Our esports betting tipster, Michael Lee is back with more Counter-Strike: Global Offensive betting predictions for ESL Pro League Season 15 matches. Today he takes a look at Natus Vincere vs AGO, Complexity vs Heroic and Astralis vs Evil Geniuses, who will play their first games of the tournament on Wednesday, March 30.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, March 29th
Natus Vincere vs AGO
ESL Pro League Season 15
Natus Vincere are the current no.1 team in the world and the main favourites to win the ESL pro League Season 15 trophy. AGO, on the other side, are a Tier-2 Polish CS:GO team that can be happy that they’re even competing at a tournament of this size.
But even though there’s a massive break between these two, I don’t believe Natus Vincere will be as dominant as the betting odds suggest. There is no denying that Natus VIncere are a much better team, but we need to know that the Ukrainian squad will enter ESL Pro League after a very long break.
Natus Vincere played their last match on February 26, when they lost against G2 Esports in the semi-finals of IEM Katowice, meaning they’ve been out of action for over a month. Long brakes like that are something to keep in mind, as ring rust is real.
Under normal circumstances, AGO shouldn’t come even close to beating Natus Vincere, but, unlike NaVi, they have been very active this month, so at least they will enter the ESL Pro League warmed up and ready to do some damage.
The map round line is set at 6.5, which is a bit high and makes betting on AGO much more appealing. Although I don’t believe AGO can actually win a map, let alone the series, I like the outsiders with a +14.5 total round handicap at 1.80!
Complexity vs Heroic
ESL Pro League Season 15
Complexity fought their way through the NA PGL Major Antwerp open qualifiers at the start of March, which I don’t find too amazing, but at least they’re in good form, which should help them make something happen in Germany.
That success doesn’t change the fact that Complexity are still weaker than Heroic, however, the Danish squad are in a similar position to Natus Vincere – they’ve not been too active since IEM Katowice and have played only three games this month, during Pinnacle Winter Series, where they defeated Apeks, ECSTATIC, and CPH Flames.
Picklebet has Complexity priced as 4.20 underdogs, which looks like a fair price, but I believe Complexity will perform much better than many expect them to. Complexity might not have as many star names on the roster as Heroic, but this is a young, talented, and hungry team filled with exceptional firepower.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Complexity actually win, but I wouldn’t count on that happening either. Instead, I’ll take Complexity with +1.5 map handicap at 1.92, which is a very good offer, especially considering how many underdogs did well against strong favourites in Groups A-C.
Complexity +1.5 Maps
$1.92
Astralis vs Evil Geniuses
ESL Pro League Season 15
The day will end with a match between two respected esports teams clashing in what could be a very important game for them and their chances to advance into the playoffs. But I wouldn’t expect to see any exceptional gameplay.
Astralis’ roster looks good enough to compete for major trophies, but they only seem so. Since the addition of the former Complexity duo, Astralis have not achieved anything and have been nothing short of disappointing.
In 2022, Astralis have attended Funspark ULTI 2021, BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022, and Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Katowice and could only manage fifth-sixth, seventh-ninth, and seventh-eighth-place finishes. On top of that, Astralis have not played a single match since February 20, when they got eliminated from IEM Katowice by G2 Esports.
Evil Geniuses have been just as disappointing this season. They attended BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022 and placed 12th, and have since appeared in two PGL Major Antwerp open qualifiers, finishing the first in 17th-32md and the second in 2nd place.
Astralis look better, but the performances they’ve been showing and the fact that they’ve not played a single match in over a month makes me concerned about them. This is a tricky match that might even see Evil Geniuses cause an upset, so there is some value backing them. But you can also take over 2.5 maps.
Alternate Bet
Over 2.5 Maos ($1.98 at Picklebet)
