There is more action in the latest season of the CS:GO European ESL Challenger League on Wednesday, as the tournament's lower bracket starts to gather pace.
The B-Tier event features 24 teams competing in double-elimination bracket playoffs with the eventual champions set to scoop $50,000 in prize money and secure a spot at season 17 of the EPL Conference.
The winners of the last season of the European ESL Challenger League are 9INE, who are still in contention this time around too.
The event concludes with the Grand Final on Sunday 18th December 2022 and the upper bracket has already moved to the semi-final stage.
But there is also plenty going on in the lower bracket and there are two more games taking place within that on Wednesday.
Kosovo side Bad News Eagles lock horns with Sangal and the winner of that contest will go on to face Riders in the fourth round of the lower bracket.
Ex-Finest, meanwhile, are taking on Fnatic Rising and whoever comes out on top in that one will go on to play forZe in the next round.
Bad News Eagles hope to build on Rio experience
What: Bad News Eagles vs Sangal, ESL Challenger League EU
Where: Europe
When: 18.00pm, Wednesday 7th December 2022
Odds: Bad News Eagles 2/5, Sangal 7/4
Kosovan outfit Bad News Eagles showed their class at one of the recent Counter Strike: Global Offensive majors, impressing at the IEM Rio in Brazil last month.
Currently 17th in the HLTV world CS:GO rankings, Bad News Eagles did not put a foot wrong in the Challengers Stage of the Rio event, posting a 3-0 win-loss record and finishing with a +34 round differential - the highest in the division.
They finished above eventual champions Outsiders in that stage of the tournament, although Bad News Eagles failed to carry that form into the Legends Stage, crashing out with three defeats from four matches.
But that event should have acted as great experience for the team, who began the latest season of the ESL Challenger League Europe with a 2-1 defeat to PALOMA in the upper-bracket.
They were consequently knocked down to the lower bracket, winning their first match against 1win in another close contest.
They won 16-12 on Mirage, lost 19-17 on Vertigo and then won 19-16 on Ancient to seal that victory and, although they are 2/5 to see off Sangal, their clash could be another tight encounter.
Bad News Eagles arguably have the upper hand when it comes to bigger tournament experience, but Sangal battled well to see off HEET 2-1 last time out and a bet on over 2.5 maps at 10/11 could be the way to go.
Alternatively, for those confident of a Bad News Eagles victory, they could represent value to win 2-1 at 11/5.
Related Esports News
Esports: Shocks galore in Call of Duty League
ex-Finest and Fnatic Rising can push one another
What: ex-Finest vs Fnatic Rising, ESL Challenger League EU
Where: Europe
When: 18.00pm, Wednesday 7th December 2022
Odds: ex-Finest 5/6, Fnatic Rising 5/6
The other match taking place in the ESL Challenger League Europe on Wednesday is a closer betting heat as ex-Finest take on Fnatic Rising.
Academy side Fnatic Rising, who are 75th in the HLTV world rankings, fell to a 2-0 defeat in forZe in their upper-bracket opener, only winning 20 rounds across the two maps.
But, while they were pushed close, they responded with a 2-1 victory over AGO in their first lower-bracket contest, losing 16-12 on Vertigo initially before a 16-10 win on Mirage and a 19-15 triumph on Inferno.
As for ex-Finest, they were dumped out of the upper bracket by SAW - a team who have since advanced to the upper-bracket semi-finals.
And although ex-Finest bounced back with a win in their first lower-bracket game, they too were made to work for it, only edging EPG Fam courtesy of a 37-34 win on the final map Overpass.
Even when winning, both of these teams have been pushed to their limits and neither stand out as clear winners of this match.
Ex-Finest finished third in October's Svenska Cupen, but the odds suggest this match will be close and it could go the distance, so back over 2.5 maps at 5/6.
