With a prize pool of $850,000 on the line, Counter Strike: Global Offensive's latest major event - season 17 of the ESL Pro League - is in full flow.
The S-Tier tournament is taking place in Malta and features 32 teams initially split across four groups of eight.
In this group stage, each section plays in a best-of-three triple elimination bracket with only four teams from each group progressing to the playoffs, which begin with a round of 16 later in the month.
Already Group A has come and gone with Cloud9 and Outsiders qualifying from the upper bracket, G2 Esports qualifying from the mid bracket and Fnatic advancing from the lower bracket.
And on Wednesday, attention turns to Group B with the start of the upper bracket, featuring teams such as Heroic, BIG and FURIA Esports.
Complexity worth chancing in tight contest
| What | BIG vs Complexity, ESL Pro League |
| Where | Malta |
| When | 15.00, Wednesday 1st March, 2023 |
| How to watch | bet365 Live Streaming, ESL Twitch / YouTube channel |
| Odds | BIG 4/6, Complexity 11/10 |
Set to be one of the most closely fought contests in the first batch of Group B matches, German side BIG are 4/6 to edge North Americans Complexity, who can be backed at 11/10 to win.
These are both considered mid-tier CS:GO outfits with BIG 16th and Complexity 11th in the HLTV world rankings and there is not a lot between the sides.
That said, the fact they are evenly matched suggests Complexity could be overpriced at 11/10 and they are worth chancing to win this match.
They have the slightly better world ranking and they performed better at the most recent international event to feature both sides - the IEM Katowice 2023.
Whereas BIG lost both of their matches in Group A, Complexity battled bravely in a 2-1 defeat to Heroic in the upper bracket before winning successive matches in the lower bracket against MOUZ and Fnatic, only to lose in the lower-bracket final.
Complexity also managed to make the playoffs in season 16 of the ESL Pro League, while BIG exited at the group stage, so the marginal underdogs could be worth a bet.
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FURIA should edge all-Brazilian tussle
| What | Imperial vs FURIA, ESL Pro League |
| Where | Malta |
| When | 18.30, Wednesday 1st March, 2023 |
| How to watch | bet365 Live Streaming, ESL Twitch / YouTube channel |
| Odds | Imperial 9/4, FURIA 1/3 |
This is an all-Brazilian matchup in Group B and while it should be fiercely contested, there are no prizes for identifying the best team from the region.
FURIA have emerged as a force to be reckoned with from Brazil in the last several months, making a name for themselves with a run to the top four of the IEM Rio at the end of 2022.
That boosted their world ranking and they are now 14th in the HLTV standings, whereas Imperial are 37th, so it is no surprise to see FURIA rated 1/3 to win this contest.
The fact FURIA failed to make it beyond the play-in stage of the IEM Katowice is not ideal but perhaps more concerning if they were coming up against another big gun, and they should have enough in their locker to overcome Imperial.
You can back them to win in three maps at 21/10.
MOUZ can make experience count against SAW
| What | SAW vs MOUZ, ESL Pro League |
| Where | Malta |
| When | 18.30, Wednesday 1st March, 2023 |
| How to watch | bet365 Live Streaming, ESL Twitch / YouTube channel |
| Odds | SAW 7/4, MOUZ 2/5 |
Portuguese outfit SAW are still finding their feet on the CS:GO circuit, having qualified for this event via a top-two finish at the ESL Pro League Season 17 European Conference, and they are expected to be out of their depth against MOUZ.
SAW have done well to make it to this event but MOUZ trump them significantly when it comes to major tournament experience and they look about right at 2/5 to win this.
MOUZ landed a top-four finish at the IEM Rio Major back in November after a fine showing in the event's Challengers Stage and their final three matches in the event all went to three maps.
That was also the case in both of their matches at the IEM Katowice, and a 2-1 win for MOUZ could be the way to go at 21/10.
