The ESL Pro League Season 15 continues on Wednesday, March 16, and Michael Lee is back with his esports betting picks for the opening games of Group B. Today he takes a look at three CS:GO matches in Team Vitality vs Sprout, FaZe Clan vs ENCE, and Outsiders vs FURIA.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, March 15th
Team Vitality vs Sprout
ESL Pro League Season 15
Team Vitality are priced as huge favourites, around 1.15, to defeat Sprout, which is fair. They are better from top to bottom, and it wouldn't be far from the truth if I say that not a single player on Sprout can compare with Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut.
Yet, it is hard for me to expect Vitality to win 2-0 here. Even though they have been together for almost three months now, Vitality have only played eight matches together. While there is definitely potential for this squad to reach the number one spot in the future, I don't really expect them to compete for that glory anytime soon.
Don't get me wrong; Sprout is nowhere near the Vitality level. But considering Vitality only played eight official matches with its new roster and reached variable degrees of success, there is a chance that Sprout can at least take a map.
They are your typical "development team", and the team's management clearly has a vision since it can't be a coincidence that Sprout are always coming up with young talent only to sell to bigger teams.
A lot of people are expecting a clean sweep, but not me. Vitality haven't played an official match in almost three weeks, whereas Sprout have been playing smaller online cups almost daily over the last month.
If a team like LFO can take maps away from NiP and Fnatic, why can't Sprout sting Vitality? It is a long shot, but bet on Sprout to keep the match close!
FaZe Clan vs ENCE
ESL Pro League 15
FaZe Clan enter ESL Pro League following an impressive first-place finish at IEM Katowice 2022. They played a total of six matches in Poland and won against the likes of Fnatic, Liquid, Gambit, Heroic, and G2, and they only lost against Natus Vincere.
It was quite a miracle run, and their 3-0 sweep of G2 in the finals was probably one of the better BO5 matches in recent history.
ENCE were also present at the IEM Katowice 2022, but they failed to achieve anything noteworthy. They played a total of two maps, losing both 1-2, against Natus Vincere and Astralis. As for their most recent result, ENCE placed 3-4th at the Elisa Invitational Winter 2021 after winning 2-0 against Entropiq and losing 0-2 against HEET. Their results seem to be all over the place.
It is tough to expect another dominant run from FaZe. Sure, they will be on cloud nine; they have a good team and a great IGL,... but somehow, I have an inkling that they severely overperformed at IEM Katowice.
FaZe are priced around 1.20 to win, which is fair considering the recent results, but I would not count out ENCE. They have a lot of firepower, and if they get rolling early, it will be hard to stop them. It is still a big IF, but the odds are good enough to take a shot with ENCE
Bet on ENCE to win at least a map.
Outsiders vs FURIA
ESL Pro League Season 15
Outsiders, previously playing under the Virtus.pro banner, have played a total of four matches during the recent IEM Katowice 2022. They won the first two, 2-0 against Copenhagen Flames and 2-1 against NiP, but dropped the ball in the next two and lost (0-2) against Heroic and G2.
VP seemed kind of "checked out" at the end, not fully focused on the game, and who can blame them, especially considering all the stuff that's happening in their players' countries.
FURIA finished their IEM Katowice 2022 campaign with a 9-12th place finish. They won their opening match 2-0 against Astralis but lost the remaining two, 0-2 against Natus Vincere and 1-2 against G2. This FURIA squad is nowhere near the level they were about one to two years back; the constant roster changes have taken a toll on them.
In a perfect world, the Outsiders would win this match 2-0, but sadly we don't really know if the players will be 100% focused, considering they are getting harassed on social media simply because they're Russian. As seen, CIS teams have been not playing well recently, so there is some correlation.
I still believe in the Outsider's quality as a roster, but I wouldn't count on them sweeping FURIA. This match should be decided on the third map, and once there, it's anyone's game. But I prefer the Outsiders over FURIA, so I'll take a swing at a 2-1 correct score bet on the Russian squad.
Outsiders to win 2-1
$3.20
