TP Series and Elisa Invitational Picks, Predictions, Odds January 26

• Eternal Fire start as massive favorites against Looking For Org in Elisa Invitational
• High profile contest brewing between Sprout and Dignitas
• Forze the team to back against Blue Jays in TP Bitcoin Series

Eternal Fire vs Looking For Org Pick

Eternal Fire (-600)

The Swiss Round 2 of the Elisa Invitational Main Qualifier will take place on Wednesday with teams with a 1-0 record facing each other. Both these teams fit the bill after winning their opening matches of the qualifier.

Eternal Fire first beat Lynn Vision in their previous match in straight maps. At face value, they have a discernible advantage because of their incredible depth considering they are not a top tier team. Eternal Fire are currently 28th in the world in the CS:GO rankings.

There is a long way to go still for Looking For Org. They are still a budding team without the experience required to compete consistently at this level of the sport. They are now No. 59 in the world, and have plenty of work still to do, which makes Eternal Fire a simple favorite.

Xantares Will Be The Key For Eternal Fire

Xantares has the experience of the top tier of CS:GO after his stint with the best in the world. He is using that confidence and momentum nicely for his new team as he picks up the requisite rhythm to perform at the highest level for Eternal Fire.

As expected, he is the most proficient player for Eternal Fire, with 0.78 kills and 0.65 deaths per round in the last three months of CS:GO action. He has done this at an average damage per round of 85, which is stellar by any measure because of his overall output.

Woxic has also been in terrific offensive fluency with 0.72 deaths per round in the same analysis period. Impressively, he has maintained a low death rate which greatly improves his efficiency. He has a death rate of just 0.58 per round, which means he helps his team protect the in game economy as well as putting them in a better position for next rounds.

EspiranTo, Sterling Offensive Weapons For Looking For Org

Looking For Org will need whatever they can muster when they face the quality of Eternal Fire in this contest. They are an inexperienced unit, and so will have to rely on their offensive players for depth and consistency, which is not going to be easy to find.

If they do find some offensive depth, it will likely come from EspiranTo and Sterling, who have both averaged over 0.70 kills per round in the last three months of CS:GO action. Sterling has been in sensational offensive fluency, producing 0.78 kills per round in the last three months. However, his value has been derived from the best death rate in his team, which is currently at just 0.58 deaths per round. That is excellent.

EspiranTo has 0.74 deaths per round but he has not been nearly as good at maintaining a low death rate, with just 0.73 deaths per round, which impacts his ability to pick up the weapons and utility options he needs to have a high average damage per round.

Sprout vs Dignitas Pick

Dignitas (-150)

Sprout vs Dignitas Predictions

Sprout and Dignitas will face each other in the blockbuster matchup of the day. This is not the highest level of the sport but these are teams that are vying to move closer towards the top 10 in the CS:GO rankings.

Sprout are currently ranked 23 in the world while Dignitas are a bit behind, at No. 31 in the world right now. That is not a massive delta between each other in terms of rankings. Both teams have been in decent form in the last few matches as well.

Despite this being a tight match to call, I would back Dignitas to win because they have a well-rounded roster, capable of producing kills from several avenues. They have more depth. Sprout will not be pushed over but if I had to pick one, Dignitas would be my choice.

Watch Out For Marix

Marix has been in sensational form in the last few months for Sprout. He is the one who has led the offensive output, with 0.86 kills and 0.70 deaths per round at an average damage per round of over 90. That death rate is pretty high but he compensates for that with incredible offensive depth and a high assist rate as well.

Staehr has been the other player with a high kill rate and solid offensive metrics. In the last three months of CS:GO, he has produced 0.77 kills with just 0.63 deaths per round at an average damage per round of 84. He has aided Marix well, which is crucial to Sprout’s success because two solid offensive players usually removes reliability.

Sprout have been in excellent recent form, producing three wins in their last four matches, which has put them in an advantageous position when it comes to having recent fluency. Those wins have come against decent teams, including Entropiq in a best of five and Gamer Legion in a best of three contest.

Heap The Main Man For Dignitas

Let us take a quick look at Heap’s recent form. He has produced 0.75 kills per round along with 0.68 deaths at an average damage per round of 80.5. These are fantastic numbers for a player that is not as experienced as some of his peers.

Dignitas have played against Sprout just once previously, in an IEM Fall Europe match in 2021. Dignitas won that best of one, played in Inferno, by a score line of 16-12. While that was just a best of one, Dignitas will still be buoyed by that result for this match as well.

Dignitas have fared quite well in Nuke, winning 73 percent of their last 11 attempts in that map. In Vertigo, they have won over 60 percent of their last eight attempts. There are a few maps that Dignitas will prefer on account of having a better record.

Unique vs Savage Pick

Unique (+130)

Unique vs Savage Predictions

There is not a lot separating these two teams at this point of time. In the rankings, there is literally nothing separating both of these teams. Unique are presently 37 in the world while Savage is at No. 38 in the world CS:GO rankings.

Unique have been in decent recent form, including three successive wins that have pushed them to this stage. That run of form included wins against Eternal Fire and Gamer Legion in best of three matches. That means Unique have enough strength and confidence.

Savage are coming into this one on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Mouz but had won four of the five games that preceded that result. That means that Savage are also not too bad placed, when it comes to recent form and momentum.

Unique Need Kill Firepower

Unique have only one player who has averaged over 0.70 kills per round in the last three months of CS:GO action. That is DukeFissura, who has managed 0.73 kills per round. But he also has 0.72 deaths per round, which means he is not as effective as he would like.

The rest of the roster have simply not found enough offensive strength, which is an obvious issues for the team moving forward. Smiley has built a strong K/D ration with 0.69 kills and 0.61 deaths per round but there is plenty of work to be done there too.

Apart from Vertigo, Unique have a win rate of 50 or more in each of the other maps in the last few attempts. Their best map in this period is Overpass, with a win rate of 71 in the last 14 maps in that map. Maybe Overpass might come to their rescue again in this one.

Draken, Plessen Players To Watch For In Savage

Unlike Unique, Savage have had a few players who have found some level of offensive proficiency in the last few matches. Those players include Draken, who has managed 0.73 kills with 0.61 deaths per round with an average damage per round of 72.9.

Plessen has also found reliable returns, with 0.75 kills and 0.69 deaths per round in the last three months of CS:GO action. Impressively, he has managed an average damage per round of 87, which means he is one of the more consistent offensive players for his team.

These two teams have played each other just once previously, in a DreamHack Open match in November of last year. Savage won that best of one match 16-10 in Overpass. That is not a large sample size to make a reliable prediction but that will still inspire some confidence in this Savage team, although they were called Galaxy Racer at that stage.

Forze vs Blue Jays Pick

 Forze (-350)

Forze vs Blue Jays Predictions

Forze have been in and around the top 20 of the world rankings for a while now. They have not been able to breakthrough in the way they would have wanted to though. They are now just outside the top 20, presently at world No. 22 in the rankings. Blue Jays are not too far behind but like Forze, they too have failed to find much consistency in the last few months, which has left them at No. 34 in the world. That will not mean much to sportsbooks because they are considered massive underdogs for this contest.

Forze are expected to beat Blue Jays in this one by a considerable margin. That is a fair estimate to make given how Forze have played in the last few months and their advantage, in a personnel sense, over Blue Jays.

Form Could Be A Problem For Forze

It is possible that form will remain an issue for Forze, especially after they lost four of their last six matches. However, there is enough depth in their roster, from an offensive as well as defensive perspective, to keep this particular Blue Jays team at bay. Forze will rely on Zorte, who has produced an average of 0.70 kills with just 0.59 deaths per round. That death rate is important because it protects his in-game economy.

He even has an average damage per round of over 70, which is steady but not flashy. Jerry has moved in with a bit more aggression for Forze, with 0.70 kills and 0.69 deaths per round. Despite a lower K/D ratio, he still has a high average damage per round, which is currently at 83.3.

Good Recent Form, Map Advantage Could Make This Close

Blue Jays have built a decent run of form in their last few matches, winning three of their last four. All of those three wins were against quality opponents, including world No. 9 Entropiq, Copenhagen Flames and Dignitas. They did, however, lose their last match to K23.

Blue Jays have been excellent in Mirage and Inferno. In Mirage, they have won 72 percent of their last 18 maps while in Inferno, they have won 73 percent of their last 15 maps.

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