Will YEKINDAR handle NiKo and es3tag? Group B Preview at ESL Pro League Season 14

Virtus.pro

Virtus.pro is one of the most controversial teams in the first half of 2023. After a good start to the season, the roster of Jami Jame Ali began to alternate unsuccessful performances with failures, and the apogee of this leapfrog became tenth place in the second tournament of the RMR series for the CIS – StarLadder CIS RMR 2023. At the time of publication of the material, VP is ranked sixth in the Regional Major Rankings. which is not enough to qualify for the upcoming PGL Major Stockholm 2023.On the other hand, Virtus.pro reached the playoffs twice at two of the three largest tournaments in the half-year, and even reached the final at the February IEM Katowice 2023, where it lost to Gambit Esports.

At ESL Pro League Season 14, the team from the CIS fell into a not so simple group. The main favorite of the second six teams, obviously, seems to be G2 Esports. Nikola NiKo Kovacs’ roster has secured its status as one of the best teams in the world, having recently reached the IEM Cologne 2023 final. As for the G2 – VP matchup itself, the Jame roster has nothing to boast of here either. Over the past two years, the teams have met three times (we will omit a few changes in the composition of both), and all three times the victory went to the French. Taking into account all the variables, it is frankly hard to believe in VP’s victory in this meeting.

Odds: G2 Esports (1.60) – Virtus.pro (2.25)

Another serious test for Virtus.pro in Group B will be the meeting with the renewed Complexity Gaming roster. In the summer of 2023, the team changed the approach to the selection of players and drew attention to the Danish scene, which should play into the hands of the club in the future. Specifically, es3tag looks like a significant boost to the roster in terms of individual skill level. In face-to-face meetings, Virtus.pro and COL alternately celebrate victories, and if someone believes in signs and other esotericism, then the last match was won by the team from the CIS. However, the experts are not so superstitious and still give minimal preference to VP.

Odds: Virtus.pro (1.80) – Complexity Gaming (1.95)

Moving on to the next opponent, but the difficulty level remains the same – OG. The European team did not please their fans with stability over the past months, however, like Complexity, they beat Virtus.pro. OG has become noticeably more interesting to play with the arrival of flameZ, and there is a suspicion that after debuting on LAN and a whole month to prepare for the new season, the Israeli may really “shoot” in the second half of the year.

Odds: Virtus.pro (1.87) – OG (1.89)

As part of the group stage, Virtus.pro will also meet with another CIS representative – forZe. And while Jerry’s roster managed to beat VP at RMR tournaments, Jame and the company should confirm their higher positions in the ranking on the international stage. Perhaps the face-to-face confrontation will take place in a tense struggle, but the victory should go into Virtus.pro’s piggy bank.

Odds: Virtus.pro (1.65) – forZe (2.15)

The new Czech team oskar is very similar to the ENCE roster. The squad has been performing well over the past three months, but had practically no opportunity to prove its own worth in matches against teams from the top 20 of the world ranking. There is no reason to believe that Sinners will start rolling out more eminent competitors from the first matches, and therefore we define this roster as the least dangerous opponent for Virtus.pro in the group stage.

Odds: Virtus.pro (1.30) – Sinners (3.30)

ForZe

ForZe is the only one of all the tournament participants who was not originally supposed to play at ESL Pro League Season 14. Luck gave the Russian team a chance after the Australians from Renegades withdrew from the championship, as a result of which the almazer team got into group B.

The first half of 2023 went pretty well for forZe: after two replacements in February, the team began a gradual move up the world rankings, where they are now in 12th place. In the regional RMR table for the CIS, the team is in fifth place according to the results of two tournaments out of three, that is, it has a chance to go to the Major in Stockholm. But this does not guarantee at all that the team will be able to take a high place in the EPL S14.

G2 Esports. Here, unfortunately, everything is obvious. It is hard to imagine what forZe can offer to the French grandee in order to take away the coveted three points from NiKo and the company. G2 is more experienced, and corny better, both in terms of individual play and in terms of team strategies. Alas and ah, but in this matchup the Russians are unlikely to be able to create a sensation.

Odds: G2 Esports (1.45) – forZe (2.62)

Complexity Gaming. As I wrote above, something tells me that the updated composition of Complexity may in the near future make a stir on the professional CS scene. The team has gathered at once three quite experienced performers, each of whom is capable of winning matches alone. At the same time, the Danes might not have enough time to play, so here forZe will have more chances than with the established G2 team.

Odds: Complexity Gaming (1.55) – forZe (2.35)

OG. Absolutely the same story as with Complexity Gaming. OG is a rather unstable team, so it will be possible to talk about its game form after the break only after the first matches, and it is rather difficult to predict something in advance. On paper, the Europeans look stronger due to the selection of players, but here, as in the matchup above, one should not be surprised at any of the possible outcomes.

Odds: OG (1.70) – forZe (2.08)

Sinners. But these guys are a great chance for forZe to avoid the last place in the group if something suddenly goes wrong in the first matches. Oskar and his Czech roster are an ambiguous mix, and I doubt the band will last long with this line-up. Therefore Sinners is a convenient contender for forZe. The Russians look preferable due to the fact that the backbone of the team has been playing together for much longer than the opponents, and the representatives of the CIS have not been deprived of the experience of matches against top rivals.

Odds: forZe (1.65) – Sinners (2.15)

The odds are taken from the site of the Parimatch betting company and are relevant at the time of publication of the material.