Schalke 04 vs Vitality
Saturday, March 21 – 16:00 CET
After a shock win over Misfits, Schalke 04 seem to be set to produce their first perfect week of the season this Saturday when they face off against Vitality. Looking back at Schalke’s win over Misfits, the German squad impressed with what they have shown, yet it’s hard to say whether Schalke won because they were better or did Misfits lose because they choked and dropped the ball. Either way, Schalke looked solid and without a single doubt looked far better compared to Vitality, who lost to Origen.
In Vitality’s clash with Origen, the French squad looked fairly strong and had a legitimate chance of producing an upset. That said, their decision making was disastrous. Jakub “Jactroll” Skurzyński really lived up to his name with his questionable engages and outright disastrous performance. Usually, it’s hard to point fingers at one player and say his team lost because of him, but in this case, it was Jactroll who handed Origen a win with his 1v5 engage at the around 29-minute mark.
Schalke are entering this bout as 1.363 favourites, which seems more than fair and although they are coming into this game hot, we are not too keen on backing them at -7.5 kills handicap (2.04) simply because they tend to be very inconsistent.
Schalke and Vitality won’t gain anything by winning here, which should inspire slightly more aggressive playstyle, as we have seen in game one of Week 8. The total kills line is set at 24.5, which should be reachable if Vitality can avoid dropping the ball once again. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vitality decides to sit out Jactroll and replace him with Pierre “Steeelback” Medjaldi. Either way, we can expect 25 kills on the board as there is no way for these two teams to play safe and slow.
Prediction: Over 24.5 kills – 1.819 at Pinnacle
SK Gaming vs Origen
Saturday, March 21 – 17:00 CET
Origen should come out ahead here nine times out of ten, however, this is a match we would not bet on. Although a -9.5 kills handicap on the Danish squad (1.877 at Pinnacle) might be a tempting bet, we don’t like the fact that Origen are playing with higher ping. They might close out the game with 10+ kills to spare, but after seeing them play against Vitality, it’s clear that the online format does not do them any favours.
No prediction
MAD Lions vs Misfits
Saturday, March 21 – 18:00 CET
Misfits are one win away from securing a playoffs berth, but so are MAD Lions, meaning we are in for one exciting match between two teams that are chasing a top-six finish.
Comparing the two sides, Misfits looked far better throughout the season, however, their disastrous performance against Schalke yesterday failed to inspire much optimism. That is not to say MAD Lions completely decimated SK Gaming in what was an incredibly slow game, however, they looked far more consistent. Nonetheless, that does not necessarily mean MAD Lions are the stronger team here, as Misfits’ defeat was not so much a result of their lack of quality, but rather a prime example of a match where they had an off-day.
Betting odds suggest Misfits are slight favourites (1.819), with MAD Lions priced at 2.00, which seems fair, considering Misfits already defeated MAD Lions in Week 5. The recent performances and online format of this game suggest we might be in for a slower game with fewer kills on the board. Pinnacle has Under 24.5 kills priced at 1.819 which seems like the best bet to take here. It will be a crucial match to win for both sides, so we can’t expect either side to risk too much, while neither showed enough to make us believe they can completely stop their opponents.
Prediction: Misfits to win – 1.819 at Pinnacle
Prediction: Under 24.5 kills – 1.819 at Pinnacle
G2 Esports vs Excel Esports
Saturday, March 21 – 19:00 CET
No matter how we look as this match, G2 are the undisputed favourites to come out ahead. Although they had some iffy performances this season, G2 are known for switching into a higher gear once the season starts approaching the playoffs. Pinnacle is offering 1.869 on a -8.5 kills handicap on G2, which should be within their reach. While Excel are well-coached and should put up some resistance in the early game, their lack of individual quality, compared to G2, will allow G2 to pull away in mid-late game when we will likely see a few teamfights, where G2 shine.
Prediction: G2 Esports -8.5 kills – 1.869 at Pinnacle
Fnatic vs Rogue
Saturday, March 21 – 16:00 CET
Rogue have come a long way since 2019 season and with the roster changes finally started to look like a decent team. Decent, however, does not mean they are in any way a serious title contenders, which they aren’t. While Rogue tend to consistently defeat weaker teams, they are also very consistent in losing against the top-three teams in the league, namely Fnatic, Origen and G2.
Yesterday, Rogue lost to G2 Esports, where they looked fairly solid for the most part of the game, but made a huge mistake towards the end when they face checked the entire G2 team, which ultimately lost them the game. It was only one mistake, however, it’s worth noting that from the way that game was being played out, G2 would come out ahead anyway.
Fnatic on the other side continues to produce very stable and strong performances, which, as it’s the case with G2 is not too surprising, as Fnatic switch into “boss mode” when playoffs get closer. The boys in orange are priced as 1.387 favourites against Rogue, while Pinnacle is offering 1.952 on -6.5 kills handicap.
Despite the fact that Rogue looked decent against G2, it’s safe to say Fnatic are currently a bit stronger than G2, at least when it comes to consistently outperforming their adversaries, and if Rogue struggled to edge out G2, it’s hard to imagine they will see better success against Fnatic.
Prediction: Fnatic -6.5 kills – 1.952 at Pinnacle
Best Bet: Fnatic -6.5 kills – 1.952 at Pinnacle
