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ECS Season 6 Finals Betting Predictions, Tips, Odds, and Bonuses

After a brawl across Europe and North America, we are left with only 8 teams who will try their best to lift ECS Season 6 trophy. Only the best teams across the globe will battle it out for a total prize pool of $660,000. The event will be played from 22-25th November, and Gamopo will be providing daily updates on match odds, betting predictions, and tips for ECS Finals Betting. 

ECS SEASON 6 FINALS WINNER ODDS

Astralis – 1.80 @ Betway

Liquid – 4.00 @ Betway

Mousesports – 7.25 @ Betway 

MIBR – 13.00 @ Betway

Ninjas in Pyjamas – 13.00 @ Betway

NRG – 13.00 @ Betway

Team North – 17 @ Betway

Cloud 9 – 18.00 @ Betway

Needless to say who the bookmakers favor in this tournament. And they have every right to favor them so hard. Astralis has been on a terror throughout the entire year and it seems like no one can stop them, especially after FaZe Clan was not able to qualify for the finals. The only competition Astralis has in this event is Liquid and mousesports. However, both of these teams are highly inconsistent and I would not be surprised if one of these teams does not make it through the group stage.

GROUPS

FACEIT decided to split 8 of teams that made it through the league into 2 groups.  What separates this event from the other ones is the format. At first, it might seem like nothing special, but winner’s match will also be played in a best-of-3 series, unlike many other tournaments, where winners play their matches in a best-of-1 match. This is how to groups will look in Texas.

GROUP A

  • Astralis
  • Cloud9
  • MIBR
  • Mousesports

Should I even mention who the favorite in this group is? Danish roster, Astralis of course. No one from this group is capable enough to stop them, and I do not think that they will lose a single map in the group stage. Furthermore, German roster, mousesports has a lot of chance to come out as a second-placed team in group A. Ever since their latest roster change took place, they were reborn. STYKO has really helped the entire team with his support role. As for the other teams in this group, Cloud9 is still in the rebuilding phase and they can not compete with any of these teams. MIBR may have a chance to go through, but they will have a hard time against both mousesports and Astralis.

GROUP B

  • Liquid
  • Ninjas in Pyjamas
  • North
  • NRG

This is a much tougher group than group A. A level of competition is way bigger. But still, first place should definitely go to the North American roster, Liquid. However, a battle for the second spot is going to be a hard one. All of these teams are capable of winning that second place and the playoff spot. However, I fancy NRG here. Ninjas in Pyjamas are not in a good form lately, but still, they managed to be placed high on the table and they definitely deserve the spot in this event. North is not the same team without MSL, and I think they might be regretting their decision now. They are in a slump at the moment and in my opinion, they will probably be the last team in this group. This is going to be a brawl between NRG and NIP, and I think NRG will go through, mainly because they have been playing on a consistent basis in the last couple of months, and they also managed to beat some of the best teams out there, but they will need to bring their A-game to this group.

ECS Season 6 Finals First Match-ups

All of the opening matches will be played in the best-of-1 format.

Astralis – Cloud 9

On one side we have a team that is simply unbeatable, and on the other side, there is a team who is still the rebuilding phase. Astralis has been playing together for a while now, while Cloud9 will play their first event with this lineup. Not much else to add to this, Astralis is on the rise, while Cloud9 is at their all-time low. Round handicap seems like a free money in this match.

Map 1 handicap(-5.5) – 1.85 @ Betway

Mousesports – MIBR

Even though this only a first match in this group, it will mean a lot for both of these teams. Whoever wins this match will have a big chance to advance to the playoffs. German squad, Mousesports have been doing good as of late, and the same can not be said about MIBR. It seems like adding two North American players, tarik and Stewie2K did not provide the results owners anticipated. It seems like former SK roster chemistry has been ruined as they seem like they have no idea how to adapt to opponents strategies. And I think mousesports will capitalize on that. If they keep mixing things up they will surely win this game. Value is great alongside odds. I got mousesports in my books.

Mousesports to win – 1.75 @ Betway

NRG – Ninjas in Pyjamas

Another hard match. You can never know with Swedish roster NiP. Sometimes it will feel like they did not even join the server, while sometimes they can dominate anyone. They are a team filled with firepower and experience and they are probably the worst team to bet against. To be totally honest I am clueless about who could win this match, but I am sure of one thing, both of these teams will perform at a high level. Total number of rounds seems like a great bet here.

Map 1 total rounds (26.5) – over – 1.75 @ Betway

Liquid – North

Last but not least, North American organization Liquid will have their way cut out for them. They were drawn against the worst team in their group and they will probably demolish them. One thing is sure when it comes to Liquid. They will barely ever lose against teams who are worse than them. On the other hand, they will always choke in highly competitive games, but this game, in particular, should be a walk in the park for them. North has been in a slump as of late, and I really do not think that this is the game where they will start their comeback among the best teams in the world. Most of the times I would go with a handicap win, but odds are very good on Liquid to win this match, so I will take it.

Liquid to win – 1.45 @ Betway

ECS Season 6 Finals Schedule 2020

Day 1 (Thursday 22 Nov)
09:00-10:30 CST / 16:00-17:30 CET – Astralis v Cloud9 (Group A Semi 1, BO1)
10:30-12:00 CST / 17:30-19:00 CET – mouz v MIBR (Group A Semi 2, BO1)
12:00-13:30 CST / 19:00-20:30 CET – NRG v NiP (Group B Semi 1, BO1)
13:30-15:00 CST / 20:30-22:00 CET – Team Liquid v North (Group B Semi 2, BO1)
15:00-18:00 CST / 22:00-01:00 CET – Winner of Astralis v C9 against winner of mouz v MIBR (Group A Upper Bracket Final, BO3)
18:00-21:00 CST / 01:00-04:00 CET – Winner of NRG v NiP against winner of Team Liquid v North (Group B Upper Bracket Final, BO3)

Day 2 (Friday 23 Nov)
09:00-12:00 CST / 16:00-19:00 CET – Group A Lower Bracket Round 1, BO3
12:00-15:00 CST / 19:00-22:00 CET – Group B Lower Bracket Round 1, BO3
15:00-18:00 CST / 22:00-01:00 CET – Group A Lower Bracket Round 2, BO3
18:00-21:00 CST / 01:00-04:00 CET – Group B Lower Bracket Round 2, BO3

Day 3 (Saturday 24 Nov)
12:00-15:00 CST / 19:00-22:00 CET – Playoffs Semi-Final 1, BO3 (Group A Upper Bracket winner v Group B Lower Bracket winner)
15:00-18:00 CST / 22:00-01:00 CET – Playoffs Semi-Final 2, BO3 (Group B Upper Bracket winner v Group A Lower Bracket winner)

Day 4 (Sunday 25 Nov)
11:30-12:30 CST / 18:30-19:30 CET – Texas Collegiate Showdown (BO1)
12:30-13:30 CST / 19:30-20:30 CET – Movember ECS Showmatch (BO1)
15:00-18:00 CST / 22:00-01:00 CET – ECS Season 6 Grand Final (BO3)

Stay Tuned for Gamopo’s Daily ECS Finals Betting Predictions 2020

All of the teams who are taking part in this event definitely deserve to be here. The only exception is Cloud9 who was invited since Renegades were not able to solve their visa issues on time. As I said, they are all here to compete, and they are capable to beat anyone, and this is why all of us, CS:GO fans and enthusiast will enjoy every second of ECS Season 6 finals.

Good luck to anyone tailing our CSGO betting predictions.

What do you think, who will come out on top in group B? Who is your favorite to lift the ECS Season 6 finals trophy? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.

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Dreamhack Open Atlanta Betting Predictions 2018

After yesterday’s perfect predictions, we are moving on to the semi-finals of DreamHack Open Atlanta 2018. There was barely any surprises so far in this event, except in the opening matches of day 1.

Both Vitality and Luminosity dominated their opponents in the lower bracket, and in the deciding matches. Both of these teams did not drop a single map and they have proven why they are one of the favorites to lift the trophy at DreamHack Open Atlanta 2018.

DREAMHACK OPEN ATLANTA 2018 SEMI-FINALS BETTING PREDICTIONS

GHOST – LUMINOSITY

After the initial struggle, Brazilian roster, Luminosity Gaming has been on a terror. They did not drop a single map in their last two games. They managed to beat Envy, which was expected. In their decider, they had to face off against eUnited. eUnited is a hot and cold team, and their best player moose played out of his mind. However, that was not enough, as Luminosity swept them as well, with a 2-0 score.

Furthermore, their best player HEN1 is in a ridiculous form at the moment. In their last two matches, he is sitting on a +40 KD difference. If we compare him to Ghost’s best player, WARDELL we can see a lot of similarities. Both of these players are carrying their team to the victory, and at the moment I feel like HEN1 is in a better shape than WARDELL. This is definitely going to be a good matchup between these two AWPs and I feel like Luminosity’s star will prevail.

On the other hand, Ghost had it easy so far in this tournament. They won both of their matches and they did not have to play any best-of-3 series so far. They even had an extra day to prepare for their opponents. Firstly, they managed to beat Vitality, and no one expected that. Secondly, they played against Rogue in their last match of the groups. They won that match as well, but both of these matchups were pretty close. In the first one, they lost 12 rounds, and in the second one 13.

Map pool is deep for both of these teams. Let’s start with Ghost. Their permaban is definitely Overpass. They do not feel comfortable on this map and there is no way we will see them compete on it. Furthermore, their Nuke is also really bad, but we will not see them compete on it either, because this is permaban for the Brazilian side. I feel like Ghost will definitely have edge over Luminosity on Cache. They even managed to beat the best Brazilian roster on that map, MIBR. Furthermore, Inferno and Train are all decent maps for Ghost, while Mirage is also not something they shy away from.

Luminosity is also very comfortable on most of the maps. As I mentioned above, they are always permabanning Nuke and there is no way we will see them play it. Furthermore, their Dust 2 is also not so good, but they were able to defeat Liquid on it, and that says a lot. Inferno, Train, and Mirage are all good enough maps for Luminosity Gaming and Cache is probably their worst map which they will probably end up on.

These two teams played 2 maps against each other. Both of these maps went to the North American side, Ghost. However, this was the period when Luminosity was in a pretty big slump and they will definitely bring their A game in this match. They lost on Train and Inferno. I think that this time things might change a little when it comes to map picks. Ghost will definitely try to get Cache in, as they feel really comfortable on it. On the other hand, Train or Inferno would be an ideal pick for Luminosity, and decider might end up on Dust 2.

To conclude, there is a great value on Luminosity to win. They definitely have a chance in this match, they have been in a good form, they played on a constant basis and their best player is fragging like a madman. Bookmakers are underestimating Luminosity in this match and in my personal opinion, they have a great chance in this match.

LUMINOSITY TO WIN – 2.55 @ Betway

COMPLEXITY – VITALITY

I was expecting these two teams to face off in the grand final, but we can call this a final match, simply because one of these two teams will probably lift the trophy. CompLexity has been on a cruise mode so far in this event. On the other hand, Vitality had to shake things up and start playing like they are capable of. And they did just that. They did not drop a map in their 2 best-of-3 series. Now they have an ultimate test in front of themselves.

Vitality is heavily relying on one person, that being Zywoo. On the other hand, compLexity is playing a really structured game and everyone is fragging on a high level.

Even though compLexity did not have such a high level of competition so far in this event. But, Vitality had to dig deep to survive and here they are, fired up against the second biggest favorite to lift the trophy. Do not get me wrong, Vitality is not basing their game around Zywoo, that guy is just insane. If he gets going, just give him a weapon and let him win rounds for you. A lot of us thought that the big stage might get to him, that he will feel the pressure, but that is not happening.

When it comes to map pool, I feel like VItality has a slight edge. Overpass is the best map for Vitality, but this is a permaban for North American roster. On the other hand, Vitality hates playing Train and there is no way we will see them play it, especially against compLexity. However, Vitality is a lot better on any other map, especially on Inferno and Cache. However, the only map where compLexity has an edge is Mirage, and that is mainly because of bad T-side of Vitality.

To conclude, Vitality is a lot more individually skilled than compLexity. They have a much deeper map pool, better strategies, more experience and overall they are a better team. If Vitality wins this match, they will probably win the entire thing. I got Vitality in my books.

VITALITY TO WIN – 1.70 @ Betway

Good luck to anyone who is tailing our CS:GO betting predictions. Let’s hope we can get another perfect score today.



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Dreamhack Open Atlanta Betting Predictions 2018

There were a lot of surprising results from the first day of DreamHack Open Atlanta 2018. Some of the biggest favorites managed to lose against underdogs, but not all of them. Vitality had every chance to claim their first match after a furious start, but they fell short. On the other hand, second favorites to win this event, compLexity is also edging things out versus an average team like eUnited. Furthermore, Luminosity lost their opening game as well, and they were considered as one of the favorites to lift the trophy as well.

Even though this has been a roller coaster so far, these are our betting predictions for the second day of DreamHack Open Atlanta 2018.

DREAMHACK OPEN ATLANTA BETTING PREDICTIONS 

ENVY – LUMINOSITY

As I mentioned above, making a correct prediction for this CS:GO tournament has been very hard. However, we are here to try to help you win your bets with our in-depth analysis.

Coming to this tournament, Envy was the biggest underdog to lift the trophy. On the other hand, Brazilian roster, Luminosity Gaming has been rated as the third favorite to win it. So you are probably wondering how did Luminosity end up in a loser bracket versus the worst team participating here at Atlanta.

Let’s start with their performance. One of their star players LUCAS1 did not show up to this game. He has been the best-rated player for this roster, and his performance today was awful. At the end of their opening match, he had a -10 KD difference. I believe that this is just one of those games, and he will definitely have a point to prove in their match against Envy.

On the other hand, Envy had to play against compLexity, and it was easy to spot that they will struggle in this match. After though they linked 3 rounds after losing pistol and eco round, it was not enough to make a difference at halftime. In the end, they only won one round on T-side of Cache, and that concluded their opening match, 16-6 scoreline.

If we are to compare these two teams, there is a huge gap. Mainly in team cohesion and individual skill. Envy has been together for a brief period of time, while Luminosity played together for a while now. Also, individual skill is a huge factor in this match. Brazilian roster has a lot of firepower, players who are capable of winning rounds single-handedly, while Envy can not thrive in those type of situations, simply because they are a CS:GO team filled with washed up players.

Map pool could create a lot of problems for Envy side. They have a very limited map pool, and they are not comfortable on any map at the moment. However, Luminosity is capable of excelling on a couple of maps. Mainly Train, where Envy has zero wins and 5 defeats in the last 3 months. Mirage and Inferno are also maps where Luminosity can show their A game. This leaves Envy with limited map pool. They can hope to get Dust 2 since Luminosity is not that comfortable on it, but they are not either. Envy is decent enough on Cache and Mirage. To conclude, Luminosity has a huge advantage, simply because this is a best-of-3 match between these two teams.

In conclusion, Luminosity is better than Envy in every aspect of the game. There are several bookmakers offering insane odds on Luminosity to win, and we will take the one provided by gg.bet

LUMINOSITY TO WIN – 1.68 @ Betway

VITALITY – FRAGSTERS

Most of you know that there is a lot of hype surrounding this Vitality team. They have a chance to be the best French team on the scene, but they are not playing to their full potential just yet. Yes, their star players are fragging on a great level, but they are lacking that team play and cohesion between themselves. Vitality had a great start versus Ghost, and everyone thought they will run with the game easily. But it was not that simple. Eventually, they had no response to what Ghost was showing on their T-side, and one economy reset sealed the game for the North American organization.

Fragsters are having an awful tournament, mainly because they had to find a stand-in hours before their match starts. They found one in the likes of HS, and it is very clear to see that he can not help them in any way. Furthermore, they were torn apart by Rogue, and they will probably be the first team to be eliminated from this tournament.

There is no need to compare map pools from these teams, as there is a huge difference in individual skill. Vitality really needs to stop messing around and this is their best chance to play a serious and structured game of Counter-Strike:Global Offensive.

Furthermore, this is Vitality’s last chance to prove to the world that they mean business. Even though Zywoo, their best fragger, may not be on his usual level, there is a lot of firepower behind other players in Vitality. Especially NBK and apeX duo. They are two very experienced players, and they will have to step up and carry this newly formed team over the finish line.

To conclude, Vitality needs to show good performance in this event since this is their first LAN tournament. They do not want to be eliminated and I am sure they will play their best tomorrow versus fragile Danish roster Fragster. I feel like this will be a dominating performance from the French roster and they will not drop a map versus Fragster.

CORRECT SCORE 2:0 (IN MAPS) – 2.15 @ Betway

These are our two best bets for the second day of DreamHack Open Atlanta. Considering both of these teams are coming to this matches as favorites, odds on them winning their match-ups are out of this world.

Best of luck to anyone tailing on our CS:GO betting predictions.

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DreamHack Open Atlanta 2018 Betting Preview

DreamHack Open Atlanta is coming back to the Georgia World Congress Center. 8 teams will battle it out for a total prize pool of $100,000. There are not any spectacular teams competing in this event, but there are two teams who will attract a lot of attention, Vitality and CompLexity Gaming.

We will be able to enjoy 3 days of action, starting with 16th of November, while the grand final will be played on 18th of November.

DREAMHACK OPEN ATLANTA 2018 WINNER ODDS

  • compLexity @ 4.33 odds | Visit Betway
  • Vitality @ 4.5 odds | Visit Betway
  • Luminosity Gaming @ 5 odds | Visit Betway
  • Fragsters @ 6.5 | Visit Betway
  • eUnited @ 8.5 odds | Visit Betway
  • Ghost @ 9 odds | Visit Betway
  • Rogue @ 11 odds | Visit Betway
  • Envy @ 26 odds | Visit Betway 

As you can see there is no clear favorite in this tournament. There are 4 teams favored by bookmakers, and I feel like Vitality has a good chance to lift the trophy. However, this is their first LAN tournament, and we have not seen Zywoo on LAN yet, but I think he will perform even better than in his recent online games.

CompLexity also has a very good chance in this tournament, as they could be very hard to defeat, especially on their home soil. Furthermore, you can never know with Brazilian roster, Luminosity Gaming. They can lose all of their group games, or they can just go and stomp everyone.

Dreamhack Open 2018 Atlanta Groups

All of the first matches will be played in a best-of-1 format, while deciders and elimination matches will be played in a best-of-3 series. After first matches, the upper bracket will be further decided with best-of-1 matches, while lower bracket will continue in a best-of-3 series.

In the end, entire playoffs alongside grand final will be played in the best-of-3 series. 2 team that will top their groups will advance to the playoffs.

GROUP A

  • compLexity
  • eUnited
  • Luminosity
  • Envy

This should be a very easy group for tournament favorites, compLexity. The only threat they have is Luminosity, if they are able to beat them, there is no one else capable of winning against them in this group. Furthermore, I doubt Luminosity will lose against eUnited and Envy, and they will probably advance as well. Brazilians were playing very good at IEM Chicago 2018, but they got bested in their decider match versus mousesports. On the other hand, Envy and eUnited are filled with veterans who are degrading in skill, and they are all past their prime, so I do not fancy them at all in this group.

GROUP B

  • Ghost
  • Fragster
  • Vitality
  • Rogue

Group B is a much more competitive group once compared to group A. All of these teams are capable enough to beat each other, and there is no clear favorite to top this group. In my personal opinion, I would rate Vitality as a winner of this group. Yes, this is their first LAN event, but apex, NBK, Happy, and Rpk are all so experienced on the big stage and I can not see them struggle to cope with pressure. I would also rate Rogue to come out of this group in the second place. They as well are playing on their home soil and this is their chance to prove their worth. But, as I mentioned above, any team from this group is capable of winning the entire thing.

FIRST MATCH-UPS

COMPLEXITY – ENVY

Coming to this match-up, compLexity is favored to lift the trophy, while Envy is the biggest underdog on this event. There is a reason for such a big difference in odds. CompLexity is filled with talent and raw firepower, while Envy on the other hand only has the experience to compete with these guys. reltuC, jdm64 are not at their prime anymore, and they are supposed to carry this team to victory. This prediction seems like an easy one, odds are good as well. CompLexity has this one.

COMPLEXITY TO WIN – 1.45 odds @ Betway

GHOST – VITALITY

North American roster, Ghost, is coming off from a solid tournament, cs_summit 3. Even though they were eliminated as the 6th team(out of 8) they did not perform so bad. They managed to beat Kinguin, but they narrowly lost to NRG and they were stomped by OpTic. However, they have to face a different kind of animal in this match. Vitality is insanely experienced and highly skilled Counter-Strike:Global Offensive team. They only have one objective in front of them. To be the best. This is going to be their first LAN tournament as the part of Vitality organization and they will definitely try their best to lift the trophy, and it will all start with this game. I am going for a handicap win from the French roster.

VITALITY(-5.5) – 2.58 odds @ Betway

EUNITED – LUMINOSITY GAMING

Another match where I fancy favorites. Both of these teams are coming off from IEM Chicago 2018. However, Luminosity played much better than eUnited. eUnited started with a stunning victory over Natus Vincere, where they left Ukrainians with only 6 rounds to their name. But, eventually, these two teams faced off against each other, in the lower bracket. Guess what happened, eUnited got stomped. They had no response to HEN1 and his ridiculous AWP skills, as they were bested on Mirage and Train. I feel like eUnited will struggle how to cope with HEN1 and they will probably use most of their resources to stop him, but Luminosity is not based strictly around HEN1, there are also other players who are capable of carrying the game. This should be exactly the same match, with a different main actor. Luminosity to win.

LUMINOSITY TO WIN – 1.67 @ Betway

FRAGSTERS – ROGUE

Both of these teams are a bit rusty, and they have not played a LAN tournament for a while now. They played 3 maps against each other, and North American organization won 2 of those maps(Nuke and Dust 2). What fascinated me the most is how good Rogue looked on Dust 2, and if they are able to get this map in this match, they will definitely come out on top. There are a lot of similarities and differences in their map pools and this match could easily go to the distance.

TOTAL ROUNDS – OVER 25.5 – 1.62 @ Betway

CONCLUSION

Even though there are not a lot of top teams attending this DreamHack event, we will definitely be able to enjoy ourselves. DreamHack is a perfect host, they barely ever have any delays and they were able to attract some of the promising and upcoming teams to their Atlanta 2018 edition.

It will be very interesting to watch these teams fight their way out for a total purse of $100,000.




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How Easy is Cheating in CS:GO?

Most of you have heard about Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat. He decided to cheat on a LAN tournament, and logically he was caught, and eventually banned from competing in the Counter-Strike:Global Offensive. In this article, we will talk about cheating in CS:GO, how easy it is to cheat on a LAN game, and potential cheaters in the professional CS:GO scene.

Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat

Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat

Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat

Not only did this 23-year-old player screw himself over, but he also screwed an entire country, India. Simply by cheating in a professional CS:GO event.

Not so long ago, OpTic Gaming organization decided to pick up an Indian team to compete in the Asian region, and it backfired massively. He doomed an entire region, as OpTic decided to cut ties with the entire roster, only a few days after the incident. You can only imagine, how must his teammates feel about this situation, as they were on the rise, and all of the sudden they are without a contract, and without an organization to play for.

VAC (Valve anti-cheat system) IS VERY BAD

For most of his professional career, forsaken has been called a cheater. He was always doing weird and random stuff, as most of the times, he was able to get perfect timing, rotations, and prefires. It can be clearly seen from the video I will post in this article.

However, VAC was not able to detect his blatant cheat. Luckily, eXTREMESLAND(a tournament where forsaken was caught cheating) used, alongside VAC, another anti-cheat system, B5 platform anti-cheat. B5 was triggered after a suspicious

Valve Anti Cheat

Valve Anti Cheat

activity, and that action alerted the admins to check out forsaken’s PC. After admin alt-tabbed, he spotted a suspicious program running in the background, which was quickly closed and deleted by Nikhil. The support team at eXTREMESLAND was able to recover the file, but they were unable to get it up and running again. All of this evidence combined led to the forsaken ban, and finally, entire OpTic Gaming India roster was disqualified, followed by disbanding of the roster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ-m-Y9dbbM

(forsaken blatant cheat, credit goes to @vLADOPARD2)

IS IT POSSIBLE TO CHEAT ON LAN?

In my personal opinion, it is very easy to cheat on LAN tournament. We do not have to go far to prove that, we just have to look at forsaken. The guy was probably not very bright, and he was using bad cheating software, created by a random programmer. Now you can imagine, if someone has a lot of money, like most of the tier 1 players have, they might invest in a professional cheat coder, and get themselves a perfect cheat.

HOW TO SNEAK THE CHEAT ON THE LAN EVENT

All of the professional CS:GO players are taking care of their personal hardware. For instance, every player attending a EPICENTER 2018 will bring his own keyboard, mouse, and mousepad. A good cheat coder can easily implement a chip into the mouse, or even place it as a hotkey in the keyboard. And how can anyone spot that, it would be impossible to spot that.

Cheats can also be sneaked in through the Steam screenshots, or even through the workshop maps, as there are numerous videos proving that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiKhfp2d8A4 (how to cheat on LAN, credit goes to @timeisbutawindow)

HOW TO STOP CHEATING IN CS:GO, ESPECIALLY ON LAN

This is really easy to answer, but it takes a lot of money. LAN is a more controlled event once you compare it to the online match. If someone is playing in the controlled environment, he would probably think twice about cheating. There is one simple solution to prevent hacking on LAN.

DO NOT ALLOW PERSONAL HARDWARE

In my personal opinion, every tournament organizer should get a list of all the hardware professional players attending a certain tournament use. After that, tournament staff should get them a brand new, un-opened gear. This limits the possibility to sneak in the cheat on the mouse or keyboard to 0. If funding is low in a tournament, there are a lot of sponsors in the CS:GO, main ones are gaming brands, who can help out with gaming hardware, so funding this project would not be as expensive as some of you may think.

FRESH CS:GO ACCOUNT

CS:GO cheating has unfortunately always been an issue amongst competitive players. As I mentioned above, it is not that hard to sneak in a cheat through a screenshot or workshop map. Do not allow that, if every player gets a clean account, there is no way he will be able to get a cheat on the PC. Of course, there is always a possibility that a player can download cheat, but this is where admins come in place. It is not that hard to control PCs on LAN event, as I stated above, LAN is a controlled environment, and tournament hosts are barely using that to provide transparent gameplay to all the participants.

COULD SOME OF THESE PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS CHEAT?

There are a lot of YouTube videos about some of the best players in the world, mainly about their CS:GO cheats and crazy aim locks through the walls. However, it might be a random line-up which can occur if someone has a good crosshair placement, but it could also be triggered by a software.

Robin “flusha” Rönnquist

(Robin “flusha” Rönnquist)

(Robin “flusha” Rönnquist)

So-called, Senor Vac, is a guy who will always be remembered as a blatant cheater. However, some of his fans will defend him and say that his in-game IQ and ability to predict someone’s movement is out of this world. But his aim locks through smokes are very hard to call natural. I will leave a link down below for you to see and conclude if he is cheating.

(Robin “flusha” Rönnquist)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKdy4nDd-ik

(flusha VAC moments, credit goes to @exillion)

Richard “shox” Papillon

A French legend. Richard has been around CS:GO for a long time now. Even though he is not as blatant as flusha is, there are a lot of fishy clips about this guy. See for yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fh9hwJimKM

(shox’s suspicious 4k versus LG, credit goes to @CS:GO Highlights)

Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke

Kristian has been around for a while now. However, he has not been on his past level lately, ever since he joined OpTic Gaming, he is struggling. Before that, he was rated as the 14th best player in 2017. Could third-party software make k0nfig look better than he really is? You have to see this crazy aim lock, as there is no way he is able to predict a player there, especially through the smoke. A very suspicious play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYllUMj87d8 

(k0nfig suspicious pre-fire, credit goes to @unn)

These are some of the most popular “cheaters” in CS:GO. The list of potential cheaters is very long, and there is no space to fit all of them in. There are also some rumors that some of the guys I mentioned above have VAC bans on their smurf accounts, which makes them even more suspicious.

CONCLUSION

Valve anti-cheat system(VAC) is getting outdated. It does not offer any security when it comes to cheating in CS:GO, as it can be spotted in many casual and competitive games. I really think that Valve should do something about their anti-cheat software, as in my personal opinion there are better options out there. For instance, Faceit anti-cheat seems to be doing a solid job against cheaters.

Events hosts could also try harder to make LAN events more secure, with some of the options I mentioned above, because cheating is becoming more common in every sphere of Counter-Strike:Global Offensive.

 

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Biggest CS:GO Prize Pools 2019

Counter-Stike:Global Offensive has become a worldwide known first-person shooter game. Ever since it became an eSports, CS:GO started attracting a lot of various sponsors who were willing to invest money into the tournaments.

In the beginning, tournaments were mostly sponsored by skin gambling sites related to the game. Some of the most famous gambling sites are Betway, Arcanebet, 22Bet, and many others. Not only did those gambling sites decided to sponsor tournaments, some of the even decided to sponsor teams. After the latest updates made by Valve in relation to skin gambling industry, most of those sites seized their operations. For instance, team Hellraisers were sponsored by csgopolygon.com.

Not only betting and gambling providers are sponsoring teams and events, but car companies are also in this type of marketing as well. Let’s take Astralis as an example. Their main investor and sponsor is Audi, a German automobile production giant. Furthermore, they are also sponsored by a clothing company Jack&Jones. Team North, on the other hand, is sponsored by Adidas. Now you are aware how much money is invested into this eSport in particular, let’s take a look at some of the biggest CS:GO prize pools to date. 

WORLD ELECTRONIC SPORTS GAMES 2017 – WORLD FINALS

CS:GO Prize Pool: $1.500,000

This event took part in Haikou, Hainan, China. There were 32 teams invited from all over the world. This tournament had a lot of qualifiers, and in the end, Swedish roster Fnatic came on top and bagged themselves a total of $800.000.

However, there were a lot of problems with this tournament. Mainly, a lot of players were unhappy about their

World Electronic Sports Games 2017

World Electronic Sports Games 2017

accommodations. Furthermore, money was not paid out to several teams and player, which led to numerous accusations, so WESG chief had to make a statement about those allegations. In the end, players found out that China’s government has to check every transaction above $40.000.

As you can see from the prize pool and regions competing, there was a lot of money invested in this tournament. You are probably wondering how could they afford such big expenses. Money was mostly acquired through their sponsors. Here are the main sponsors of WESG 2017:

  • ANT Financial
  • 王老吉
  • Hyundai
  • Cool Ten
  • Republic of Gamers
  • HyperX
  • DXRacer

ELEAGUE SEASON 1

CS:GO Prize Pool: $1.400,000

Eleague Season 1 took part in North America, Atlanta, Georgia, to be more exact. It had a total of 3 qualifiers for the main stage, and 24 participating teams on the said stage. Eventually, Polish veterans, Virtus.Pro stormed through the tournament and won themselves a total purse of $390,00.

ELEAGUE SEASON 1

ELEAGUE SEASON 1

This event was very important for the entire eSports community, mainly because it was streamed live on cable television, on the channel TBS. This was a first CS:GO’s attempt to make it into the big mainstream media outlet. According to the final numbers, Eleague Season 1 attracted over 19 million total viewers on TBS. However, in the first week of broadcast, this event attracted 509.000 total viewers which is higher than the regular season average of the NHL broadcast on NBC Sports (384,000).

Maint event was played in the Turner Sports venue, a very modern and probably expensive venue. Even though this tournament was broadcasted on national television, it did not attract giants from the automobile industry, or anything similar. Most of their sponsors were in the technology or gaming business. These are the biggest sponsors of Eleague Season 1:

  • iBUYPOWER
  • NEEDforSEAT
  • ZOWIE by BenQ
  • HyperX

WORLD ELECTRONIC SPORTS GAMES 2016

CS:GO Prize Pool: $1.500,000

Another WESG event hosted by Alisport and ImbaTV. This time there were 23 teams fighting it out for the grand prize. One thing you will have to understand is that these were the early days for CS:GO as an eSport. 

WORLD ELECTRONIC SPORTS GAMES 2016

WORLD ELECTRONIC SPORTS GAMES 2016

This tournament was offering an outstanding prize, which was unbelievable to even think of. So logically, this event attracted a lot of top-tier teams and a lot of sponsors. In the end, French roster EnVyUs lifted the trophy and cashed in on an $800,000 check.

It was played in Changzhou Olympic Sports Center, and it attracted a lot of CS:GO enthusiasts and fans. This tournament was a big boom for the Counter-Strike:Global Offensive and it was able to attract numerous different sponsors.

  • Alibaba Group
  • Ant Financial
  • Alipay
  • MONEY STATION
  • Aiyoumi
  • DXRACER
  • Logitech
  • ASUS ROG
  • ZOWIE GEAR
  • HyperX
  • RestMan

ELEAGUE SEASON 2

CS:GO Prize Pool: $1,100,000

Another season of Eleague event was presented with a slightly less money in the prize pool. Taking place in the same town, and in the same venue as well.

ELEAGUE SEASON 2

ELEAGUE SEASON 2

This event was aired for a total of 74 hours in 2 weeks, and it managed to gather a total of 6 million viewers. North American organization Optic Gaming was able to win the entire thing, earning a stunning $400,000.

If we are to talk about sponsors, nothing changed from Eleague season 1. All the main sponsors stayed, as this was probably signed as a long-term contract.

  • iBUYPOWER
  • NEEDforSEAT
  • ZOWIE by BenQ
  • HyperX

MAJOR TOURNAMENTS

Most of the major tournaments are having a total prize pool of $1.000,000. Let’s take the latest major as an example. It took part in the sold-out Wembley stadium in London, with 16 best teams participating. Even though they managed to sell out an entire venue, they also earned a lot of money from their sponsors, so there is one question we should all ask ourselves, why is the prize pool still only $1.000,00. The tournament managed to attract a huge number of sponsors, some of them being the most popular bookmakers, while the others are giants in the gaming industry.

  • HyperX
  • Betway
  • DreamTeam
  • SteelSeries
  • DXRacer
  • ZOWIE Global
  • Epics.GG
  • ALIENWARE

Betting Has Influenced CS:GO Prize Pools

In the early days of CS:GO, the fan base was not that big, minor tournaments were not streamed at all, even if they were streamed they would attract only a few hundred viewers. However, once bookmakers decided to provide odds for certain CS:GO tournaments a lot of bettors decided to watch those tournaments and placing either pre-match bets or live bets. Let’s face it, most of us are entertained by betting, especially on a game as exciting as Counter-Strike:Global Offensive is.

In the begging, CSGO betting was a one-way street, you could only bet on the winner of a certain match. However, in 2018, we have a lot of eSports specialized bookmakers, in the likes of 22bet and Arcanebet. Not only will you be able to bet on match winners, but you can also place a live bet on certain matches, specials are insane, as you can bet on a pistol round winner, rounds handicaps, top fraggers for their teams, and many others. You can also bet on an outright, which means placing a bet on a team to win an entire tournament. Most of the time, the odds on it are enormously high.

Overall, the betting industry has added a new dimension to the community and size of CS:GO prize pools. Furthermore, bookmakers are doing a smart job by investing their profits back into the game, mostly by sponsoring teams and tournaments.

 

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2018 IEM Chicago Betting Preview

The 2018 IEM will host its first tournament in Chicago. They booked 2 venues in the span of 3 years. This year, however, the tournament will be played at the Wintrust Arena, and in 2019 and 2020 it will be moved to the United Center.

2018 IEM CHICAGO WINNER ODDS:

  • Astralis – @ 2.3 odds
  • Natus Vincere – @ 6 odds
  • Liquid – @ 5 odds
  • FaZe Clan – @ 8 odds
  • MIBR – @ 6.5 odds
  • Mousesports – @ 10 odds
  • BIG – @ 23 odds
  • NRG – @ 23 odds
  • North – @ 15 odds
  • Fnatic – @ 23 odds
  • AVANGAR – @ 99 odds
  • Renegades – @ 45 odds
  • LDLC – @ 45 odds
  • Luminosity Gaming – @ 30 odds
  • eUnited  – @ 99 odds
  • MVP PK  – @ 99 odds

As you can see from the list above, Astralis, Natus Vincere and Liquid are clear favorites in this tournament. However, the competition is going to be on very tough for these teams, as Intel Extreme Master managed to invite all of the best teams in the world at the moment.

2018 IEM Chicago Groups

2018 IEM Chicago CSGO Groups

2018 IEM Chicago CSGO Groups

All of the first matches will be played in a best-of-1 format, and every match after that will be played in a best-of-3 format. In the end, the final match will be played in a best-of-5 series.

Winners of the first best-of-1 matches will go to the upper bracket, while the losers will have a chance to remain in the tournament in the lower bracket of the event.

Three teams in each group will advance to the playoffs.

GROUP A

  • Astralis
  • FaZe Clan
  • MIBR
  • NRG
  • North
  • Renegades
  • LDLC
  • MVP PK
2018 IEM Chicago 2018 - Group A

2018 IEM Chicago 2018 – Group A

This is a pretty straight-forward group. I can not see anyone in this group win against Astralis. Furthermore, FaZe Clan has been solid as of late and I think that they have a chance to cement the 2nd spot in this group. In the end, everyone is probably expecting MIBR to be the third-ranked team in this group, but I do not think that they are capable of it. In my personal opinion, NRG has a chance in this group. They are coming off from a cs_summit 3 success, where Brehze was named as an MVP and NRG lifted the trophy. Furthermore, they are filled with talent and raw firepower and they can win versus anyone, especially if their main AWPer shows up.

GROUP B 

  • Natus Vincere
  • Liquid
  • Mousesports
  • BIG
  • Fnatic
  • AVANGAR
  • Luminosity Gaming
  • eUnited
2018 IEM Chicago 2018 - Group B

2018 IEM Chicago 2018 – Group B

This group will be a bloodbath. There is definitely going to be a battle between Natus Vincere and Liquid for that #1 spot in the group which leads directly to the semifinals. I feel like Natus Vincere is a bit stronger than Liquid, mainly because of how good s1mple and electronic duo has been lately. Zeus will definitely prepare something to stop twistzz and NAF from fragging. Everyone knows if Liquid gets going, there is no stopping him, especially Canadian talent, Twistzz.

There is going to be a huge fight for the third spot in group B. Mousesports made a roster change not so long ago, as they replaced Snax with their former player STYKO. STYKO can add a lot more to the Mousesports roster than Snax, mainly because he does not shy away from sacrificing himself in order for a team to win the round. He does not have to be a star player, he will help star players perform at their best, and I am sure we will see oskar back in his lethal form in this tournament. For me, Mousesports will grab the last spot and they will have their chance in the quarterfinals.

FIRST MATCH-UPS

ASTRALIS – MVP PK

Not much to clarify in this match. Astralis will dominate Asian roster. There are a couple of reasons why MVP PK stands no chance against Astralis. Mainly, they will lack firepower, and they barely play versus any tier 1 team, and we all know how easy Danish roster dominates other top contenders. Round handicap will fit great in this match-up.

ASTRALIS(-7.5) – 1.83 odds @ Betway

NORTH – NRG

This is going to be a nail-biter. Both of these teams have been on a terror lately. NRG won cs_summit 3 not even a week ago, and they are definitely still fired up for this tournament. On the other hand, North did not participate in a LAN event for a while now. However, they will have a hard time versus North American team NRG. I feel like NRG will edge out North in this match-up, mainly because of how good they have been lately. Odds are also out of this world.

NRG TO WIN – 2.05 @ Betway

LDLC – FAZE CLAN

French roster, LDLC managed to qualify for IEM Chicago 2018 through Betway shuffle. They managed to win the tournaments against 19 other teams. Furthermore, they have not faced a tier 1 team for a while now, as they managed to beat OpTic Gaming to qualify for this tournament. However, FaZe Clan is a no joke. They are a roster filled with raw firepower. All of their players are basically star players. On the other hand, they have been in a slump for a while now, and they are stepping up lately. Mainly, olofmeister and rain. Ever since Niko took the IGL role in the team, things are improving for the FaZe Clan. There is no way FaZe Clan can lose to LDLC, there is too big of a gap between these two teams, and odds are pretty solid.

FAZE CLAN TO WIN – 1.43 @ Betway

MIBR – RENEGADES

This is a match-up between two teams who have been in a very bad form as of late. MIBR was eliminated in BLAST series a couple of days ago, as they were not able to win a single match in the tournament. This is a do or die moment for Brazilian based roster, and they have to step up if they don’t want to make any roster changes.

Renegades will participate in this tournament without their coach, kassad. His visa was not approved in time, and he will not be able to rally his troops in this tournament. Renegades will definitely have a chance in this match, especially because of the bad form MIBR found themselves in. Alongside MIBR form, Renegades is on a rise, as they won 4 out of 5 league matches. Round handicap has a great value in this match.

RENEGADES(+4.5) – 1.62 @ Betway

FNATIC – BIG

Swedish organization, Fnatic is in a terrible form this year. They are playing way under their possibilities. It seems like this team is ready for roster changes, simply because their best fraggers are not performing like they are able to. JW and Krimz have been really poor, and they are eager for a roster change. Big is coming off from a third-place finish at the cs_summit 3. They played good CS:GO but they fell short against some of the best teams in the tournament. At the moment, BIG is a much better team than Fnatic, and I can not see them losing this match.

BIG TO WIN – 1.63 @ Betway

NATUS VINCERE – EUNITED

Just like Astralis match, there is not much to say about these two teams. Skill and strategy gap is huge, and there is no way that eUnited is able to present any type of a challenge to the Ukrainian side, Natus Vincere. This should be an easy handicap victory for Natus Vincere.

NATUS VINCERE(-4.5) – 1.54 @ Betway

LUMINOSITY GAMING – LIQUID

Brazilian based organization managed to qualify for this tournament, while their opponents, Liquid got an invite from the hosts. Luminosity is based on a former Immortals roster, twin brother, HEN1 and LUCAS1, with the addition of yel. They are capable of beating anyone, but they mainly had to play lower tiered Brazilian teams, and it seems like they are falling off from radar this year. On the other hand, Liquid is always around the top, but they are barely on the top itself. They will always storm through the group stage, but they will struggle once they have to play the best teams in the scene. To conclude, this will probably be a training match for the North American organization.

LIQUID TO WIN – 1.32  @ Betway

MOUSESPORTS – AVANGAR

German roster made a roster change not so long ago. They brought in their former support player STYKO to the active roster and it will pay dividends. Their star player oskar needs someone to set up plays for him in order to perform at his best, and STYKO is capable of doing that. Mousesports will definitely climb the ladder by the end of this year, and they deserve a spot among the 5 best teams in the world, it is up to them to prove it.

AVANGAR is a Kazahstanian CS:GO organization who is trying their best to succeed in the industry. However, they have to play a lot of qualifiers in order to compete with the best. But, in their last LAN event, they ended up as the 3rd-4th team. EPICENTER 2018 was a very successful tournament for them, but realistically speaking, this is their peek. Mousesports will never want to end up as a 3rd-4th placed team in the event, they will always go for that #1 spot, and that is why Germans will win against AVANGAR.

MOUSESPORTS TO WIN – 1.41 @ Betway

CONCLUSION

Intel Extreme Masters Chicago 2018 managed to attract a lot of high tier teams in the scene. Likes of Astralis, FaZe Clan, MIBR, Liquid, Natus Vincere and Mousesports are all taking part in this tournament as they will battle it out for a total prize pool of $250.000.

This is going to be a joy to watch, expect a lot of tight, thriller games, and get ready for 6 days filled with action.

Note: All odds displayed were at the time of writing 

 

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CS:GO Maps and Game Modes

ACTIVE DUTY MAP POOL

Throughout this article I will assess commonly used CS:GO map pools and game modes in both competitive and casual play. As I mentioned before, the most popular CS:GO game mode is definitely bomb defusal with the most popular map being Mirage. CS:GO as an esports is based around this mod and that map. Not every map can be played like this, but here are all the active map pools for competitive CS:GO in 2020.

DUST II

DustII

DustII

The latest addition to the active list of competitive CS:GO map pools is Dust II. This map replaced Cobblestone on 20th April of 2018. Most of the teams are still getting used to the updated version of Dust. So far this year, Dust II has been played 883 times, which is a lot, since it was added just recently. Dust II is a pretty balanced map. If we compare CT and T side of the map, T side has a slight advantage, with a total of 51.9% of rounds won on T side.

This is a very big map, with T side having a big advantage when it comes to the information gain. Once they get a sniper, they can easily see how many CT’s crossed towards B bomb site, and they can respond accordingly. On the other hand, in order to avoid that, the CT side will have to waste a smoke grenade in order to give no info to their opponents. But most of the times, this will lead to a CT player’s tag, which will then be followed by rushing B bombsite. Other than that, this map is very balanced. It is also nice to see new strategies emerging every day.

NUKE

Just like Dust II, Nuke was introduced to the competitive CS:GO map pool in 2017. This is the least played map out of them all, and most of the teams hate it. Valve is constantly trying to balance it out, and I think they are just messing everything up. Constant changes to the map are not helping at all.

However, some teams managed to find a perfect game plan for Nuke, if we take Astralis as an example, they are simply too good on that map. At one time they had 20-0 score on Nuke, which is insane. On the other hand, this result is also a reflection on how many teams are either not playing this map, or they are avoiding it. In my personal opinion, Nuke should be replaced with the reworked Cobblestone.

At the moment, Nuke is the most CT-sided map in the pool. CT’s are winning 55% rounds more than T side. Overall, a very bad map, not only in my opinion, most professionals think the same.

CACHE

Cache

Cache

This is the only CS:GO map made entirely by the community, Valve had nothing to do with the creation of this map. Cache is the most T-sided map out of them all, with T’s winning a total of 53,3% of all rounds. It favors Terrorists mainly because of the different possibilities of hitting one bomb site, you can press it from 3 or more different angles. Overall, this is a very popular map that will never be removed from the competitive map pool.

TRAIN

Train is a legendary map. It has been around any Counter-Strike game, starting with Counter-Strike 1.6, to CS:Source and now it is one of the main maps in Counter-Strike:Global Offensive. A couple of years ago, this map was one of the most CT

TRAIN

TRAIN

sided maps in the entire pool, so some changes to it had to be made. Not much changed to be honest, but it had some positive effects, as it gave Terrorists a chance. But still, it is a very CT-sided map. In 2018, CT’s are winning 54,3% of all rounds.

For some not so competitive players, Train is not really a map they would want to play. Firstly, it has million angles to watch. Needless to say how hard it is to give call-outs on this map since there are a lot of trains and corners on the map. To conclude, this is the iconic map and it will never be removed from it, as long as professional teams enjoy playing it.

INFERNO

Inferno

Inferno

This is the second most popular CS:GO map in relation to the professional scene. Esports professionals enjoy playing it mainly because of how balanced Inferno is. At the moment T’s are winning 51.6% of all the rounds played. Furthermore, this map is not favouring anyone, only the team who is able to adapt to what the other side is putting on the table, and that is why pros enjoy playing it.

Inferno was played a lot in 2018. A total of 3,133 times. If we compare it to Nuke, we can clearly see that this map was played 3 times more than Nuke, which is insane.

Also, some of the best plays and strategies in 2020 can be found in this map. Really nice job by Valve to rework it and make it this balanced.

OVERPASS

Out of all the active duty maps, Overpass is the only once specifically created for CS:GO. Once you look at this map, at first it might seem great, but it is not that perfect. At the moment, this map is slightly CT-sided, with CT’s winning 52,5% of all the rounds. However, T’s have a real good chance to win more rounds by limiting vision and taking away map control.

OVERPASS

OVERPASS

If they are able to use their utility, they can cut off the rotations and they can punish pushing for information. However, if T’s do not have that type of map control everything can fall apart, mainly because of fast rotations from A bombsite to B bombsite. It takes around 6-7 seconds to have a vision of one of the sites. This makes this map ideal for a team of 5, simply because they can use their team play and cohesion to their advantage.

On the other hand, this is a CS:GO map with a lot of noise around it. To be honest, this sucks. There are generators on every important meeting point on the map, especially the one on short B, where you are not able to hear anything. Even worse than generators is the train. It passes around the map every 20 seconds, and it creates an unbelievable level of noise, and there is no way someone can stay focus while the train is passing by.

Even though Valve created a perfect map when it comes to strategies and game plans, they should really add an option to remove ambient sounds, since a lot of the game is focused on hearing footsteps and reloads, and this is not helping.

MIRAGE

Lastly, a CS:GO gem. Mirage is on top of the list for the most played map in 2018. Mirage has been played 2,323 times so far in 2018. Just like other popular maps in professional CS:GO scene, Mirage is very balanced. At the moment it slightly favors CT’s, as they are winning 51,2% of the rounds.

Just like Overpass, Mirage is based on team play, synergy, and the ability to execute certain strategies. There is also a level of adaptability needed in order to prevail on this map, mainly because both sides can mix aggressive and passive playstyle.

There are some rumors that Mirage could be reworked, and I feel it would hurt the map, badly. A lot of people are used to the grenade line-ups and I do not think that anyone wants to learn different smoke line-ups for A bomb site. To conclude, Mirage is an excellent map, where all the teams have to prove their worth if they want to win the match.

CASUAL CS:GO MAPS AND GAME MODES

At the moment, the professional scene is strictly based on bomb defusal mode. However, there are a lot of other maps waiting in line to be placed in the active duty map pool, but their biggest problem is that they are based on hostage rescues. These are the maps for hostage rescue mode:

  • – Insertion
  • – Italy
  • – Militia
  • – Office
  • – Assault

On the other hand, there are also other maps based on bomb defusal, but they are not balanced to be placed in the active duty map pool. This is the list of the maps which are not in the active pool:

  • – cobblestone
  • – Dust
  • – Aztec
  • – Austria
  • – Thrill
  • – Season
  • – Canals
  • – Vertigo

CS:GO GAME MODES

Bomb defusal and hostage rescue are not the only types of mods in CS:GO. With the introduction of the last operation(Hydra), there were a couple of new modes added to the game.

WINGMAN

This is basically a 2v2 matchmaking, which was updated not so long ago. This is a funny mode, which is mainly based on having fun with a friend. Not so long ago, most of the active duty maps were added to this type of competing. However, most of these maps have been shortened and adapted for 4 players.

FLYING SCOUTSMAN

A very entertaining game mode where there is barely any gravity. You are able to make sky-high jumps and shoot with scout only. A very nice and entertaining game mode that was added alongside Hydra operation.

These are only the most popular game modes in CS:GO at the moment. There are numerous other which you can enjoy. As you can see from this article, Counter-Strike:Global Offensive does not have to be all about competing, you can also have fun playing it.

How do you feel about hostage rescue game mode? Would you like to see it introduced into the professional CS:GO scene? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.

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CS Summit 3 Betting Preview

Beyond the Summit is hosting the third series of cs_summit. Just like cs_summit and cs_summit 2, cs_summit 3 will take part in a gaming house in Las Vegas. The tournament will start on the 1st of November. We have put together odds and a comprehensive cs summit 3 betting preview for enthusiasts and punters alike. 

CS_Summit 3 Betting Odds

These are the outright odds for the winner of the tournament

  • NrG @ 4 odds
  • OpTic @ 5.5 odds
  • G2 @ 8 odds
  • BIG @ 4.33 odds
  • Kinguin @ 14 odds
  • Ghost @ 25 odds
  • Heroic @ 6 odds
  • compLexity Gaming @ 7 odds

 

Sign up with 22Bet today and get double your First Deposit as a bonus. Use your Free Bets for this years CS Summit 3!

Esports Odds are presented by gg.bet, and you can clearly see that NrG and BIG are clear favorites for the trophy in this event. They are both still fired up and in good form, and they are the only teams who competed just recently, that is the main reason for such low odds on them to lift the trophy.

FIRST MATCH-UPS

CS SUMMIT 3 BRACKET

CS SUMMIT 3 BRACKET

The bracket has already been drawn, and these are the match-ups:

– NRG vs GHOST

– Kinguin vs Heroic

– BIG vs G2

– CompLexity Gaming vs OpTic

NRG vs GHOST

There is not much to say about this match between two North American rosters. If we take a closer look at the Ghost roster, there are not any superstar players there, just failed prospects, like Subroza, koosta or even steel.

On the other hand, NRG has been on fire lately, they even played in the finals of StarSeries i-League season 6. Sadly, they were eliminated in the final match by Vega Squadron. However, they did play great Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, and I think that they are much better prepared and skilled than their opponents in this match.

To conclude, I can not see NRG lose this match, a bet on round handicap in this match-up probably holds some value.

Kinguin vs Heroic

This is the first time Kinguin is attending cs_summit, which can not be said about their opponents, Heroic. Kinguin is a Polish roster filled with experience, but it feels like at times they are lacking firepower. And this might haunt them against Heroic.

Heroic, however, has been playing structured CS:GO for a while now, they will never make rash decisions and for most of the times they have found success with that strategy. But as I said, Kinguin is a very experienced team and I feel like they can adapt to certain strategies really fast.

In my opinion, this match will be a nail-biter, and it could easily go to overtime. However, over 2.5 maps bet hold great value, especially when odds are so high, a whopping 1.89.

BIG vs G2

Most of you think that this will be a very interesting match between these two teams. However, I do not feel like it. BIG has been on a terror as of late. Germans have been dominating almost everyone, but they struggled versus the best teams on the scene. But, G2 is nowhere near those best teams, at the moment, they are like a tier 2 team.

G2 is mostly based on individual plays of KennyS and shox. Rest of their roster, SmithzZ, bodyy, and Ext6enz are not very capable riflers, they are past their prime and they can not cope with the firepower and proficiency BIG has. There is no way that they can pose as a threat to BIG.

I feel like BIG could easily stomp G2, and my bet for this match-up is the correct score(in maps) 2-0 at stunning 2.67 odds.

CompLexity Gaming vs OpTic

This is going to be a very tough match for both of these teams. CS:GO fans and enthusiast will definitely have a lot to see in this brawl. CompLexity Gaming. This North American organization will play on their home soil and this could prove to be an advantage for them. However, they did fall off slightly in the last month or two, and this would be a perfect tournament to pick up where they left off.

On the other hand, OpTic is always a threat to anyone. Mainly, because of how ridiculous k0nfig can be. He is able to carry the game himself, but he is also capable of missing the easiest shots. Furthermore, OpTic managed to string together a strike of 6 wins and they seem unstoppable at the moment.

Both of these teams are looking to extend their win streak, and I feel like this is going to be a tough match between them, with one team edging it out in the third map. My bet: total maps, over 2.5 @ 1.89 odds.

 

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DARKHORSE

There is definitely a chance for an upset in this event. Clear favorites are NRG and BIG, but there are some teams that are capable of beating them. If we take a closer look at compLexity Gaming, they have been dominating the North American scene, especially in the ESL league. They have been playing on consistent level for a while now, they did not have a gap where they did not play any competitive games, and I feel like their mindset is set on cs_summit 3 trophy.

This North American roster is able to compete versus anyone, and they have proven it in the last couple of months. Their map pool is really strong, and they do not shy away from any map in the pool. They are a team filled with experience and talent, and needless to say, they have very strong individuals when it comes to firepower. Overall, they definitely have a chance in this tournament, there is definitely a value in this outright. Current odds on them lifting the trophy is a huge 7 (bet 100$ to win 700$).

CONCLUSION

This is the most “chill” tournament out of them all. Everything is transparent. For example, players can freely open the fridge and get themselves an energy drink, they can also eat in front of the cameras, and that makes it really fun to watch.

In the end, 8 teams will fight it out from November 1st to November 4th for a total of $150.000, while the winner will cash in on a $63.750.

To conclude, we will definitely be able to enjoy quality Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, with some of the best talent on the scene attending this tournament. Be prepared for 4 days of CS:GO.

Who is your favorite in this tournament? Do you enjoy a more relaxed style of casting and playing? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.

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Best CS:GO Twitter Accounts

There are a lot of different ways to get information in today’s world. Furthermore, if you are more interested in Counter-Strike:Global Offensive and eSports in general, you will have to sign up for an account with Twitter. Twitter is a social network which has only one purpose, to send out short messages and information.

WHY SHOULD YOU FOLLOW CS:GO RELATED CONTENT ON TWITTER

There are a lot of reasons why you would want to follow Counter-Strike:Global Offensive twitter accounts. Mainly, if you are a bettor, then you probably want to know what is actual, and you just want to stay in touch with everything surrounding your betting predictions.

Secondly, almost every professional CS:GO player and analyst have their own twitter accounts. If you are to follow some of them, you would have a clear picture of what is happening in their lives as a Counter-Strike:Global Offensive professionals.

WHO TO FOLLOW

We will divide this article into 3 different sections. Bettors, CS:GO enthusiasts and casuals. Twitter is always filled with numerous content providers, some are more serious than others, but they are all helping the community to grow.

BETTORS

As I mentioned above, if you are serious when it comes to csgo betting, you want to know what is happening with certain players and teams. You also want to know certain statistics without having to spend a lot of time researching. Here are some of the best Twitter accounts to follow.

CS:GO Betting Account

HLTV.org

One of the most popular websites, but their twitter is not bad either. At the moment they have over 200.000 followers. You can find numerous interviews and statistics on their website and twitter. Everything that can be dug out about a team or a player can be found here.

Liquipedia

Another twitter account where you can track statistics for teams, player, tournaments, and leagues. Just like their rivals, HLTV.org, they keep a track of everything that is happening to teams and player, but they keep everything nice and short. Their twitter is also a place where you can get all the news related to Esports, not only about Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, but in all popular titles, such as Dota 2, League of Legends, StarCraft and many others.

Gamopo

For obvious reasons….

CS:GO ENTHUSIASTS

If you enjoy watching tournaments, then you will have to follow most of the tournament’s hosts, their sponsors, teams, and players. These are only some of the most popular Twitter accounts in this field.

ESL Counter Strike

Twitter Handle – @ESLCS

This is probably the most popular Twitter account if we are to compare ESL to other tournaments. They are the world’s largest Esports company. Mainly, they prefer to sponsor leagues, ladders, but they do not shy away from organizing tournaments. 

ESL Pro League 2018

If you are to follow them on Twitter, you will be able to see a lot of stream notifications, highlight plays, and results.

DreamHack

Twitter Handle – @DreamHack

Another tournament organizer finds his way on this list. DreamHack is a very popular organizer, as they tend to host tournaments in capital cities around the world. Their twitter is filled with their personal recordings, giveaways and Esports content. However, they do not cover only Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, they cover all bigger Esports games out there.

POPULAR CS:GO TEAM TWITTER ACCOUNTS

Almost all the tier 1 times in CS:GO have their official Twitter account. This is the best way to see what the team is up to and where are they at the moment. If we take Astralis as an example, we can see that their Twitter is very active, with a total of 8080 tweets. If you are to visit their account, you would have something to see. Alongside pictures of them winning trophies and having random photo shootings, they also enjoy posting funny gifs of their players. Give these accounts a try!

COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBAL OFFENSIVE PROFESSIONALS

Alongside teams having their own Twitter accounts, almost all of the players playing for these teams have one as well. If we take Nikola “Niko” Kovač as an example, we can see that he is posting a lot of random stuff on his profile. For instance, every time they are on a tour, they love to go out and get wasted. Most of the times you will find a picture of Niko with some other CS:GO pro, which is nice to see, everyone is getting along. Furthermore, you can also see him ranting about the state of the game, and he is regular at posting FaZe Clan recent results. Niko has over 250.000 followers, which makes one thing very clear, people enjoy watching what professional Counter-Strike:Global Offensive players do.

CASUALS

If you are not a fan of the Esports scene, nor you like to watch tournaments, then this is a place for you. You probably enjoy watching quality content, either as a video, or through Twitter. These are some of the best content creators on Twitter.

NadeKing 

@NadeKingCSGO

NadeKing is mainly a YouTuber, who is producing good and quality content. There are a lot of tips and tricks videos on his channel, followed by numerous funny moments situations and strategies. However, his Twitter account is also very active, as he has over 30.000 followers. He enjoys doing random giveaways for his fans, and he is not shying away from chatting with his fans. Overall, a great content creator.

CS:GO Reddit Related Twitter Account

/r/GlobalOffensive

This is the official Twitter account for the Counter-Strike:Global Offensive subreddit. If you are to give them a follow on Twitter you would not miss any important updates, news, results, discussions, articles, and all other CS:GO relevant things. This Twitter account can be used by all sections I mentioned above, as it contains quality content, results, analysis, results, and highlights. Overall, this is probably the best and the most useful Twitter account related to Counter-Strike:Global Offensive.

Other Notable CS:GO Professional Twitter Accounts:

  • Jarosław ‘pashaBiceps’ Jarząbkowski – 265k @paszaBiceps
  • Epitacio ‘TACO’ de Melo – 271k @TACOCS
  • Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund – 290k @GeT_RiGhTcs
  • Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer – 303k @olofmeister
  • Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo – 577k @FalleNCS

What Twitter accounts do you use to stay on track with CS:GO? Are you a bettor, casual, or CS:GO enthusiast? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.

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