Christopher Day 
CS:GO Slate Summary: Malta Vibes/PAL (5am EST)
- 4 series on DK
- Best of 3
CS:GO SlateOverview
CS:GO Matchup#1: ViCi (-500) vs Beyond (+350)
The first matchup of the CS:GO slate sees one of two cash game targets and heavy favorite, Vici, taking on Beyond. The former comes in having won 4 of their last 5, are in better form, higher ranked, and have beaten Beyond twice in the past month. Since both teams typically ban Dust2 first, we’ll either see ViCi ban Mirage or Beyond ban Overpass; either way, it’s unlikely that we see any of those three maps here. I expect ViCi to turn to Nuke with their first pick, which they do 44% of the time and boast a 92% win rate on 12 maps played, whereas Beyond will likely counter with Inferno, and have Train as the map leftover. ViCi is the clearcut better squad here and have the map advantages and better history in recent matchups. The trio of JamYoung, kaze, and aumaN are all great cash plays in addition to having great upside for tournaments. JamYoung and kaze are the top targets here of the three, with both players having a great past month; JamYoung has a 1.24 K/D and 0.77 kills per round while kaze has a 1.33 K/D and 0.76 kills per round while going +1 or better in 7 of 8 past matches and 8 of 9 past matches, respectively.
Top Plays:JamYoung ($8,400), kaze ($8,200), aumaN ($7,800)
CS:GO Matchup#2: Hard Legion (-120 PK) vs Illuminar Gaming (-120 PK)
The second matchup on the CS:GO slate sees HL taking on Illuminar for the second time in the past month, where the latter defeated the former 2-1 in the previous encounter. Both teams have won 3 of their past 5 series, but HL is in better form and are higher ranked. HL bans Nuke first at a 72% rate while Illuminar ban Inferno at an 83% rate, so we can eliminate those two maps. With Illuminar losing their top map pick, they’re likely going to select Train first, where they have the advantage in winning percentage and are riding a 6-map winning streak. HL will surely choose Overpass with their first selection, which they do 35% of the time and have the better winning percentage and 6x more maps played in the past 3 months. With HL not liking Vertigo, one of Dust2 or Mirage will be the map leftover. Innocent leads the charge for Illuminar with a 1.12 K/D and 0.74 kills per round in the past month, and makes for a contrarian pay up option with players of the likes of slaxz- (see below), JamYoung, and flying (see below) all priced cheaper than him. On the flipside, the duo of Krad and Forester are the main targets for HL here with both rAge and kinqie garnering interest in large field tournaments only, simply because I think there are better mid-range and salary savers on the board.
Top Plays (ILL): Innocent ($8,800), Snax ($8,200), Vegi($6,800)
Top Plays (HL):Krad ($7, 800), Forester ($7,400), rAge ($7,200) or kinqie ($6,200)
CS:GO Matchup#3: Invictus (+200) vs Tyloo (-250)
The thirdmatchup on the CS:GO slate should be a great one between Invictus and Tyloo.Both squads are in tremendous form and have won 5 straight series, while Tyloodoes come in higher ranked at #48 to Invictus’ #61. Tyloo bans Nuke at a 100%first-ban rate while Invictus bans Overpass first 67% of the time, so we cancross those maps off. I expect Tyloo to differ from their typical first pick,Mirage, since Invictus has an 81% win rate on 16 maps played there in the past3 months, including a 6-map win streak, and choose to play on Dust2 instead,although I think both maps will be in play here. Invictus should lock inInferno with their first selection, which they do 40% of the time and hold theadvantage over Tyloo, making the 3 expected maps as Inferno, Dust2, and Mirage.While all 5 players on Tyloo are viable, dank1ng remains the top target as hehas a 1.24 K/D and 0.74 kills per round over the past month, while flying leadsthe way for Invictus with a 1.21 K/D and 0.80 kills per round over the pastmonth. I’ll take Invictus for the upset here 2-1 but wouldn’t be surprised ifTyloo takes it 2-1; make sure to have exposure to both sides in tournamentplay.
Top Plays(INV): flying ($8,000), xiaosaGe ($7,600), DeStRoYeR ($6,200)
Top Plays(T): dank1ng ($7,600), somebody ($5,800), Summer ($6,000)
CS:GO Matchup#4: FATE (+200) vs ALTERNATE aTTaX (-275)
The lastmatchup on the CS:GO slate sees another great cash game target in AAT taking onFATE in what should be a lopsided matchup; the former comes in having beatenthe latter twice in the past month while also being higher ranked and in betterform. Since both teams tend to ban Nuke first, I expect FATE to ban Vertigo, wherethey struggle mightily and where AAT has a 8-map winning streak there inaddition to an 84% win rate on 31 maps played. Since AAT has their top choice banned,I expect them to turn to Inferno with their pick, while FATE will likelycounter with Train. Any of Overpass, Mirage, or Dust2 is viable to be the mapleftover, but I don’t think it will even matter as I see AAT taking this one ina 2-0 sweep. I’ll continue to preach the importance of having slaxz- in yourlineups as long as he is playing as good as he has been, but the fact that bothmirbit and kressy are priced so low makes no sense to me; the two have K/D ratiosof 1.16 and 1.14 in the past month, respectively, to go with 0.73 and 0.69 killsper round and make for premier salary savers no matter your contest selection.
Top Plays: slaxz-($8,600), kressy ($6,600), mirbit ($7,000), stfn ($6,000)
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