Copenhagen Flames (World rank: #25) vs. Fiend (World rank: #31) - 11:30 A.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: Copenhagen Flames (-135) | Fiend (+105)
- This is a best-of-three series for the opening round of the IEM Fall 2021 EU Closed Qualifier.
- CPH Flames - Rating past three months: roeJ 1.17 | nicoodoz 1.11 | jabbi 1.11 | Zyphon 1.09 | HooXi 0.90
- Fiend - Rating past three months: h4rn 1.18 | dream3r 1.13 | REDSTAR 1.09 | v1c7oR 1.00 | bubble 0.99
H2H Data:
These rosters have played 12 maps total against each other across five series dating back to May 2021. Their most recent meeting took place on September 1st at Pinnacle Fall Series 1, and Fiend won 2-1 (16-14 Mirage / 10-16 Nuke / 16-13 Overpass), though jabbi led the way with 74 kills and a 1.30 Rating across three maps.
Prediction/Narrative: Fiend wins 2-1.
Fiend typically ban Vertigo, while CPH Flames usually remove Dust2 to start, which means that Fiend will likely pick their most played map, Mirage. Copenhagen Flames are solid on Mirage so the map could be competitive, but I’d give the edge to Fiend on Mirage against most tier two teams. Fiend have won 44 out of 59 maps played on Mirage in the past six months with a 79.1% 5v4 conversion rate and 33.7% 4v5 conversion rate during that time. They have also won their last four in a row on that map with wins against respectable opponents like Sinners and SKADE. CPH Flames often pick Overpass, but Ancient might make more sense for them in this match-up. Fiend might not steal away their opponent’s map pick, but if CPH Flames do pick Ancient, then Fiend would be guaranteed 15 rounds on the more favorable CT side, which should be beneficial for DFS scoring. Overpass would likely be the decider map in this scenario, and that would pretty much be a coinflip, but Fiend won Overpass last time these teams met, and I give them an edge with the form that they’ve shown in the past week.
For DFS, H4rn is my favorite option given his upside with the AWP, and dream3r & REDSTAR both look like excellent mid-range plays at their respective prices. V1c7oR and bubble are more of punt plays for GPPs, and bubble would be my favorite since his cheap $5,000 salary can help open up other options on this slate. Copenhagen Flames are not my priority on this slate, but roeJ and nicoodoz would be my favorite plays on that side.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
h4rn ($8,800) | dream3r ($7,800) | REDSTAR ($7,000) | bubble ($5,000) | roeJ ($9,000) | nicoodoz ($7,000)
FaZe (World rank: #6) vs. OPAA (World rank: #108) - 11:30 A.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: FaZe (-2000) | OPAA (+1050)
Map Handicap: FaZe -1.5 (-340) | OPAA -+1.5 (+265)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+295) | Under 2.5 (-385)
- This is a best-of-three series for the opening round of the IEM Fall 2021 EU Closed Qualifier.
- FaZe - Rating past three months: Twistzz 1.12 | broky 1.10 | rain 1.01 | olofmeister 0.93 | karrrigan 0.91
- OPAA - Rating past three months: Ryxxo 1.11 | notaN 1.06 | Staehr 1.05 | Tauson 1.02 | BERRY 0.88
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other.
Prediction/Narrative: FaZe wins 2-0.
FaZe are a heavy favorite to sweep, so there is not much to say here. OPAA have won their last three series in a row against decent tier two opponents, but they should really struggle against a much more talented team like FaZe. We have definitely seen FaZe blow big leads and play down to their competition against seemingly weaker teams in the past, but the gap between these teams is large enough that FaZe should make quick work of this series. OPAA will likely pick Overpass or Inferno, but it doesn’t really matter which map they pick because there isn’t a single map in their favor.
You can’t go wrong with anybody on FaZe with this soft match-up, but everybody is really priced up accordingly. OPAA is a complete fade for me. I prefer broky over Twistzz, especially since he is cheaper, but both of them should be very solid per usual, though it would be difficult to fit both into one lineup. I think that Rain & olofmeister are a bit too expensive within the context of the slate, but they should both have a high floor in this spot. I do like karrigan here as a GPP play since he is only $6,600. He is the lowest rated player on the team so there is high risk, but he plays aggressively enough that his best days often pay off with a high reward.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
broky ($10,000) | Twistzz ($10,800) | karrigan ($6,600) | olofmeister ($8,200) | rain ($9,200)
SKADE (World rank: #21) vs. Anonymo (World rank: #69) - 2:45 P.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: SKADE (-500) | Anonymo (+370)
Map Handicap: SKADE -1.5 (-135) | Anonymo +1.5 (+110)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+155) | Under 2.5 (-190)
- This is a best-of-three series for the opening round of the IEM Fall 2021 EU Closed Qualifier.
- SKADE - Rating past three months: dennyslaw 1.13 | Rainwaker 1.10 | SHiPZ 1.06 | KalubeR 1.00 | Duplicate 0.99
- Anonymo - Rating past three months: Snax 1.17 | Kylar 0.99 | blacktear5 0.99 | innocent 0.97 | Demho 0.84
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other. Anonymo lost their star player when KEi decided to resign, with blacktear5 taking his place in August. Mynio also left and has since been replaced by Demho, while Oxygen was just recently replaced by KalubeR on the SKADE side, so these lineups look much different from when these teams last met in May. SKADE did win that series 2-1 (2-16 Nuke / 16-8 Overpass / 16-13 Inferno) though innocent was at the top with 55 kills and a 1.21 Rating across three maps.
Prediction/Narrative: SKADE wins 2-0.
Anonymo will likely pick Mirage since SKADE should ban Nuke this time around, plus Mirage has been their most played map with this roster. SKADE have a 5-1 W/L record through six maps played on Mirage with this lineup, and they should be able to steal Anonymo’s map pick away from them, assuming it is not Nuke. I expect SKADE to pick Overpass where they have a 7-1 W/L record with this lineup, and they should be considered heavy favorites on their own map selection. This Anonymo roster has not been the same since KEi left, and I think the Bulgarians should dominate here.
Dennsylaw should be one of the highest scorers on the slate, and his $10,400 price tag seems worth getting to if you have the salary. I also really like SHiPZ given the projected map pool and his $8,600 price tag in a good match-up. Rainwaker looks solid, but he would be too expensive to pair with dennyslaw, and I certainly prefer dennyslaw. KalubeR and Duplicate seem pretty risky here and are not priority plays for me. Anonymo is not the focus for me, but Snax would be my clear favorite option if you wanted to back the Polish side.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
dennyslaw ($10,400) | SHiPZ ($8,600) | Rainwaker ($9,600)
MAD Lions (World rank: #39) vs. Dignitas (World rank: #32) - 2:45 P.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: MAD Lions (+105) | Dignitas (-125)
Map Handicap: MAD Lions +1.5 (-275) | Dignitas (-1.5 (+215)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+110) | Under 2.5 (-130)
- This is a best-of-three series for the opening round of the IEM Fall 2021 EU Closed Qualifier.
- MAD Lions - Rating past three months: Woro2k 1.30 | sausol 1.20 | TMB 1.16 | jL 1.16 | b0RUP 1.02
- Dignitas - Rating past three months: f0rest 1.19 | hallzerk 1.13 | Lekr0 1.11 | HEAP 1.06 | friberg 0.84
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other. B0RUP recently joined the team in August to replace SPELLAN, so he was not on the server when these teams played a best-of-one in March 2021. Dignitas won 16-12 on Inferno, and Lekr0 led the way with 32 kills and a 1.54 Rating.
Prediction/Narrative: Dignitas wins 2-1.
MAD Lions have been on fire since adding b0RUP, winning 18 out of 19 maps played. Most of that competition was pretty weak though, and they will certainly be challenged here. Nuke is Dignitas’ favorite map, and they will likely pick it here. I favor Dignitas on that map especially since this will be the first real test on Nuke for this MAD Lions roster. Dignitas should ban Ancient, which means that MAD Lions will probably pick Mirage. MAD looked good on Mirage against Sprout, and Dignitas don’t play that map much, so I would give MAD Lions the edge on their own map pick. This series looks like it could be pretty back and forth, but ultimately, I give the edge to the experienced Dignitas roster once we get into crunch time during the later rounds.
An important thing to note for DFS is that MAD Lions are utilizing a six man roster, with tudsoN typically substituting for jL on Dust2, and for sausol on Nuke. We are pretty likely to see Nuke, so tudsoN, jL and sausol are all fades for me with the risk of only playing one map. SPELLAN is of course a fade as well since he is not on the team anymore. Woro2k continues to make highlight plays, while b0RUP is really cheap on Draftkings, so I like both of them at these prices, but MAD Lions are not my primary target in this match-up. I am more interested in the Dignitas side where Lekr0, HEAP and hallzerk all catch my eye at their reasonable price tags. I like f0rest as well, but I prefer other spend-up options on this slate at that price range, while friberg is almost always the worst option on the team.
Favorite Draftkings Plays (in order of priority):
Lekr0 ($7,200) | HEAP ($6,400) | hallzerk ($8,000) | Woro2k ($8,400) | f0rest ($9,400) | b0RUP ($5,200)