by Following ESL One Cologne, the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports circuit heads to the USA for BLAST Pro Series: Los Angeles. The tournament will mark the fourth BLAST Pro event of the year, with only three more to go until the BLAST Pro Global Final in December.
Just like the previous BLAST Pro Series events, the upcoming one will feature six CS:GO teams – Cloud9, FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, MIBR, NRG and Renegades – competing for a $250,000 prize pool and BLAST Pro Series points (BPS), which count towards the BLAST Pro Global Final standings.
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The tournament will run over two days from July 13-14, with the group stage on the Saturday and the playoffs on the Sunday. The group stage will be played in a single round-robin Bo1 format over seven rounds, after which the top four teams will advance to the semi-finals. All playoffs matches will be Bo3 ties.
Let’s check out the favourites, the underdogs and our prediction to walk away with the $125,000 and 10 BPS.
Teams to avoid at BLAST Series Pro LA 2019
Cloud9 – +3300 at BetOnline
Cloud9 are heavy underdogs to reach the finals, let alone win the event. The team has endured a wretched year and recently underwent a massive restructure, with five new members joining the roster.
The addition of daps, mixwell, koosta, TenZ, and JamezIRL as coach has all the signs of a desperate move from C9 as they look to get back to their former glory. While the expectations and goals for the team have been set, we must acknowledge that they are all long-term propositions.
With a completely new roster that has not yet played a competitive match together, we simply cannot expect C9 to start performing right off the bat. The team needs some time to get in sync before we can even start talking about any tournament wins and possible titles.
Renegades – +1600 at BetOnline
The Wild Card invitees Renegades are priced at long odds to win BLAST Pro Series: Los Angeles 2019. That seems fair enough, as they would have to produce some kind of a miracle to defeat teams such as FaZe, NRG, Team Liquid, or even the shaky MIBR.
While Renegades perform well as a team, they are simply not on par with the best. That much was obvious at ESL One Cologne, where they exited in straight sets.
MIBR – +1000 at BetOnline
MIBR are going through a lot at the moment. With the reports of their star player Marcelo “coldzera” David at the exit doors and ongoing internal issues among the squad, the Brazilian outfit’s performances have plummeted.
Having hung around the top three for the most of their existence, MIBR are now ranked 13th in the world and it does not look like they will find a way back to the top 10 anytime soon. Due to the condition the team is in right now, we will steer clear from backing them at BLAST Pro Series: Los Angeles and possibly for the upcoming weeks as well.
BLAST Series Pro LA betting predictions
By crossing out the three pretenders, we are left with three contenders for the title: FaZe Clan, NRG and the no.1 team in the world, Team Liquid.
It will take a lot for FaZe (+600) and NRG (+400) to compete with Liquid for top spot. There is no denying both teams are strong and deserve to be rated among the top six sides in the world, but TL are playing in their own weight class at the minute.
Team Liquid are priced at -151.52 to win the tournament, which is fair when you consider how dominant they have been in recent months. At the rate they play, and with the momentum they have gathered, they can take down any team they happen to meet in the finals, be it FaZe, NRG, or anyone else.
Liquid are on an 11-game winning streak and should extend that run at BLAST Pro Series: Los Angeles 2019. While there is a possibility they can slip up in the group stage Bo1 matches, the Intel Grand Slam winners are certain to make the playoffs and look destined to take out their first BLAST Pro Series event of the year.
Team Liquid to win – Best odds at BetOnline
