Season 16 of the ESL Pro League is in full flow and the knockout stage is on the horizon.
Groups A, B and C have already been played out with Team Vitality, G2 Esports and MOUZ having qualified for the quarter-finals, while Fnatic, Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, Outsiders, Heroic and Complexity Gaming are all through to the round of 12.
And at the end of the week, we will know the full lineup for the playoffs with three more teams joining the aforementioned sides from Group D.
Group D features the likes of Cloud9 and Team Liquid and is back in action on Thursday with its second batch of matches.
Turkish side can make a fight of it against Cloud9
| What | Cloud9 vs. Eternal Fire, ESL Pro League |
| Where | Malta |
| When | 06:30, Thursday September 22nd 2022 |
| How to watch | ESL Youtube / Twitch channel / bet365's Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds | Cloud9 -600, Eternal Fire +350 |
Neither Cloud9 nor Eternal Fire are permanent members of the ESL Pro League with the former qualifying for season 16 due to their ESL world ranking and the latter qualifying through the Conference Stage.
But there is little denying that Cloud9 are the more established of the two outfits.
They have not featured in an ESL Pro League campaign since season 13 back in Spring time last year but they look like a team on a mission this year with the IEM Dallas already wrapped up and they put on a decent run to the semi-finals of the Roobet Cup in June.
Eternal Fire come into this match off the back of a five-match winning streak in the ESL Challenger Rotterdam Closed Qualifier, though, and when faced with stronger opposition at the Roobet Cup earlier this year, they held their own.
The Turkish side took maps off the likes of BIG, MOUZ and ENCE in the Roobet Cup and a bet on them to win at least one map at +100 is appealing, as is a punt on a 2-1 win for Cloud9 at +220.
Movistar and FURIA can push one another close
| What | Movistar Riders vs. FURIA, ESL Pro League |
| Where | Malta |
| When | 10:00, Thursday September 22nd 2022 |
| How to watch | ESL Youtube / Twitch channel / bet365's Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds | Movistar Riders +162, FURIA -225 |
The closest betting heat on the second day of matches in Group D is between Spanish side Movistar Riders and Brazilians FURIA.
Movistar's recent matches have come in more minor events - their latest tournament was the SteelSeries Nova Cup Western Europe Fall 2022 - and they could be in for a tough time of it in Group D.
FURIA are not on a brilliant run themselves, failing to make it out of the group at the IEM Cologne in their most recent major event in June, although they did pick up wins against Spirit and Outsiders.
Before that, they made the semi-finals of the IEM Dallas but they still have plenty of work to do and neither side are worth backing in the match markets given their inconsistencies.
Instead, punters should look to back over 2.5 maps at -110 with this one likely to go the distance.
Team Liquid should be too strong for North American rivals
| What | Team Liquid vs. Evil Geniuses, ESL Pro League |
| Where | Malta |
| When | 13:30, Thursday September 22nd 2022 |
| How to watch | ESL Youtube / Twitch channel / bet365's Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds | Team Liquid -500, Evil Geniuses +333 |
Team Liquid are arguably the biggest hitters in Counter Strike: Global Offensive in North America and they square up against Evil Geniuses in their second game of Group D on Thursday evening.
Anyone who watched Liquid at the recent BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022 will understand why they are 2/9 to come out on top in this one.
At the event, Liquid made it to the Grand Final of Group B, falling short against powerhouses Natus Vincere, but they picked themselves up in the play-in stage to beat both Ninjas In Pyjamas and Heroic 2-0 to qualify for the Fall Finals.
As for Evil Geniuses, they were sent packing in the quarter-final stage of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022, losing 2-1 to Ninjas In Pyjamas.
They were beaten 2-1 by Team Liquid in the IEM Dallas Close Qualifiers back in April and could again suffer a loss, although this time the teams look further apart and a bet on Team Liquid to win 2-0 at -120 could be the way to go.
