The opening round of the Esports Championship Series Season 7 continues on Thursday afternoon with a BO1 clash between Ninjas in Pyjamas and NRG.

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Ninjas in Pyjamas’ most recent tournament was the DreamHack Masters Dallas 2019, where they performed quite terribly. They barely managed to win over TyLoo (16-13) and lost two series to FaZe Clan and Vitality without even taking one map. They showed some resilience in the last map against Vitality but still lost 16-14 in the end. NiP failed to win more than eight rounds on any of their other maps.

NRG were also present at the DreamHack Masters. They started their campaign with a loss to the Brazilian team FURIA, who completely outclassed them in a 16-7 BO1 match. They won 2-1 in their second match against Cloud9 but were eventually eliminated by the home favourites, G2.

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These two teams have played a total of four BO1 matches between them. The last time they met was at IEM Katowice 2019, where Ninjas in Pyjamas just managed to win 16-14 on Nuke. Fredrik “REZ” Sterner was the difference in that win, racking up 33 kills, 92.2 ADR and a massive 1.53 HLTV rating across 30 rounds. Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg was not far behind with 31 kills and a 1.52 HLTV rating. While it is a rare sight to see both of these players stepping up at the same time, NiP invariably fail to perform when neither of them do.

NRG’s best player that day was their IGL, Damian “daps” Steele, who finished the match with a 1.21 HLTV rating. It is quite unusual to see an IGL on top of the leaderboard and it usually means the rest of the team played very poorly. Their star player, Tsvetelin “CeRq” Dimitrov, finished the match with only 12 kills, which is one of the main reasons NRG lost that day.

NiP vs FURIA ECS7 betting predictions

Neither of these two teams are in great form, but NRG should prevail here. They are priced around -125, which makes them a slight favourite over NiP. Although the recent results of both teams are quite similar, NRG have the better players and the recent addition of Tarik “tarik” Celik only adds more depth to the roster. All in all, this should be a close one with NRG finishing on top.

Prediction: NRG to win – Best odds at BetOnline

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Astralis and FURIA will do battle this Thursday in the opening match of the Esports Championship Series Season 7.

Astralis have not been especially active in the past three months as they have only attended the BLAST Pro Series events, with their only win coming in S?o Paulo. Their absence from the more prestigious tournaments has earned them the nickname ‘Blastralis’ and as a bonus Team Liquid managed to surpass them in the HLTV rankings as the number one team in CS:GO esports, which surely won’t do wonders for morale at Astralis.

Team members have said they are not attending more events due to overwork and illness, but the truth is that they have a contract with the BLAST organisers which forces them into attending these sub-standard tournaments.

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The last event Astralis played at was the BLAST event in Madrid. They played a total of five BO1 matches, winning against Ninjas in Pyjamas, Giants, Natus Vincere and Cloud9 while losing only to ENCE. Four wins were enough for them to qualify for the grand finals, where they once again faced ENCE, but this time in BO3 type of match. ENCE shocked the world, winning 16-9 on Nuke and 16-13 on Train to take the trophy in straight sets.

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FURIA, meanwhile, have enjoyed plenty of success in the last three months. They reached the finals on their home soil at the DreamHack Open Rio 2019, but the pressure got to them and they lost 2-1 to AVANGAR. They were quite successful at the recent DreamHack Masters Dallas 2019 as well, beating teams like NRG, Fnatic and Vitality while losing to the eventual finalists ENCE and Team Liquid. They also took a map off ENCE, which is an achievement in itself. In the end, they took fourth place overall and $22,000 prize money.

Astralis vs FURIA ECS7 betting predictions

FURIA come into this match in great form and in good spirits, so they should fancy their chances against a team that may be quite rusty.

The odds on FURIA are around +300, which is way over par. This is the first encounter between these two teams and a BO1 format is perfect for a first-round upset.

FURIA are clearly in better form and they have enough LAN experience to beat a team that has been out of the game for some time.

Prediction: FURIA to win – Best odds at BetOnline

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Vitality are arguably the best French team, mostly due to their star player Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (with occasional help from Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt) who is capable of carrying them out of every disastrous situation they get themselves into.

Vitality’s most recent roster change was on December 27, 2018 when they benched Vincent “Happy” Cervoni Schopenhauer and signed Alex “ALEX” McMeekin a day later from another French team, Team LDLC.

Looking at their most recent tournament, Vitality won all four matches, including the match against their French rivals G2, to secure the title of Charleroi Esports champions. They also won two BO1 matches against FrostFire (16-6 on Cache) and Sprout (16-6 on Mirage). In the Semi-final they faced another French team G2 and won 2-1. As for the Finals, they once again faced off against German team Sprout, but this time in a three-match series, which they won 2-0, clinching the tournament.

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As for their online form, their most recent competition was the ECS Season 7 Europe Week 2, where they managed to get to the finals, but were bested by North 2-1 in a BO3 match.

Just as Vitality, Virtus.pro were also present at the recent Charleroi Esports tournament. They played a total of two matches, losing both, first in a BO1 match to the GamerLegion and later to the G2 in a BO3 match. All in all, they are in a terrible form. Their most recent addition Arek “Vegi” Nawojski didn’t fix any of the problems this team had and there are probably more roster moves on the horizon.

These two teams only met once, back in 29.1.2019 at the ESEA MDL Season 30 Europe, where Vitality dominated Virtus.pro 16-2 on Mirage. I should say that VP had Mateusz “TOAO” Zawistowski in their ranks instead of their new addition Arek “Vegi” Nawojski.

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Vitality v Virtus.pro odds and betting predictions

Looking at the odds, Vitality are priced around 1.20 to win the match, which is about right. They are rightfullythe favorites as they going against a team in total disarray and probably without any real motivation to win these online matches. I expect a short match with Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut carrying his team to another victory.

Over/Under markets currently favors the Under 2.50 maps, priced around 1.50, which is about right. As I mentioned before, I expect Vitality to dominate and make quick work out of Virtus.pro. Vitality are favored on all maps and I would be surprised if VP manages to take more than 20 rounds on both maps.

As for my prediction, I have to go with the French team. They are in a way better form than their Polish opponents and Vitality’s star AWP player Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has always been a beast online. Expect him to dominate and Vitality to win this series in two straight maps. Take Vitality to win 2-0!

Prediction: Vitality -1.50 maps at BetOnline

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