by Rainbow Six Siege Pro League Season 11 – Europe is set to kick off this Monday, January 6, with the opening days play, where we will see all eight teams duke it out in best-of-one fixtures as they start their journey to the Pro League S11 Finals.
In this betting preview, we will cover the first fixture of the day featuring Natus Vincere and forZe and give our predictions alongside betting odds from ESB’s top-rated betting sites.
ForZe vs Natus Vincere tips
Natus Vincere ($1.53) are entering Season 11 as the reigning champions and it’s hard not to be optimistic when talking about what can this European roster achieve this season.
NaVi went from zero to hero last season when they took the R6S scene by storm and won the Pro League Grand Finals. If their performance in 2019 is anything to go by, they will be a force to be reckoned with, however with a new season come changes and new challenges, which will put Luke “Kendrew” Kendrew and his crew to a tough test.
Since NaVi acquired MnM Gaming roster in June, they have made no changes to their team with the sole exception being the departure of their coach Ellis “GiG” Hindle, who got replaced by team’s former analyst Cyril “jahk” Renoud.
Considering they have not made any massive changes, NaVi look to be in a decent position to finish this season strong and we can be sure their goal is nothing less than to finish on top of the pile once more. That being said, don’t expect their road to the summit of R6S to be as smooth as last season, simply because Europe as a region looks to be stronger than ever.
The player to watch in NaVi is no other than Ben “CTZN” McMillan, who has shown in S10 finals that when he’s on top of his game he is practically unstoppable, which is exactly what NaVi will expect to see from him in order to repeat their success in 2020.
CTZN finished the grand finals with 82 kills and +27 KDS, which only goes to show how dominant this 20-year-old prodigy can be, however, just like any player, even he has his flaws. While CTZN can be a force to be reckoned with, he is known for having “slow starts” and until he finds his rhythm, his performance is average at best. That is also our main concern here, considering NaVi’s clash with forZe will be a best-of-one (Bo1) fixture, where CTZN will have no time to heat up.
ForZe ($2.28) earned their spot in the Pro League by taking down PENTA (2-0) in the Relegation and are now set to make waves at the top tier of R6S esports scene.
The all-Russian team seems to have plenty of potential, yet they will have to make peace with the fact they will be playing in the shadow of their compatriots – Empire, who are the number one Russian team in R6S.
Last season forZe finished second overall in Challenger League, second in Russian League Group Stage and second in the Russian League Finals, which leads us to believe the team somehow finds a way to come up short every time. That, however, does not necessarily mean they are a bad team and considering they finished third-fourth at Raleigh Major in August, it goes to show they can compete with the best.
As we see it, forZe have a very bright future ahead, however, reaching for a top spot might be slightly out of reach for them, at least as far as this season is concerned and they are surely well aware of that. That, however means that there are no high expectations put on the team and with the removal of relegations in S11, forZe can at least play without any pressure, which is a massive plus in our eyes.
The difference in quality between NaVi and forZe is massive and we believe that will show this Monday. While there is always a room for an upset win in a Bo1 match, we would not feel comfortable betting against NaVi, especially considering how dominant they were last season.
Navi vs Forze Prediction: NaVi to win, paying 1.53 with BetOnline.
