This article is part of our DraftKings CS:GO series.
Games (EDT)
- 8:00 a.m: ENCE (E) vs. Vitality (VIT)
- 11:30 a.m: Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) vs. Natus Vincere (NaVi)
- 3:10 p.m: 100 Thieves (100T) vs. Evil Geniuses (EG)
ENCE (1-0) vs. Vitality (1-1)
The first match of the day is a Group D clash in Europe as the Finns of ENCE take on Team Vitality, with the French side looking to move to 2-1 after a dominating 2-0 victory over NiP on Thursday. Vitality will take great confidence in Thursday's win, especially with superstar shox stepping up alongside ZywOo to provide a duel-faceted threat. Vitality's biggest issue of late has been reliance on the AWP of ZywOo to carry them over the line, often as the only member of the team to go positive. ENCE will look towards captain and founder allu to take on the young Frenchman and, with a mix of raw skill and veteran guile, attempt to shut down the world's best player. To that end, ENCE will likely try and keep the match away from Dust 2, while Vitality may be willing to use an early pick on the map. ENCE will most likely continue to perma ban Vertigo, and lead the match towards Train, where they have shown a stellar playbook. Vitality will look towards Dust 2 and Nuke, with the latter in particular being a poor map for ENCE, especially in the last three months. This match should be decided by the supporting cast of Vitality; if Shox or apEX can show up again,
Games (EDT)
- 8:00 a.m: ENCE (E) vs. Vitality (VIT)
- 11:30 a.m: Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) vs. Natus Vincere (NaVi)
- 3:10 p.m: 100 Thieves (100T) vs. Evil Geniuses (EG)
ENCE (1-0) vs. Vitality (1-1)
The first match of the day is a Group D clash in Europe as the Finns of ENCE take on Team Vitality, with the French side looking to move to 2-1 after a dominating 2-0 victory over NiP on Thursday. Vitality will take great confidence in Thursday's win, especially with superstar shox stepping up alongside ZywOo to provide a duel-faceted threat. Vitality's biggest issue of late has been reliance on the AWP of ZywOo to carry them over the line, often as the only member of the team to go positive. ENCE will look towards captain and founder allu to take on the young Frenchman and, with a mix of raw skill and veteran guile, attempt to shut down the world's best player. To that end, ENCE will likely try and keep the match away from Dust 2, while Vitality may be willing to use an early pick on the map. ENCE will most likely continue to perma ban Vertigo, and lead the match towards Train, where they have shown a stellar playbook. Vitality will look towards Dust 2 and Nuke, with the latter in particular being a poor map for ENCE, especially in the last three months. This match should be decided by the supporting cast of Vitality; if Shox or apEX can show up again, Vitality could have too much firepower for the Finns of ENCE.
Prediction: ENCE 2-1 Vitality
- E Players to Target: Jammpi ($11,100 Captain, $7,400 Flex), suNny ($10,200 Captain, $6,800 Flex)
- VIT Players to Target: ZywOo ($12,900 Captain, $8,600 Flex), shox ($9,900 Captain, $6,600 Flex)
Ninjas in Pyjamas (0-1) vs. NaVi (1-1)
The second match of the day is the second half of Group D between the new-look NiP against the CIS top dogs, NaVi. NiP come into the match after being completely trounced 2-0 by Vitality, managing only a total of 11 rounds over two maps. NaVi took down the same Vitality side 2-1, though a nail-biting 16-14 Map 2 saw NaVi flirt with a 2-0 defeat as well. NaVi come into this match as favorites, and if NiP want to even push towards an upset they will have to come up with a strategy to hold down both s1mple and electronic at the top of the board, with those two stars having the ability to take over any map. The map bans in this match-up seem to be pretty cut and dry: NiP's best map, Vertigo, is NaVi's permaban, NaVi's best map, Dust 2, is NiP's permaban. Most likely NaVi will bring the series to Nuke, while NiP will take Overpass, with Inferno or Train a likely decider. That draft should enable the experience of NaVi, especially as NiP continue to incorporate hampus into the side.
Prediction: NaVi 2-0 NiP
- NiP Players to Target: nawwk ($12,000 Captain, $8,000 Flex)
- NaVi Players to Target: s1mple ($13,800 Captain, $9,200 Flex), electronic ($9,900 Captain, $6,600 Flex)
100 Thieves (2-0) vs. Evil Geniuses (0-2)
The final match of the slate goes back to North America, with EG looking to avoid going 0-3 in their DreamHack Masters Spring group, while 100 Thieves look to compete for the top spot. While this match looks to be balanced on a knife-edge, the form goes only one way: in their last five matches, Evil Geniuses have lost twice to Gen.G and Cloud9, with their only win against Triumph. If EG want to avoid that 0-3 fate, they will need a strong map veto; the last three times these sides met, it has involved both Nuke and Inferno, and two of those times, Dust 2 as well. EG have taken Inferno the most out of all of those maps, and if they want to avoid another defeat they'll have to take Nuke or Dust 2 away from the Oceanic side. 100 Thieves on the other hand will want to let their firepower shine in the match, with jks , liazz , and jkaem all in fine form Dust 2 and Vertigo could favor the Oceanic outfit. As far as map veto, both teams permaban Overpass, and if 100 Thieves get to avoid that ban, they will fall back to a Mirage ban, while EG will try to avoid Train. The value in this match could very easily come from the riflers on the EG side, with Ethan and tarik both coming in at very favorable salaries, while 100 Thieves have jkaem and AZR for similar salaries and could offer the same value.
Prediction: 100 Thieves 2-1 Evil Geniuses
