- The three teams (Vitality, Falcons, Spirit) with the shortest odds to win the Counter-Strike 2 Esports World Cup are all on the same side of the bracket.
- Spirit are the biggest favorites in the Round of 16, posting -600 odds to defeat B8 before playing the winner of FaZe vs Vitality.
- Vitality is the favorite to win the event at +285 odds, but there’s value on Furia at +750 as the top team on the easier side of the bracket.
PARIS – The playoffs for the Esports World Cup are set to begin on Wednesday, but group stage upsets have created a lopsided bracket. The top three contenders, Vitality (+285), Falcons (+325), and Spirit (+500), are all on the same side of the bracket, a setup eerily similar to the IEM Cologne Major playoffs bracket in June.
Still, No. 3 ranked Furia (+750) and a revamped No. 5 ranked MOUZ (+800) serve as strong contenders to reach the grand final. Talented squads like G2 and FUT could thwart those grand final aspirations, but with +2200 and +3500 odds respectively, Esports betting odds aren’t expecting much from these squads.
CS2 EWC Futures Odds
- Team Vitality +285
- Falcons +325
- Team Spirit +550
- FURIA +750
- MOUZ +800
- Natus Vincere +1300
- G2 Esports +2200
- The MongolZ +2500
- FaZe Clan +3300
- Aurora +3300
- FUT +3500
- B8 +3500
- Astralis +5000
- GamerLegion +7500
- Legacy +8000
- Magic +9000
Vitality remains the legal sports betting favorite after their surprising loss to B8, but they responded well with a dominant 2-0 win over Lynn Vision. The Cologne Major Champion Falcons narrowly trail at +325 odds after not dropping a map in groups.
Team Spirit, the No. 1 Valve ranked team in the world, has +500 odds relying on their pedigree and not the current form they’ve displayed at EWC. After suffering their first loss to a team ranked outside the top 40 in over a year and a half (JiJieHao), Spirit narrowly edged Luminosity (No. 36) before needing a remarkable comeback to defeat BIG Clan (No. 18) to earn their spot in the playoffs.
Spirit’s path to the grand final starts with B8, then expects to be Vitality and Falcons before facing Furia or Mouz, all top five teams. The complete list of Round of 16 matches and odds for betting on Counter-Strike is listed below.
| Team 1 (Odds To Win) | Team 2 (Odds To Win) | Spread | Total Maps |
|---|---|---|---|
| FUT (-225) | Magic (+170) | FUT -1.5 (+140) | O 2.5 (+105) |
| G2 (-225) | Astralis (+170) | G2 -1.5 (+145) | O 2.5 (+105) |
| FURIA (-190) | Aurora (+145) | FURIA -1.5 (+165) | O 2.5 (+100) |
| GamerLegion (+265) | MOUZ (-385) | MOUZ -1.5 (-105) | O 2.5 (+110) |
| NaVi (-300) | Legacy (+220) | NaVi -1.5 (+120) | O 2.5 (+110) |
| Team Falcons (-485) | The MongolZ (+320) | Team Falcons -1.5 (-120) | O 2.5 (+130) |
| B8 (+375) | Team Spirit (-600) | Team Spirit -1.5 (-135) | O 2.5 (+145) |
| FaZe Clan (+265) | Vitality (-385) | Vitality -1.5 (+100) | O 2.5 (+120) |
Best Underdog Pick From EWC Round Of 16: Magic +170 Vs FUT
The favorites are likely to make a clean sweep in the Round of 16, but one upset that I could see is Magic over FUT. The Russian-speaking squad first made waves with their fourth-place finish at PGL Astana and just defeated 9z to make the EWC Playoffs.
FUT advanced to the EWC Playoffs unscathed and even defeated MOUZ on the way, but Magic matches FUT’s best map in Ancient while also holding an advantage on maps like Cache, Dust 2, and Anubis. Magic are the best underdog pick from the round of 16 with +170 odds to defeat FUT.
