It’s a case of David and Goliath in the Playoffs of ESL Pro League Season 17 for sure, but can Movistar be able to test G2’s shaken resolve?
Before this tournament, anyone and everyone would have been absolutely sure that G2 would wipe the floor with Movistar Riders. This might happen yet, but the Spanish side has experienced a bit of a second wind while the German organization has finally revealed a slice of mortality, as exploited by Cloud9 and later, to a far lesser extent, Fnatic. G2 still go in as heavy favorites, but as we all know, anything’s possible in CSGO. It doesn’t take one to regularly bet on CSGO to want to read previews and predictions — if you love the game, you’ll enjoy this.
G2 Esports
Still ranked number 1 by a huge margin, G2 are undoubtedly the most formidable side in the world right now. Their nerves seem to be much stronger, and their team chemistry is excellent. However, a few chinks in their formerly seemingly impenetrable armor have revealed themselves, with Cloud9 becoming the first team to beat them at a big-ticket LAN event since December of last year. G2 might want to revisit some strategies if they want to stick to their winning ways.
Players
Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač
- HLTV Rating: 1.12
- Impact Rating: 1.22
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.1%
- Average Damage Round: 84.4
- Kills Per Round: 0.77
Justin “jks” Savage
- HLTV Rating: 1.07
- Impact Rating: 1.05
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.2%
- Average Damage Round: 77.3
- Kills Per Round: 0.70
Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
- HLTV Rating: 1.22
- Impact Rating: 1.24
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 74.1%
- Average Damage Round: 79.3
- Kills Per Round: 0.78
Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
- HLTV Rating: 1.15
- Impact Rating: 1.30
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.2%
- Average Damage Round: 86.0
- Kills Per Round: 0.79
Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen
- HLTV Rating: 0.86
- Impact Rating:0.86
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded:66.8%
- Average Damage Round: 67.3
- Kills Per Round: 0.57
Player to Watch
Given just how good most of G2’s players are, it’s nearly impossible to pick one, but we’re going to go with AWPer extraordinaire m0NESY.
Movistar Riders
The Spanish side were in shambles coming into this tournament, but the kind of performances they’ve been able to churn out with their backs against the wall are what takes a team from being good to true greatness. Still a young team with not much experience playing together, there’s a lot that Riders could unlock within themselves. They can only hope that one of these is the key to defeating the juggernaut that is G2. Despite their low rank, Riders have the chance of a lifetime to send shockwaves through the CSGO scene.
Players
Alejandro ”mopoz” Fernández-Quejo Cano
- HLTV Rating: 0.99
- Impact Rating:1.07
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.3%
- Average Damage Round: 76.6
- Kills Per Round: 0.69
Alejandro ”ALEX” Masanet Candela
- HLTV Rating: 1.03
- Impact Rating: 0.98
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.1%
- Average Damage Round: 70.6
- Kills Per Round: 0.66
Pere “sausol” Solsona Saumell
- HLTV Rating: 1.05
- Impact Rating: 1.03
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 69.5%
- Average Damage Round: 75.6
- Kills Per Round: 0.69
David ”dav1g” Granado Bermudo
- HLTV Rating: 0.92
- Impact Rating: 0.86
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 68.1%
- Average Damage Round: 65.6
- Kills Per Round: 0.57
Antonio “Martinez” Martinez Sánchez
- HLTV Rating: 1.09
- Impact Rating: 1.10
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 70.6%
- Average Damage Round: 71.0
- Kills Per Round: 0.72
Player to Watch
With most of G2’s riflers able to outgun their Riders’ counterparts, we’ll go with Martinez as the topper for Riders.
ESL Pro League Season 17 Playoffs: G2 vs Movistar Riders Predictions
As much as we love fairy tales, this one will most likely turn out to be a 2-0 for G2.
Maps
We’re guessing Riders will go with Inferno while G2 chooses Nuke after Anubis gets banned. As for the last map, it’ll probably be Vertigo.
Score
Map 1: G2 to win with Riders
Map 2: G2 to win with Riders >12.
Top Fragger
Once again, we’ll go with the hottest prodigy on the scene, m0NESY.
Match Links
The match is slated to go live on ESL’s Twitch or YouTube channels at 10:30 ET/09:30 CST/08:30 PT.
