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Starladder is its third season and will be taking place in Kiev, starting on April fourth. They have four pools of four squads for a total of sixteen. The challengers will face the invitees in the first round, and slowly the best teams will make the playoffs.
Here are my rankings for the crews and StarLadder CS:GO i-League StarSeries betting tips regarding who will win the tournament!
In sixteenth, we have the Chinese squad called 5POWER. This is a no name crew that I have never heard of before, and the Asians got too many slots in this tournament for my comfort. They are the second best Chinese team behind Tyloo and considering Tyloo bombs out of all its worldwide tourneys, they can’t have a very good performance.
In the fifteenth spot, we have the Korean squad MVP project. Another no name Asian roster who just can’t compete. Not enough information on them.
Coming in at fourteen is Tyloo. While it may seem harsh to rank all the Asian teams at the bottom, they simple aren’t good compared to European and even American crews. Tyloo rarely picks up a win in the international LAN’s it attends, so there is little hope for them here. Now we can get into the actually decent crews.
The thirteenth spot goes to Gambit. They have done well at recent LAN’s but this tourney is stacked, and I don’t think they have the firepower to compete. However, they might be a dark horse so don’t count them out.
Coming in at number twelve is Hellraisers. They did terrible at recent offline tourneys but have looked great online taking down high ranking squads in the ESL Pro League. They have the firepower, but I think they lack the experience needed. However, if it all clicks, they are a force to be reckoned with.
The only crew from North America comes into this competition in my number eleven spot. No it’s not Cloud 9, and no it’s not Optic either. It’s the recently resurgent… CLG. Behind recent star acquisition Rickeh and their core of strong players like Koosta, they are North America’s biggest (and arguably only) hope at a regularly competitive team. As with Hellraisers they lack experience but if they can fire on all cylinders, fireworks will explode. Watch out for this new crew.
Now we get into the real bread and butter of the competition with the top ten. At number ten we have the Brazilian squad of Immortals. With their star player and AWPer Hen1 and their core of strong rifles, this passionate group of guys is always a threat. The only one weakness is that they are very emotional and get provoked easily. If they can control their emotions and play calm and professional Counter Strike they are major competitors but, otherwise, Immortals will probably fail to escape the groups.
Number nine in our rankings is NiP, the once dominant force. They got rid of pyth and brought in darken and now they have a dedicated AWPer. At the beginning of the year they were near the bottom of these rankings but they have fought their way back up. With veterans like Get right and Xist, NiP always has a chance. They will make the playoffs if can work together but if the new arrival has trouble getting with the program at first, other crews will knock them out in the groups.
In the eighth spot we have G2. The French super team has been underwhelming, with a horrible March in the ESL Pro League. They have the talent but so far success has eluded them. With superstars like Shox and KennyS, you would think they would be top five material but they just can’t get it together. If they play to their potential they could win the whole thing but so far they look like a tier three scrub squad, not a god tier super team. They are in the middle of my rankings because they could go either way.
In the lucky number seventh spot, we have SK. The recent back to back major champions have lost their unbeatable aura and it looks like people have caught on to their strategies. The still have insane firepower, but if they can’t innovate a new play style, they are going to fail to get deep into the playoffs. SK fanboys should watch out as SK is not as dominant as they once were.
Just short of the top five in sixth place is North. The former Dignitas roster has been good but not great, but have been consistent. Behind their two stars Magiskboy and CajunB, they have a good core. As these players mature and grow into their roles, North can make a realistic push into the top three. For now, however, they site just outside the top five. Expect them to make the quarter or semifinals before losing a close series to a better team.
Finally, we rank the top five squads. All these crews have a realistic chance of making the semi finals or even the finals. In the fifth spot we have Fnatic. These former unstoppable players have cooled off since then and their lack of strategy has really started to bite them. Before they have superior aim, but now almost everyone has good aim, so their lackluster tactics are holding them back. Nevertheless, their recent showings have made them worthy of a top five spot and a realistic contender to win the whole tourney.
Coming into the fourth spot is Natus Vincere or Navi. With S1mple, flamie, guardian, seized and Edward, you would think that this star studded roster would be in the top two, but they can’t break through past the semi finals of most of their LAN’s. They are always a major threat however and this might just be the time they put all that talent together.
In third place we have Virtus.Pro. This group of veterans is a major force on LAN and is basically an automatic lock for the semi finals. Watch out for the polish squad to come back with a vengeance after failing to make the playoffs in Poland.
Number two but not quite one is Astralis. The reigning major champions are a great crew with Device and Gla1ve among others.
However, I feel as if the number one team in my rankings has more firepower than them. Expect them to make the finals of Starladder unless a dark horse does really well. The number one squad is the one, the only, FaZe! With stars like Rain and Niko and a strategic guru in Karrigan, they can take down any team that dares to stand in their way!
The playoffs will probably consist of FaZe, Virtus.Pro, Navi, Astralis, North, Fnatic, and SK. I also think that CLG will be the surprise party crasher into the playoffs. FaZe and VP will probably face off in the semis, while Navi and Astralis will take each other on in the other semifinal. Navi and FaZe will face off in the finals with FaZe winning a close series to take home the title.
StarLadder CS:GO i-League Betting Tips
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vs Finally, let’s end with predictions for the first round. Astralis take on CLG, and easily beat them in a quick battle. CLG don’t have the firepower to compete with the star power of Astralis quite yet.
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vs Next, Virtus Pro take on the Korean crew MVP project. Considering that VP were in my top three and MVP project in my bottom three, the pick here should be obvious. MVP project doesn’t even pick up seven rounds in a one sided blowout.
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vs After these matches, SK take on Tyloo. This is slightly closer but SK manage to take down Tyloo before they reach double digit rounds.
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vs Navi take on the scrub team 5POWER. Asians fail to even take five rounds in a quick and efficient victory by Navi.
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vs In the second part of the first round, NiP take on G2. This is personally my favorite matchup of the first round. G2 comes out on top in a battle of the veterans, but NiP make it a close match. If you have to watch one match out of all of them in the first round, make sure to spectate this one.
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vs After this exciting battle, North take on Immortals. I think that Immortals will upset North here behind a thirty bomb form their star Hen1. CajunB is slightly ineffective against the Brazilians quick plays which factors out his AWP.
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vs FaZe take on Hellraisers next, and dispatch of them easily in a kind of close fight. Deadfox is Hellraisers star AWPer and will try to make it close, but in the end FaZe have too much talent.
To round out the day, Gambit take on Fnatic. In a rematch of the majors quarterfinals, Fnatic continue to dominate and win a one sided affair.
Thanks for reading my article on the upcoming Starladder competition! I hope you enjoyed this article, and be sure to look forward to future CS:GO betting tips!
I will see you next time, but bye for now! Good luck!
