The latest major event in the world of Counter Strike: Global Offensive - the BLAST Premier Fall Finals - is in full swing and, following more action in Group A on Thursday morning, there are two decisive matches in Group B later in the day.
First up on Thursday in Group B is the elimination match between Fluxo and G2 Esports, who naturally both lost their tournament openers, before Natus Vincere lock horns with Team Liquid in the group's winners' match.
Only one team is set to be eliminated from each group at this stage of the tournament so either Fluxo or G2 Esports will be bowing out of the BLAST Premier Fall Finals.
The other three teams in each group will then advance to the tournament's playoffs with the group winners automatically progressing to the semi-finals.
Up for grabs in this year's BLAST Premier Fall Finals is a prize pool of $425,000 with the champions set to scoop $200,000 of that.
The team that comes out on top in this event in Copenhagen, Denmark will also book their place at the BLAST Premier World Final 2022, which begins in Abu Dhabi in December.
G2 Esports can demonstrate their added quality and experience against Fluxo
What: Fluxo vs G2 Esports
Where: Copenhagen, Denmark
When: 15.00, Thursday 24th November 2022
How to watch: BLASTPremier Twitch channel
Odds: Fluxo +400, G2 Esports -700
Both Fluxo and G2 Esports began their BLAST Premier Fall Finals campaigns on the back foot with 2-0 defeats but, make no mistake, one team is a level above the other heading into this elimination match.
G2 Esports failed to qualify for the IEM Rio Major recently but are 13th in the HLTV CS:GO rankings, whereas Brazilian minnows Fluxo are down in 28th spot.
Fluxo failed to qualify for this tournament via the usual route of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, instead making it through the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown North America back in October.
G2 Esports are simply the bigger of the two sides and, although that does not always directly determine results, the European big guns do have some form behind them, having placed in the top four at season 16 of the ESL Pro League.
They reached the same stage of the BLAST Premier Spring Final back in June this year and were runners-up at the IEM Katowice in February.
The defeat to Team Liquid in their Group B opener was not ideal but they were not completely dominated in that encounter, losing on Vertigo 16-10 and going even closer on Mirage with a 16-14 loss.
G2 Esports are red-hot favourites to win this at -700 and, while a Fluxo triumph would be great from a neutral perspective, it is highly unlikely and the better bet in this match is to go for G2 Esports at -1.5 on the match handicap at -150.
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Esports: CS:GO BLAST Premier Fall Thursday matches
Team Liquid can cause problems for juggernauts NAVI
What: Natus Vincere vs Team Liquid
Where: Copenhagen, Denmark
When: 18.00, Thursday 24th November 2022
How to watch: BLASTPremier Twitch channel
Odds: Natus Vincere -175, Team Liquid +125
The other Group B match taking place on Thursday looks a more competitive betting heat with giants Natus Vincere locking horns with Team Liquid.
NAVI are -175 favourites to win this match, having been touted as the most likely winners of the BLAST Premier Fall Finals coming into the tournament.
That comes as no surprise given their reputation in the Esport and the fact they have powerhouse Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev in their ranks, while the side currently third in HLTV's CS:GO world rankings were also pretty handy at the IEM Rio Major, making it to the quarter-finals before losing to home talents FURIA.
But Team Liquid also deserve credit for the way they swatted side European juggernauts G2 Esports in their opening match.
They may not have enough in the tank to go the distance and win this encounter but they are worth a bet at +2.5 on the rounds handicap on map one.
Although Natus Vincere pulled clear of Fluxo on the second map of their Group B encounter, they only won the first map - Dust II - 16-14 and they are likely to be pushed even more from the start by Team Liquid.
With that in mind, another way to approach this one could be to back over 2.5 maps at -120.
