Attention is beginning to turn towards the second division of the EU RMR for the Paris Major, which will see a further eight teams qualify for the Legends or Challengers Stage.

This major will be the final one played on Counter Strike: Global Offensive, so teams will be particularly eager to make the main event. 

Teams such as Cloud9, Heroic, ENCE, Vitality, Astralis and G2 join the fray on Tuesday and several big guns are certain to miss out.

ForZe is with Cloud9

Cloud9 have regained the winning thread at the perfect time and having beaten forZe 2-0 at BetBoom Urbanistic, the CIS squad will be full of confidence heading into this match. 

It was not a close affair either, with Cloud9 winning 16-10 on Mirage and 16-7 on Inferno, really stamping their class over forZe, their regional rivals. 

ForZe have not always been the easiest team to predict and with that recent match-up fresh in the mind, it is very easy to side with Cloud9 in what should be a comfortable success for the leading roster.

Heroic can exert their dominance

As the odds suggest, this should be a comfortable success for Heroic, as they look to make a perfect start to their RMR run. 

The Danes were foiled by Natus Vincere at ESL Pro League Season 17 playoffs, but they defeated that same team at IEM Katowice, a tournament where they were only bested by G2, the world’s best team. 

That sort of form would see them easily come through against 500, who have struggled against domestic rivals such as Partizan, ECSTATIC and GODSENT in recent matches. 

If this were a best of three, Heroic would be closer to odds of -1000, so the rounds handicap of 5.5 is likely to appeal to many.

Opportunity knocks for iNation

One-map affairs can be susceptible to upsets, as the first division of the RMR showed, and BIG’s recent form puts them in danger of just that against iNation. 

The German squad have lost to the likes of Apeks, HEET and GODSENT in recent matches, which does not bode well against a team like iNation, who will have a fire under them in a golden chance to show the world what they can offer. 

Ranked 45th in the world, iNation would need their A-game to beat a side like BIG, but their recent map selections are the opposite to BIG’s, and if the veto goes somewhat in their favour, they could have a chance of pushing their European counterparts hard.

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Spirit vulnerable to shock result

Spirit looked like a dark horse for the big tournaments earlier in the year, but they have gone on a disastrous run at recent events and could be vulnerable to an upset against Aurora. 

Of their last nine matches, they have won just two, while they have failed to win a map in three of their last four matches. 

Granted, Aurora are weaker opposition, but they should not be trifled with. 

The likes of Lack1, Norwi and KENSI have plenty of experience against top-class rosters and Aurora have a far more diverse map pool than Spirit. 

Provided the veto falls favourably, Aurora could easily cause another RMR shock in Copenhagen.

Monte face daunting task

ENCE have been accelerating into form since the acquisition of NertZ from Endpoint and are a very solid proposition as they kick off their RMR campaign against Monte. 

Defeating G2 and Vitality at ESL Pro League Season 17, helping them to climb back into the world’s top ten, ENCE are in red-hot form and could be a dark horse to win the major. 

With that in mind, they would need to win this game handsomely. 

Monte are on a three-game winning streak, but those successes came against two academy teams and ECSTATIC. 

When faced with Ninjas In Pyjamas at IEM Dallas 2023, they were brushed aside, which suggests this will be an uphill struggle for them, despite it being a best of one scenario.

Vital the favourites are on form

Perhaps the match of the day, Astralis and Team Vitality are both in good form and despite what the odds suggest, this should be a highly competitive encounter. 

Astralis had a nightmare 2022, but they have picked up form in recent months and are on a six-game winning sequence, including two best-of-one matches. 

Their most recent 2-1 victory over Cloud9 proved they were back to tier-one level and Vitality will need to be careful, despite being the deserving favourites. 

Vitality beat Astralis 2-0 at BLAST Premier Spring Groups earlier this year, but Astralis are in far better form now. 

They will need to be, given Vitality’s world number seven status, but this is a game that could be decided all the way at round 30.

bet365 News Team

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