This article is part of our DraftKings CS:GO series.
Games (EDT):
- 1:50 p.m: Dignitas (DIG) vs. Fnatic (FNC)
- 4:25 p.m: Chaos (C) vs. FURIA (FUR)
- 5:15 p.m: Cloud9 (C9) vs. 100 Thieves (100T)
- 6:15 p.m: Triumph (Tri) vs. Evil Geniuses (EG)
Dignitas (1-2) vs. Fnatic (2-1)
BLAST Spring resumes Thursday in Europe as the Swedish derby opens the slate with Fnatic looking to secure a 3-1 group stage record while Dignitas look to guarantee qualification with a victory. Fnatic come in as favorites, and after a hard-fought victory over mousesports on Wednesday will look to turn around their poor form of late. If Dignitas want to pull off the upset, they will need a vintage performance from their veteran core, especially Xizt and friberg, who have been exceptionally poor over the last three months. If the in-game leader and support of Dignitas can have the individual performances of years gone by, Dignitas should have enough firepower to challenge Fnatic; if not, it will be a short match. The map veto should be relatively straight forward in the sense that both teams play a very traditional map pool and will likely push the match towards three places. Nuke, Inferno or Train, the three maps that have perhaps the most team-play, and some of the longest standing maps in Counter-Strike, will be the likely home for this match. That should favor Fnatic, who boast a higher win rate on both Inferno and Train, the latter of which Dignitas have tallied only a 23 percent win rate on in the last three
Games (EDT):
- 1:50 p.m: Dignitas (DIG) vs. Fnatic (FNC)
- 4:25 p.m: Chaos (C) vs. FURIA (FUR)
- 5:15 p.m: Cloud9 (C9) vs. 100 Thieves (100T)
- 6:15 p.m: Triumph (Tri) vs. Evil Geniuses (EG)
Dignitas (1-2) vs. Fnatic (2-1)
BLAST Spring resumes Thursday in Europe as the Swedish derby opens the slate with Fnatic looking to secure a 3-1 group stage record while Dignitas look to guarantee qualification with a victory. Fnatic come in as favorites, and after a hard-fought victory over mousesports on Wednesday will look to turn around their poor form of late. If Dignitas want to pull off the upset, they will need a vintage performance from their veteran core, especially Xizt and friberg, who have been exceptionally poor over the last three months. If the in-game leader and support of Dignitas can have the individual performances of years gone by, Dignitas should have enough firepower to challenge Fnatic; if not, it will be a short match. The map veto should be relatively straight forward in the sense that both teams play a very traditional map pool and will likely push the match towards three places. Nuke, Inferno or Train, the three maps that have perhaps the most team-play, and some of the longest standing maps in Counter-Strike, will be the likely home for this match. That should favor Fnatic, who boast a higher win rate on both Inferno and Train, the latter of which Dignitas have tallied only a 23 percent win rate on in the last three months. The difference could come from the young talent on Dignitas, hallzerk, who is the only player on the server who can consistently match the firepower of Brollan, and will be tasked once more to shut down the young superstar.
Prediction: Dignitas 11-16 Fnatic
- DIG Players to Target: hallzerk ($10,800 Captain, $7,200 Flex)
- FNC Players to Target: Brollan ($13,500 Captain, $9,000 Flex), Golden ($8,700 Captain, $5,800 Flex)
Chaos (0-1-1) vs. FURIA (1-0-1)
The second match takes us over to North America, where Chaos face off against the star-studded Brazilian side of FURIA, who will look to finish the group out with a 2-1 record. Chaos, who were unable to convert off seven chances against MiBR, and ended up drawing the match, will have to upset the No. 1 Brazilian team if they want to qualify from the group. While the match ended in disappointment for the North Americans, it did have a positive takeaway, as leaf, freshly brought back into the team, was on top for Chaos. If Chaos want any chance to upset FURIA they will look towards their young stars, leaf and Xeppaa, who provide a majority of the firepower, supported by steel and Jonji. In a map veto that looks destined for Inferno, the question will quickly become if Chaos have the hidden strategies needed to upset FURIA, who are one of the most accomplished Inferno teams in global CS:GO. The value in this match should come from Chaos, as they look to make waves in BLAST Spring, particularly on the back of a very reasonably priced leaf. If FURIA's superstars show up, this match could be one-sided, and see KSCERATO and yuurih pad their stat lines heading into the playoffs.
Prediction: Chaos 5-16 FURIA
- C Players to Target: leaf ($6,900 Captain, $4,600 Flex)
- FUR Players to Target: KSCERATO ($12,900 Captain, $8,600 Flex)
Cloud9 (0-2) vs. 100 Thieves (0-1-1)
The third match is another top-tier North American setup, with everything on the line for both sides, as both come into the match after dropping their group openers. With BLAST Spring's format, two wins is nearly required for qualification, and both Cloud9 and 100 Thieves would have looked towards this match as anything but a guaranteed victory. Cloud9 will look to turn around their opening loss to Triumph re-build their playbook following a stagnation in their progress. While this match may end up being the closest of the day, it also features some of the players with the potential to take over like few others in the world can. Namely Cloud9's floppy going head-to-head with jks of 100 Thieves, the two rifle players offering explosive potential in any round, with any equipment. While 100 Thieves come into the match as narrow favorites, Cloud9, especially with the form that oSee has shown, have the potential to take a match to any team in the world, even a team like 100 Thieves bolstered by Gratisfaction and Liazz. In the last three meetings between these two sides, 100 Thieves has won all six maps, taking all three series 2-0. If Cloud9 want to change that they will look to try a new map, and move away from Dust2 or Train, two maps where 100 Thieves have consistently outperformed Cloud9. The current form, and history of this match-up, points only one way, and that way is towards Oceania, where the value should come from, especially from jks and jkaem, who both feature very reasonable salaries.
Prediction: Cloud9 11-16 100 Thieves
- C9 Players to Target: floppy ($12,000 Captain, $8,000 Flex)
- 100T Players to Target: jks ($10,800 Captain, $7,200 Flex), jkaem ($10,200 Captain, $6,800 Flex)
Triumph (1-1-0) vs. Evil Geniuses (2-0)
The final match of the slate should also be the most one-sided, as Triumph take on Evil Geniuses. Triumph took down Cloud9 in their first group match, opening the door for a surprise progression. If Triumph want to continue that, and continue their good form, they will look to take EG head-on with their run-and-gun, in-your-face style. That same style has seen Triumph rise up the world rankings and could be crucial if they want to upset EG and progress from their tough BLAST Spring group. The map veto should be crucial too, as Triumph look towards Dust 2 or Vertigo, two maps where the firepower of Grim could take them past the veteran guile of EG. That said, EG should have too much firepower, too much skill, and too much coordination for Triumph to handle, and snagging Brehze or CeRq for a very reasonable salary could be excellent value in this slate. If Triumph do overcome that, it will be on the back of Grim's supporting cast, whether it be curry, Junior or even Spongey, he will need help to compete with the superstars of EG.
Prediction: Triumph 13-16 Evil Geniuses
