This article is part of our DraftKings CS:GO series.
Games (EDT)
- 10:30 a.m: Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) vs. Natus Vincere (NaVi)
- 1:00 p.m: OG (OG) vs. Complexity (coL)
- 4:15 p.m: MiBR (MiBR) vs. FURIA (FUR)
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Natus Vincere
The first match of a three-game BLAST slate is Ninjas in Pyjamas, the in-form Swedish side, taking on the former world No. 1 Na'Vi, who have struggled in the last month. NiP come into the match on the back of a 2-1 win over MAD Lions, a full team performance with all of the riflers on NiP coming alive to take down an acoR-lead team. Na'Vi, on the other hand, continued their slide the last time out, going 0-2 to FaZe Clan in a one-sided sweep that saw them fall out of DreamHack Masters Spring. The form favors the Swedes too, as the last seven times these teams met Na'Vi came out on top, taking every single map. If NiP want to take their first victory in this head-to-head the map veto will be crucial, with Dust2 and Vertigo falling out in the first rotation while NiP will look to avoid Nuke, and take either Train or Inferno. Na'Vi have a large advantage on both Nuke and Overpass, and will hope to leave a relatively even map, such as Mirage, as the decider. The pick of the bunch should be s1mple, who put up 53 kills to go plus-23 the last time these sides met, and he has maintained that stellar form as one of the best players
Games (EDT)
- 10:30 a.m: Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) vs. Natus Vincere (NaVi)
- 1:00 p.m: OG (OG) vs. Complexity (coL)
- 4:15 p.m: MiBR (MiBR) vs. FURIA (FUR)
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Natus Vincere
The first match of a three-game BLAST slate is Ninjas in Pyjamas, the in-form Swedish side, taking on the former world No. 1 Na'Vi, who have struggled in the last month. NiP come into the match on the back of a 2-1 win over MAD Lions, a full team performance with all of the riflers on NiP coming alive to take down an acoR-lead team. Na'Vi, on the other hand, continued their slide the last time out, going 0-2 to FaZe Clan in a one-sided sweep that saw them fall out of DreamHack Masters Spring. The form favors the Swedes too, as the last seven times these teams met Na'Vi came out on top, taking every single map. If NiP want to take their first victory in this head-to-head the map veto will be crucial, with Dust2 and Vertigo falling out in the first rotation while NiP will look to avoid Nuke, and take either Train or Inferno. Na'Vi have a large advantage on both Nuke and Overpass, and will hope to leave a relatively even map, such as Mirage, as the decider. The pick of the bunch should be s1mple, who put up 53 kills to go plus-23 the last time these sides met, and he has maintained that stellar form as one of the best players in the world.
Prediction: Na'Vi 2-1
- NiP Players to Target: nawwk ($11,100 Captain, $7,400 Flex), Plopski ($10,800 Captain, $7,200 Flex)
- NaVi Players to Target: s1mple ($15,300 Captain, $10,200 Flex)
OG vs. Complexity
The second match of the day is the lowest profile one of the slate but could offer excellent value, especially if Complexity can keep their good form going. OG have struggled, faltering in the ESL Pro League qualifiers, a tournament in which OG were among the favorites, and they have lacked the firepower required against the top teams. Complexity have had similar issues against top teams, but the form of blameF, oBo and k0nfig has been excellent and has given the International side a multi-faceted threat against any team. The map veto will be interesting, as Complexity have the advantage on every single map in the pool other than Overpass, which is their permanent ban. If OG want any sort of chance to upset Complexity, they will look towards Train or Inferno, where they are closest to Complexity, but even those heavily favor the international side. Overall, this match looks to be value packed despite being the lowest profile of the three; k0nfig, oBo and poizon all feature very reasonable salaries, and should be in for big performances against a struggling OG.
Prediction: Complexity 2-0
- OG Players to Target: valde ($10,500 Captain, $7,000 Flex)
- coL Players to Target: k0nfig ($12,300 Captain, $8,200 Flex), oBo ($10,800 Captain, $7,200 Flex)
FURIA vs. MiBR
The final match of the slate is perhaps the biggest, with the Brazilian derby featuring world no. 4 FURIA and the veteran side of MiBR. FURIA won DreamHack Masters Spring in a 3-0 sweep over Team Liquid and shot up the rankings, claiming the spot as the top North American side. MiBR have had a similar surge in form, taking down EG and Cloud9, though they later fell to that same Cloud9 side in the lower bracket of DreamHack Masters Spring. This is another map where the map veto could feel lopsided no matter what, as FURIA hold massive advantages on nearly every map, and the one they struggle on, Nuke, is MiBR's ban. All-in-all, this matchup points entirely towards the younger Brazilian side -- MiBR's best map, Dust 2, will be banned, leaving MiBR's next pick as Mirage... a map FURIA have not lost on in over three months. Outside of those two maps, FURIA hold a large advantage, nearly 30-40 percent on win percentage in the last three months, giving FURIA one of the deepest map pools in North America. This Brazilian derby looks to be one-sided, and the value should come from the heavily favored FURIA side, especially if KSCERATO and yuurih play at their top level.
Prediction: 2-0 FURIA
