is a developing sector that offers new challenges for the betting industry, with potential for further market growth.

“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to supporting ESIC in addressing the potential integrity risks, to help maintain public confidence in esports both as entertainment and for those who wish to place bets on British licensed markets”.

The post MGA signs agreement with ESIC to help curb esports match fixing appeared first on Esport Bet.