This marks the return of the Ukrainian Counter-Strike superstar, who last appeared in a match in March when he stood in for the Falcons at BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2024.
That was also s1mple’s first and only professional fixture on Counter-Strike 2.
Time to be back at LAN, that’s was my goal from the very beginning – to play the Shanghai Major! I’m very glad that we will have official games before we fix the mistakes and play the main tournament of this year! Thank you for opportunity both @TeamFalconsGG and @natusvincere… https://t.co/PUEFjEPK2T
— Sasha (@s1mpleO) September 27, 2024
S1mple’s arrival comes amid a rough period for the Falcons, who have been struggling to make noise in the upper echelons of the Counter-Strike esports scene.
Their struggles, however, reached a new low earlier this month.
S1mple to the Rescue
Since the turn of the year, Team Falcons’s most notable accomplishments were two semifinal appearances at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2024 in February and BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 #1 in May.
More recently, Danny “zonic” S?rensen’s men crashed out of ESL Pro League Season 20 in 21st-28th and BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 in last place.
After the abysmal showing in Copenhagen, zonic talked about how the team needs to make some roster changes to find more stability.
And it did not take long for the changes to come into effect.
The 26-year-old replaces álvaro “SunPayus” García, who got benched from the starting five nine months after joining Team Falcons from ENCE.
!THE LEGEND RETURNS
S1mple is back on a 3-month loan
Time to soar higher
???????? @s1mpleO ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???????!
#FalconsAreHere pic.twitter.com/ZafLO1YXqF
— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) September 27, 2024
SunPayus’s benching comes as a bit of a shock, as the Spanish AWPer had been the team’s highest-rated player, averaging a 1.13 performance rating during his stint.
Despite his strong showings, SunPayus later commented that the roster did not click and they agreed some change was needed.
“We tried everything to make this work but it just didn’t click as a team, it was really tough for everyone and a change was needed, wishing the best for my teammates. For me, will keep grinding and doing what I love to refind myself in the game,” said SunPayus.
S1mple will debut for Team Falcons at Thunderpick World Championship 2024, which kicks off on October 21.
The tournament will feature 16 Counter-Strike teams, including BIG, Fnatic, and HEROIC, who, alongside Team Falcons, received direct invites.
Counter-Strike betting sites have yet to release outright markets for Thunderpick World Championship 2024; however, those will become available after the tournament organisers hand out the final six invitations for the event.
Team Falcons’ biggest challenge, however, will come in November, then s1mple and co. attend Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMRs, where they will vie for a spot at the second Counter-Strike 2 Major.
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The match, significant for Falcons’ Danish in-game leaders and their veteran Counter-Strike trio of Emil “?Magisk?” Reif, Peter “?dupreeh?” Rasmussen, and coach Danny “?zonic?” S?rensen, had high stakes, as the winner would advance to play in front of the local Copenhagen crowd.
.@FaZeEsports survive for another day and book their spot at the Forum!
#BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/YmTTupMtcg
— BLAST Premier
(@BLASTPremier) September 26, 2024
Falcons showed resilience on Nuke, recovering from a slow start on their terrorist side to force a final round.
Despite álvaro “?SunPayus?” García’s solid performance, Helvijs “?broky?” Saukants denied Falcons the chance for overtime, giving FaZe the map win.
The battle continued on Ancient, where Falcons again pushed FaZe to the limit, leading to overtime after a late FaZe surge.
Pavle “?Maden?” Bo?kovi?’s heroics helped Falcons win in a triple-overtime thriller, forcing the decider on Dust2.
Dust2 saw both teams neck and neck, but Falcons faltered in the second half as FaZe dominated with a clean 7-0 run, powered by standout performances from H?vard “?rain?” Nygaard and broky, securing a 13-6 win and eliminating Falcons.
In a post-match interview, zonic acknowledged that the team needs changes, hinting at ongoing struggles and rumours of signing Nikola “?NiKo?” Kova? after the Shanghai Major.
FaZe’s win secured them a spot in the quarterfinals as the third seed, where they will face Team Liquid.
.@natusvincere continues their win streak against @G2esports and are ready for the Saturday!
#BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/xbvsNSmXxJ
— BLAST Premier
Meanwhile, Natus Vincere continued their impressive form, sweeping G2 Esports 2-0 to reach the semifinals.
G2, despite the loss, will face Team Spirit in the quarterfinals.
Natus Vincere’s dominance over G2, extending their head-to-head record to 9-0, continued as Ihor “?w0nderful?” Zhdanov’s AWP play turned around an 8-1 deficit on Dust2 to secure a 12-1 run.
Ancient saw Natus Vincere’s well-coordinated terrorist side overwhelm G2, though some missteps on the defensive side allowed a brief G2 comeback before Na’Vi closed out the match 13-9.
Elsewhere, Team Spirit earned a quarterfinal spot after defeating Astralis 2-1, securing victories on Dust2 (13-5) and Mirage (13-11), while Astralis managed to win Ancient (13-3).
Crazy Counter-Strike on Mirage ends with @Team__Spirit knocking @AstralisCS out of the Fall Final!
— BLAST Premier
Spirit’s performance was far from flawless, with both teams showing signs of struggle.
Astralis, in particular, dealt with the controversy surrounding Casper “?cadiaN?” M?ller as an emergency substitute, which may have contributed to their disjointed play.
Team Vitality locked in a top-four finish by defeating Team Liquid 2-0 (16-12 Anubis, 13-11 Nuke) in Group B’s upper bracket final.
.@TeamVitalityCS continue their Nuke streak and secure the W tonight!
— BLAST Premier
Despite not relying heavily on Mathieu “?ZywOo?” Herbaut, Vitality saw crucial contributions from Shahar “?flameZ?” Shushan and Lotan “?Spinx?” Giladi.
Liquid, captained by Russel “?Twistzz?” Van Dulken, showed promise but faltered when it mattered most, allowing Vitality to advance directly to the semifinals while Liquid heads to face FaZe in the quarterfinals.
Friday’s quarter-final matches
- G2 Esports ($1.57) vs Team Spirit ($2.25) @ 4pm CEST
- FaZe Clan ($2.00) vs Team Liquid ($1.75) @ 7pm CEST
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A perfect start to the Fall Final for @natusvincere
— BLAST Premier
Despite barely any rest after their last Counter-Strike 2 event, NaVi, led by Aleksi “?Aleksib?” Virolainen, secured a comfortable victory on Anubis and a more competitive win on Ancient.
Justinas “?jL?” Lekavicius shone in a critical 2v4 defence that helped NaVi take the second map, securing their seventh consecutive win and extending their hot streak to a 12-1 record.
Their next challenge will be against G2 Esports, who continued their dominance over FaZe Clan with a 2-1 (13-7, 6-13, 13-9) victory.
.@G2CSGO kick off their journey in Copenhagen with a W
— BLAST Premier
After a rough start on Inferno and a strong counter-terrorist half on Mirage, G2 mounted a comeback, helped by clutch performances from Janusz “?Snax?” Pogorzelski and his supporting cast.
FaZe showed flashes of their old form, but were unable to capitalise on key moments, leaving G2 with a much-needed confidence boost.
In other action, Vitality demolished Astralis 2-0 (13-0, 13-4) in their debut with Casper “?cadiaN?” M?ller, allowing just four rounds across two maps.
.@TeamVitalityCS steamroll @AstralisCS to take their opening series
— BLAST Premier
Astralis, grappling with roster controversies and fan pressure, struggled to find their footing, while Vitality bounced back strong after a disappointing ESL Pro League quarter-final exit.
Lastly, Liquid earned a hard-fought 2-1 (3-13, 13-11, 13-10) win over Spirit to advance to the playoffs.
An incredible game to end the opening day and it's @TeamLiquidCS who come out on top!
— BLAST Premier
Despite a shaky start on Dust2, Liquid rallied on Nuke, with Mareks “?YEKINDAR?” Ga?inskis and Keith “?NAF?” Markovic delivering clutch performances.
They now face a rematch with Vitality for a spot in the semi-finals.
Thursday’s Fall Final matches
- Team Falcons ($3.40) vs FaZe Clan ($1.30) @ 12pm CEST
- Natus Vincere ($1.40) vs G2 Esports ($2.75) @ 2:30pm CEST
- Astralis ($3.75) vs Team Spirit ($1.25) @ 5pm CEST
- Team Vitality ($1.40) vs Team Liquid ($2.75) @ 7:30pm CEST
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NATUS VINCERE vs TEAM FALCONS CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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|---|---|
| Best Odds: | NaVi $1.15 at GG Bet | Falcons $5.41 at GG Bet |
| When: | September 25, 2024 | 12:00 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/BLASTPremier) |
Natus Vincere are the outright favourites to win BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024, which comes as no surprise after their success at ESL Pro League Season 20. Fatigue could be an issue, however, as NaVi are jumping from one demanding tournament into another with no break in between.
Team Falcons also attended the event in Malta, but they bombed out early after managing a lone victory against ATOX Esports. It was just another on a long list of disappointing tournament placements, following a seventh-eight finish at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 #2.
The Falcons are a capable squad, but considering their lacklustre and inconsistent showings this year, it makes more sense to trust Natus Vincere to do what is expected.
Natus Vincere -1.5 maps
G2 ESPORTS vs FAZE CLAN CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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|---|---|
| Best Odds: | G2 $1.49 at GG Bet | FaZe $2.58 at GG Bet |
| When: | September 25, 2024 | 14:30 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/BLASTPremier) |
FaZe Clan enter the penultimate BLAST Premier tournament of the year following another shocking performance in a big event. They finished ESL Pro League Season 20 in 13th-16th place after a 0-2 loss against Complexity in the first round of the playoffs.
G2 Esports produced a better run in Malta, reaching the semifinals but losing a closely contested game against the eventual champions, Natus Vincere. Even though G2 fell short of winning an event yet again, it was another strong showing from the European lineup.
Betting against FaZe Clan is tricky, as you never know when they will find their traction and re-emerge as one of the world’s top teams. However, the top Counter-Strike betting sites are right in pricing G2 Esports as favourites for this match.
G2 Esports -1.5 maps
TEAM VITALITY vs ASTRALIS CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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|---|---|
| Best Odds: | Vitality $1.26 at GG Bet | Astralis $3.82 at GG Bet |
| When: | September 25, 2024 | 17:00 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/BLASTPremier) |
Astralis are heavy underdogs for this clash after finishing well back in the pack at both ESL Pro League Season 20 (21st-28th) and Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024 (9th-12th). In their defence, the Danes have produced a few close series against the world’s elite squads, and the recent signing of Casper “cadiaN” M?ller should help with consistency.
Team Vitality looked poised to claim the trophy in Malta, yet their 11-game winning streak — which stretches back to BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024 — ended in a 1-2 loss against Eternal Fire. This is far from concerning.
Vitality are the better team, but at this number, you have to trust Astralis to take at least one map — as they did in their most recent head-to-head clash.
Astralis +1.5 maps
TEAM SPIRIT vs TEAM LIQUID CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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|---|---|
| Best Odds: | Spirit $1.48 at GG Bet | Liquid $2.84 at GG Bet |
| When: | September 25, 2024 | 19:30 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/BLASTPremier) |
In the final fixture of the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 opening stage, Team Liquid will look to continue their upward trend when they take on the ever-deadly Team Spirit.
Both teams recently placed fifth-eighth at ESL Pro League Season 20, yet Team Liquid showed more in Malta. They defeated ENCE, Virtus.pro and Complexity, while they also forced two close series against G2 Esports and Vitality. On the other side, Team Spirit defeated Wildcard, MongolZ, 3DMAX and FURIA Esports, which isn’t the most challenging schedule.
Spirit have shown higher highs this year, but their recent results are hardly inspiring. At best, this should be a 50-50 series, so we will gladly take the outsiders at $2.61.
Team Liquid to win
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The tournament saw its ninth and tenth eliminations as Aurora and BetBoom Team bowed out, leaving Xtreme Gaming as the last non-European Dota 2 team standing.
Aurora faced Xtreme Gaming in a fierce lower bracket showdown.
Game one was a one-sided stomp in favour of XG, but game two was much more competitive.
Aurora’s Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong debuted the first Lycan pick of the tournament, using Alpha Wolves and a Nullifier to counter XG’s Pugna.
On the other side, Wang “Ame” Chunyu’s Faceless Void constantly pressured Aurora’s Artem “lorenof” Melnick on Storm Spirit, neutralising his impact.
Despite Aurora’s valiant efforts to hold out for nearly an hour, XG’s aggression proved too much, ending Aurora’s run with a seventh-eighth place finish and marking the end of South-east Asia’s presence at TI13.
It was the final series for Aurora at The International 2024, as they have been eliminated by Xtreme Gaming. Despite their efforts, Aurora’s journey ends here. #Dota2 #TI13 pic.twitter.com/ELYYL8nHVh
— The International (@dota2ti) September 13, 2024
Meanwhile, BetBoom Team also met their end at the hands of Team Falcons.
The series was tightly contested, with game two being particularly intense.
After a strong early-game performance from Falcons, BetBoom fought back with a high-ground defence led by their safelane Medusa, who bought a Divine Rapier to turn the tide.
However, a critical misplay during a push—where Medusa had her Black King Bar (BKB) in her backpack—led to her being taken down twice.
This swung the game in Falcons’ favour, and they closed out the series, eliminating BetBoom from the tournament.
Falcons’ Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen, a veteran of The International, reflected on the win and the experience of playing alongside debutant mid-laner Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak, praising his energy and adaptability.
BB Team couldn't keep up with the pace set by Falcons, and it's time for them to exit the tournament. #Dota2 #TI13 pic.twitter.com/dZRHM9cxks
— The International (@dota2ti) September 13, 2024
As the tournament continued, the upper bracket saw dominant performances from some of the top teams.
Team Liquid faced off against Cloud9 in a two-game series.
Game one was all Liquid, as they dominated from start to finish.
Game two; however, saw Cloud9 put up a stronger fight.
At one point, Cloud9 even took down a tier 4 tower, but Liquid’s buybacks and a miraculous play from Micha? “Nisha” Jankowski on Puck turned the tide, securing Liquid’s spot in the upper bracket finals.
Gaimin Gladiators then took on Tundra Esports in another upper bracket semifinal.
The Gladiators showcased their prowess, with Erik “tOfu” Engel on Lone Druid and Quinn on Storm Spirit leading the charge.
Game one was one-sided, but game two was even more of a rout, with GG cruising to a 26-3 victory in just 24 minutes.
With BetBoom and Aurora eliminated, Xtreme Gaming remains the only non-European team in the tournament.
XG will face Tundra Esports in the lower bracket, while Team Falcons take on Cloud9.
At the top, Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators are set to clash in the upper bracket finals, ensuring both teams a spot in the top three.
As The International 2024 continues, each remaining team fights to have their names immortalised on the Aegis of Champions, with millions of fans watching their every move.
Gaimin Gladiators put on a dominant display against Tundra, securing their spot in the Upper Bracket Final. They will now face Team Liquid #Dota2 #TI13 pic.twitter.com/lP5zv2vBxc
— The International (@dota2ti) September 13, 2024
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The tournament will feature 16 of the best Counter-Strike 2 teams from around the world, competing for the lion’s share of the US$1,000,000 total prize pool, which includes the US$150,000 that was on offer for each of the six qualifiers.
The event kicks off with an online stage from October 21-26, where teams will battle in a single-elimination best-of-three bracket.
The top four teams will then advance to the LAN finals in Berlin.
The LAN event will follow the same format, concluding with a third-place decider match.
Six teams have already qualified for the tournament: Cloud9 and BLEED Esports from Europe, Legacy and M80 from North America, and BESTIA and Imperial from South America.
They will be joined by 10 invited teams, with Team Falcons, Heroic, Fnatic, and BIG among the first announced.
This is the second edition of the Thunderpick World Championship, with FaZe Clan winning last year’s entirely online event and claiming the $250,000 top prize.
This year’s prize pool has increased, with $500,000 reserved for the winner.
After a break following the online stage, the LAN finals promise to deliver two days of intense CS2 action.
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TEAM VITALITY vs ATOX ESPORTS CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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|---|---|
| Best Odds: | Vitality $1.01 at GG Bet | ATOX $15.49 at GG Bet |
| When: | September 11, 2024 | 13:30 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/ESLCS) |
Priced at $1.01 with the top Counter-Strike betting sites, Team Vitality are given a 99% implied probability of beating ATOX Esports. The question is not whether Vitality will win, but by how much.
The Bees are in exceptional form ahead of ESL Pro League Season 20, having won the last two S-Tier tournaments: BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024 and Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024. They were not as potent at the Esports World Cup 2024, where Vitality placed top-eight, but they finished no lower than fourth at the previous ESL Pro League, IEM Dallas 2024 and BLAST Spring Final.
ATOX Esports are the eighth-ranked Counter-Strike team from Asia, with a massive collection of runner-up finishes from regional events but no medals from international competitions. While this is still a professional side with the advantage of being an unknown opponent for Vitality, the quality gap is significant enough to side with the European roster to cover seven rounds on both maps.
Team Vitality -13.5 rounds
FURIA ESPORTS vs TEAM FALCONS CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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|---|---|
| Best Odds: | FURIA $2.00 at GG Bet | Falcons $1.80 at GG Bet |
| When: | September 11, 2024 | 13:30 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/ESLCS) |
FURIA Esports found some success before the summer break with a run to the semifinals at YaLLa Compass 2024, and they did not do too poorly at the Esports World Cup 2024. However, they finished 13th-16th at IEM Cologne 2024 and fifth-sixth at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 #2.
Team Falcons also had their moment in August, when they won BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2024, yet only managed seventh-eighth place at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 #2. Travelling to Malta on a five-game losing streak, Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and co. have much to prove; however, they field enough talent to make some noise.
Quality-wise, there is not much to set these two squads apart, but there is a reason Falcons are priced as favourites. They have a stronger record on five out of seven maps in the rotation, except for Inferno and Nuke. Still, while this is the Falcons’ game to lose, there is a good chance the series will be decided on the third map.
Over 2.5 maps
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The roster for this new team will feature Saudi players Roxas, Exnid, KingAbody, and KHHX, who most recently competed at the Esports World Cup, finishing in the top 16.
Lewis “LewTee” Todd, the coach of the Falcons, expressed his excitement and gratitude for the opportunity, acknowledging the challenges ahead but emphasising the team’s potential and the support of an entire region behind them.
The Falcons’ entry into the CDL marks the end of the Legion’s run, which began as the Paris Legion in 2019 before relocating to Las Vegas in 2022.
THE FALCONS ARE UNLEASHED!
We’re ready to dominate the @CODLeague
— @VegasFalcons #FalconsAreHere pic.twitter.com/dqU9hikt3q— Team Falcons (@TeamFalconsGG) August 21, 2024
The Legion had a lacklustre performance throughout its tenure, never quite making a significant impact in the league.
In addition to the Falcons’ entry, rumours are swirling about further shake-ups in the CDL.
Esports organisations like Fnatic and Gen.G are reportedly in talks to replace the Carolina Royal Ravens and Los Angeles Guerrillas.
Fnatic, which last competed in Call of Duty esports in 2017, and Gen.G, which had a strong presence in 2019, are both potentially returning to the scene.
Meanwhile, the future of Boston Breach is uncertain, with reports suggesting that their parent company, Oxygen Esports, may cease operations despite earlier denials.
These developments come amid broader changes within the CDL, following mass layoffs at Activision Blizzard and shifts in how the league is managed.
As the transition to the upcoming Black Ops 6 season approaches, the Call of Duty esports landscape appears to be on the cusp of significant transformations, with more roster and franchise changes expected in the coming weeks.
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TEAM FALCONS vs M80 CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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|---|---|
| Best Odds: | Falcons $1.33 at GG Bet | M80 $3.24 at GG Bet |
| When: | August 22, 2024 | 15:30 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/BLASTPremier) |
Team Falcons have the potential to do well in this tournament. But even five months after finalising their roster with Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen, they are not in the spot everyone expected them to be.
They have had a couple of solid showings, most recently with a grand final appearance at ESL Challenger at DreamHack Summer 2024. Still, the Falcons also placed 9th-12th at the Fall Groups and Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024, although most of their struggles have come against the world’s elite Counter-Strike teams.
M80 replaced NRG for BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2024 and seem to be in solid form, yet all of their success this season has come in lesser events. So, while M80 have been winning games, they are not that great when playing at such a high level.
Team Falcons -1.5 maps
COMPLEXITY vs METIZPORT CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | COL $1.29 at GG Bet | MZO $3.58 at GG Bet |
| When: | August 22, 2024 | 18:00 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/BLASTPremier) |
Complexity have a realistic chance to finish top of their BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2024 group; however, this will not be clear until the next round, when the North American squad will likely face off against Team Falcons.
The expectations on Metizport are far lower. As the world’s No.90 squad, the Swedes have not once this year appeared in a tournament of this scale, while they recently replaced Jack “Jackinho” Str?m Mattsson with Lucas “L00m1” Haukland.
Complexity are not known for their consistency, but they have posted commendable results over the last three weeks, which makes it hard to question top Counter-Strike betting sites and their odds for this match.
Complexity -1.5 maps
VIRTUS.PRO vs ZERO TENACITY CS2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | VP $1.16 at GG Bet | Z10 $4.94 at GG Bet |
| When: | August 22, 2024 | 20:30 CEST |
| Watch Live: | Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/BLASTPremier) |
Priced at $1.16, Virtus.pro are odds-on to defeat Zero Tenacity on Thursday. Even though the Russians are on a five-game losing streak, those results came against stronger teams such as Team Liquid, G2 Esports, BIG, Complexity, and Team Falcons.
Zero Tenacity recently ended their losing streak, picking up a few wins over the last week. However, all of their recent games were against lower-rated teams, so it is unlikely the Balkan lineup will manage to translate that success to this fixture.
Virtus.pro should not be losing games like this, nor should they give away too much. Despite their shaky record, VP are still vastly superior and look poised to come out with a 2-0 sweep.
Virtus.pro -1.5 maps
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As a North American team, they also became the first squad from their region to win a Major on European soil since NRG Esports won the RLCS World Championship in Madrid, Spain, in 2019.
YOUR #RLCS LONDON MAJOR CHAMPIONS: @G2RocketLeague!
G2 REIGNS IN LONDON, WINNING THEIR SECOND RLCS LAN EVENT BY TAKING DOWN TEAM FALCONS!
— Rocket League Esports (@RLEsports) June 23, 2024
Following their second-place finish at the Copenhagen Major earlier in the year, G2 entered the year’s second Major as one of the favourites with most esports betting sites.
With a roster featuring Massimo “Atomic” Franceschi, Daniel “Daniel” Piecnenski, and Landon “BeastMode” Knoerman, who are all established players in the Rocket League scene, G2 cruised through their early games, recording back-to-back 3-0 series victories.
However, it would be Team Falcons that would hand them their first and only defeat of the tournament in the third round of the group stage, as they dominated G2 3-0 (4-2, 2-0, 6-0).
G2 bounced back with a tough win against Gen.G to book their place in the playoffs and set up a clash with Spacestation Gaming in the quarter-finals.
Both G2 and Falcons claimed 4-1 victories in their quarter-final series against Spacestation and Gen.G, respectively, setting up mouth-watering matches against FURIA and Gentle Mates in the semi-finals.
G2 played out a back-and-forth encounter with FURIA before taking the series with a 4-2 (2-0, 3-0, 1-3, 1-3, 2-1, 2-1) score line, while Falcons was pushed all the way to seven maps in their 4-3 (1-2, 4-0, 1-3, 1-0, 2-3, 2-1, 2-1) win over Gentle Mates.
Although Falcons took the opening map of the grand final 2-1, G2 didn’t let the demons of their previous clash get to them, and thanks to an outstanding performance by BeastMode, they won the next four to wrap up the series 4-1 (1-2, 2-0, 2-1, 1-0, 3-0).
BeastMode was awarded the London Major Most Valuable Player after his stand-out performance for G2 Stride, with the 18-year-old earning his second MVP award of his career.
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