This article is part of our DraftKings CS:GO series.
Games (EDT)
- 8:00 a.m: Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) vs. Vitality (VIT)
- 11:30 a.m: ENCE (E) vs. Natus Vincere (NaVi)
- 3:10 p.m: Cloud9 (C9) vs. 100 Thieves (100T)
Ninjas in Pyjamas (0-0) vs. Vitality (0-1)
The first match of the day could also prove to be the closest, as Vitality take on NiP in Group D of DreamHack Masters Spring. Team ZywOo, er, sorry, Team Vitality, come into the match off a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to NaVi, a match in which they were one round away from taking a 2-0 sweep to open the group. Vitality have been in poor form of late, with ZywOo performing far and away better than anyone else wearing the black and yellow. If Vitality want to win this map, it will fall squarely on the shoulders of the man many call the best in the world. If you want to add him to your team, it will cost you $13,500, but when you want the best, you have to pay. On the other side of the server, NiP have a new-look roster, featuring hampus slotting in for Lekr0, who had been one of NiP's stand out performers. If NiP want to take the match, they will look to keep the series on Inferno, Overpass or Nuke, and away from the playground's of Dust 2 or Mirage, where ZywOo has shown the potential to carry any map. The value could come from the depth on offer from Vitality, if shox or apEX can show why they
Games (EDT)
- 8:00 a.m: Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) vs. Vitality (VIT)
- 11:30 a.m: ENCE (E) vs. Natus Vincere (NaVi)
- 3:10 p.m: Cloud9 (C9) vs. 100 Thieves (100T)
Ninjas in Pyjamas (0-0) vs. Vitality (0-1)
The first match of the day could also prove to be the closest, as Vitality take on NiP in Group D of DreamHack Masters Spring. Team ZywOo, er, sorry, Team Vitality, come into the match off a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to NaVi, a match in which they were one round away from taking a 2-0 sweep to open the group. Vitality have been in poor form of late, with ZywOo performing far and away better than anyone else wearing the black and yellow. If Vitality want to win this map, it will fall squarely on the shoulders of the man many call the best in the world. If you want to add him to your team, it will cost you $13,500, but when you want the best, you have to pay. On the other side of the server, NiP have a new-look roster, featuring hampus slotting in for Lekr0, who had been one of NiP's stand out performers. If NiP want to take the match, they will look to keep the series on Inferno, Overpass or Nuke, and away from the playground's of Dust 2 or Mirage, where ZywOo has shown the potential to carry any map. The value could come from the depth on offer from Vitality, if shox or apEX can show why they were brought into Team Vitality, they could provide excellent value.
- NiP Players to Target: Plopski ($12,600 Captain, $8,400 Flex), hampus ($10,200 Captain, $6,800 Flex)
- VIT Players to Target: ZywOo ($13,500 Captain, $9,000 Flex)
NaVi (1-0) vs. ENCE (0-0)
The second match of the slate is the other match in Group D, as NaVi take on ENCE, with the CIS team looking to go 2-0 in the group. NaVi come into this match as favorites, and will take hope from their victory over Vitality, where they took the series despite a quiet showing from s1mple. If NaVi can continue to rely on electronic and Boombl4 to provide firepower alongside s1mple's AWP, they will look to take back their spot atop the world rankings. The other side of the match is ENCE, and since DreamHack Masters Spring is a non-Valve associated event, they will play with new addition Jamppi, who has been lauded by many as the biggest young prospect in the world of Counter-Strike. NaVi will look to steer the series onto Dust 2 and Nuke, where the firepower of s1mple can help take over the match, while ENCE will look to avoid Vertigo and Overpass, by far their weakest maps. If Jamppi can provide the secondary firepower alongside allu, ENCE could be poised for the upset, but if s1mple returns to form alongside electronic, ENCE are in for a quick match.
- NaVi Players to Target: s1mple ($14,100 Captain, $9,400 Flex), electronic ($10,200 Captain, $6,800 Flex)
- E Players to Target: Jammpi ($10,500 Captain, $7,000 Flex), suNny ($9,900 Captain, $6,600 Flex)
Cloud9 (1-0) vs. 100 Thieves (1-0)
The final match of the day takes us back to North America between the two 1-0 teams in Group B. Cloud9 enter in good form, with their last two outings 2-1 victories over both Evil Geniuses and Liquid, and they continue to push for the top spot in North America. Meanwhile, 100 Thieves have been in quiet form but looked to turn that around in the DreamHack Masters Spring opener, sweeping Gen.G aside 2-0 in convincing fashion. 100 Thieves will be the favorites coming into this one and will look to work the series towards Vertigo; Cloud9 will continue to ban Mirage, while 100T will ban Overpass (Cloud9's strongest map, with an 88 percent WR in the last three months). The series will likely end up on Train, where Cloud9 have looked strong, and Vertigo, 100 Thieves' best map. If Cloud9 want to upset the Oceanic side they will need dominant performances from their rifling core of floppy, motm and oSee, backed up by the AWP of Sonic. If 100 Thieves want to move to 2-0, they will look towards jks and Liazz to continue their strong form.
