There is only one group left to play in Season 16 of the ESL Pro League before the start of the play-offs and the action gets under way in Group D on Wednesday.
Sunday marked the end of Group C, which threw up a number of twists and turns and finished with MOUZ topping the pile, Heroic placing second and Complexity Gaming taking third spot.
It was a shock to many to see both Astralis and ENCE flop and that was just further proof that there are no foregone conclusions in the ESL Pro League.
From Group A, Team Vitality, Fnatic and Natus Vincere qualified for the knockout stage, while in Group B it was G2 Esports, FaZe Clan and Outsiders who all progressed.
And now it is time to find out which three teams will join them in the playoffs from Group D, which features Cloud9, Movistar Riders, Team Liquid, FURIA, Evil Geniuses and Eternal Fire.
Improving Cloud9 worth a bet
| What | Cloud9 vs. Evil Geniuses, ESL Pro League |
| Where | 06:30 ET, Wednesday September 21st 2022 |
| When | Malta |
| How to watch | ESL Youtube, Twitch channel |
| Odds | Cloud9 -1000, Evil Geniuses +550 |
Cloud9 qualified for the latest season of the ESL Pro League by virtue of their ESL world ranking but, rated 1/1 to top Group D, they are expected to impress.
Back in June, Cloud9 bagged their first trophy in four years in the form of the IEM Dallas, crushing ENCE 3-0 in the final, and they followed that with a run to the semi-finals of the Roobet Cup, having topped their section in the group stage.
Currently 11th in the HLTV Counter Strike: Global Offensive rankings, they are definitely a team on the up and are much fancied to get the better of Evil Geniuses, who lost all three of their matches at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups.
Cloud9 will be out to make a point in the latest season of the ESL Pro League and are worth a bet at -175 to win 2-0.
FURIA should expect a fight from Eternal Fire
| What | Eternal Fire vs. FURIA, ESL Pro League |
| Where | 10:00 ET, Wednesday September 21st 2022 |
| When | Malta |
| How to watch | ESL Youtube, Twitch channel |
| Odds | Eternal Fire +162, FURIA -225 |
Turkish outfit Eternal Fire barely broke a sweat in the Conference Stage of season 16 of the ESL Pro League, qualifying for this event with successive 2-0 wins, and they are fresh from coming out on top in the closed qualifiers for the ESL Challenger Rotterdam 2022.
However, their opening opponents in this ESL Pro League - FURIA - represent a step-up in quality. They are currently 13th in the HLTV world rankings and have had a pretty solid year.
They reached the final four at the IEM Dallas in June after placing second in North America's BLAST Premier Spring Showdown in May and making the semi-finals of the last ESL Pro League season.
They can be expected to run out winners in this one, but, as has been made clear by the other groups in this season's ESL Pro League, the lesser lights can put up a fight and it may not be straightforward for FURIA, who have lost maps in three of their last four matches.
Back a 2-1 win for FURIA at +220.
Liquid should have the firepower to overcome Movistar Riders
| What | Team Liquid vs. Movistar Riders, ESL Pro League |
| Where | 13:30 ET, Wednesday September 21st 2022 |
| When | Malta |
| How to watch | ESL Youtube, Twitch channel |
| Odds | Team Liquid -275, Movistar Riders +200 |
Team Liquid are third in HLTV's CS:GO world rankings, but they have done little to justify that label in 2022 and crashed out of the last ESL Pro League season at the quarter-final stage.
They are, however, fresh from four wins out of five matches at the recent BLAST Premier Fall Groups and it is in the latter stages of this event where they may struggle rather than in the group stage.
They are +175 to top Group D and should get the better of Movistar Riders, who are on a four-game losing run in all competitions, having suffered two defeats at the SteelSeries Nova Cup Western Europe Fall earlier this month.
Liquid have work to do, but this is not the kind of match which should trip them up and a bet on the North American giants to win 2-0 at +125 could be the way to go.
