ESL Challenger League North America Picks, Betting Predictions May 18

• GODSENT will be pinning their hopes on 18-year-old Dumau
• PaIN’s seven-game winning streak came to a halt recently but they’ll be looking to get another run going
• Axoltls vs Mythic is hard to call with both teams lacking high end experience

GODSENT

GODSENT vs ATK Predictions

GODSENT, ranked 27 in the world, will be facing, ATK, ranked 69 in the world, in the group stages of the ESL Challenger League Season 41 North America on 19 May, 2022, in a best of three match. The two will face each other in Group A.

The two sides have faced each other eight times, with GODSENT coming out on top six times and ATK only getting the better of the Brazilian side once. One match ended in overtime. The two had a meeting quite recently as well, 23 April, 2022, with GODSENT coming out on top in the IEM Dallas 2022 North America Closed Qualifier. For all of those reasons, it’s quite clear that GODSENT will be heading into this tie as firm favorites.

Dumau Will Be Crucial for GODSENT

The Brazilian will be hoping that their 18-year-old member, Dumau, can get them a win. The youngster has averaged 0.76 kills per round, 0.63 deaths per round, 69.8% KAST and dealt 81.8 damage in the last three months. He has an all-time K/D Ratio of 1.18.

GODSENT have been a bit hit and miss in recent weeks, winning 50% of their last six games. Some of their opponents in these meetings were some of the best teams on the planet like FURIA, ranked 7 in the world. If they want to keep company with the likes of FURIA, they’ll need to dispatch ATK comfortably.

ATK Have a Stronger Record Than GODSENT on Three Maps

The one time ATK beat GODSENT, it was on the Overpass map. The interesting point here is that ATK don’t actually have a strong record here; the win rate is only 44% in 18 matches. GODSENT, on the other hand, has a win rate of 71% here in seven maps. It shows that anyone can come out on top in a given day.

Similarly, ATK has a much better record than GODSENT on Mirage. GODSENT’s is 25% to ATK’s 67%. ATK will be desperately hoping that they don’t have to face the Brazilians on Vertigo, where they only have a win rate of 29% compared to GODSENT’s 80%.

ATK will be calling on their star man, 24-year-old Swede b0denmaster, to help them against the odds. He has averaged 0.71 kills per round, 0.63 death per round, KAST of 69.6% and dealt 74.8 damage per round. He has an all-time K/D ratio of 1.05. He’ll need to bring his A-game alongside his teammates to get around GODSENT; however, it’s hard to see past GODSENT in this tie.

Gaimin Gladiators vs paIN Pick

paIN

Gaimin Gladiators vs paIN Predictions

American side Gaimin Gladiators, ranked 55, will face Brazilian side, paIN, ranked 21 in the world, in the group stages of the ESL Challenger League Season 41 North America on 19 May, 2022, in a best of three match. The two face each other in Group A.

The two sides have an interesting history, having faced each other eight times in the past. paIN have the slight edge heading into this tie with four wins to Gaimin Gladiators’ three and one match ending in overtime. Giamin Gladiator; however, might be heading into this tie with some confidence.

The American side has come out on top in the last two encounters between the two sides, which took place in the IEM Dallas 2022 North America Open Qualifier 2 last month, 21 April, 2022. The games were fairly tight with Gaimin Gladiators coming out on top with scores of 16-10 and 16-13.

Gaimin Gladiator Will Be Hoping to Face paIN on Mirage and Nuke

Gaimin Gladiator have a good record on most maps bar Vertigo, where they have a win rate of only 20%. All of their wins against paIN have come on maps where they have a favorable win record: Mirage, Inferno and Nuke. Gaimin Gladiators have a win rate of 62% in 13 matches on Mirage; a win rate of 73% in 11 matches on Inferno and a win rate of 83% after six matches on Nuke.

The Americans recently lost their four-game winning streak to ATK and will be hoping to make another run with the help of their star man, 22-year-old Cynic. The American has averaged an impressive 0.73 kills per round, 0.64 deaths per round, a KAST of 74.6% and dealt 79.1 damage.

He has an impressive all-time K/D ratio of 1.15. He has also been helped by some strong teammates. No one in the team has a KAST lower than 70% for the last three months.

PaIN Recently Lost Their Seven-Game Winning Streak but Remain Favorites

The Brazilian side have been on fire recently but came up short against Party Astronauts, ranked 41 in the world, ending their 7-game winning streak. A big reason for their success during this run has been 24-year-old pro, nython. The Brazilian has averaged 0.77 kills per round, 0.62 death per round, had a KAST of 73.6% and dealt 77.4 damage in the last three months.

This run has handed them some big victories over the likes of 13th ranked Liquid and 7th ranked Furia. They’ll be backing themselves against Gaimin Gladiators but should not underestimate them since the head-to-head is quite tight. paIN will ideally want to face Gaimin Gladiators on Dust2, where they have a 77% win rate; Overpass, where they have a 57% win rate and Vertigo, where they have an 82% win rate.

Axoltls vs Mythic Pick

Mythic

Axoltls vs Mythic Predictions

Axotlts, an American side who are currently unranked, will be facing another American side, Mythic, ranked 100 in the world, in the group stages of the ESL Challenger League Season 41 North America on 19 May, 2022, in a best of three match. The two will face each other in Group B.

The two sides are still quite new to the CS: GO circuit and have never faced each other. With only a handful of games to use as a sample size, this game is quite hard to call. Axoltls played their last competitive match eight weeks ago but were quite impressive around that period. Mythic had their last match only last week and came short but it shouldn’t have a great bearing on this match.

Axoltls Have a Decent Record Despite the Lack of Experience

Axoltls are yet to firmly establish themselves in the CS: GO circuit but won’t be an easy match up for Mythic. They have an impressive record on three maps: a win rate of 75% on Vertigo, a win rate of 50% on Mirage and a win rate of 67% on Inferno. However, they have a very poor record on Dust2, winning none of their three matches on the map so far.

Their last match in the CS: GO circuit was against ATK, ranked 69 in the world, and they beat them quite convincingly in a best of three match. Mythic will be foolish to take them lightly. Their star-man is 20-year-old Tender. He has averaged 0.83 kills per round, 0.72 deaths per round, had a KAST of 68% and dealt 86.6 damage in the last three months. He has an all-time K/D ratio of 1.04. None of this screams elite but they are decent stats and good enough to compare with Mythic’s best.

Mythic Will Be Hoping to Face Axoltls in Vertigo

Mythic have played four games on the Vertigo map and have come out on top every time, giving them a 100% record on this map. However, they should be wary of Axoltls, who have a pretty decent run of three wins out of four on the same map.

Mythic have been on a slightly poor run recently, having lost on the trot to 52nd ranked Carpe Diem and 91 ranked BHOP. They need to refocus and key to Mythic’s strengths is 27-year-old Cooper, who has been in fine form for the last three months with a kill per round average of 0.82 and death per round average of 0.71.

He also has a KAST of 71.1% in that time. He has a highly impressive all-time K/D ratio of 1.16. It’s really hard to pick a favorite with two inexperienced sides but Mythic’s lack of rust should be helpful in preparation for this match.

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