The action continues at BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022 Europe on Thursday, with the $67,500 Counter Strike: Global Offensive tournament giving the winner passage to the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2022 in late November.
The tournament kicked off on Wednesday and the likes of Vitality, Astralis, Heroic and BIG will all have aspirations of taking that Fall Final spot.
There is also the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022 North America, where the same number of teams will be fighting for another Fall Final spot.
| What: | BIG vs Sangal , BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022 Europe |
| Where: | Online |
| When: | 10:30 EST, Thursday, October 19th |
| How to watch: | Twitch, YouTube |
| Odds: | BIG -600, Sangal +350 |
On paper, German favourites BIG should be winning this encounter comfortably. The tabseN-led squad are ranked 15th in the world and have plenty of tier-one form that should make them formidable against a 34th-ranked Sangal.
BIG haven't showered themselves with glory of late, however, as they were knocked out of ESL Pro League Season 16 in the group stage and scraped into the IEM Rio Major at the last available opportunity after a close encounter with K23 (ranked 44th in the world).
The teams met at that aforementioned Road to Rio 2022 qualifier and it was BIG who dominated the Mirage encounter 16-3. Despite some up-and-down form, that map would clearly suggest that BIG have matters in hand, especially as Mirage is one of Sangal's best in the pool.
BIG are overwhelming favourites to win this match and despite BIG's inconsistencies (on occasion), it is difficult to see a way that Sangal come out with a positive result. With that in mind, a 2-0 success is more than likely for BIG.
| What: | Heroic vs ECSTATIC, BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022 Europe |
| Where: | Online |
| When: | 13:30 EST, Thursday 19th October |
| How to watch: | Twitch, YouTube |
| Odds: | Heroic -800, Sangal +450 |
If you look at the bare statistics, this is another mismatch. Heroic are ninth in the world rankings but could easily be rated higher given their strong recent form.
They only narrowly lost out to Natus Vincere in the first round of the ESL Pro League Season 16 playoffs, having lost just one game in the group stage, and capped off a strong Road to Rio campaign but qualifying for the main event in a Legends slot.
That sort of form is incredibly strong and ECSTATIC, who are ranked 49th in the world, should not be able to land a glove on their domestic rivals. Prior to a pair of wins against lower-ranked opposition the last twice, ECSTATIC had lost seven matches on the bounce, including a 16-0 drubbing by G2.
There is a small amount of overlap in the map pool that ECSTATIC may try to exploit, such as Overpass and Ancient, but that could easily draw them into one of Heroic's joker maps (one they have not been picking for tactical reasons).
As with the prior game, it is difficult to see an underdog coming out on top and Heroic should see this out by a comfortable 2-0 success. Betting Heroic on the minus round handicap might be the way to go, given ECSTATIC's poor record against higher-rated opposition.
Esports: Blast Premier Fall European and American showdowns
| What: | MIBR vs TeamOne, BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022 Europe |
| Where: | Online |
| When: | 16:30 EST, Thursday 19th October |
| How to watch: | Twitch, YouTube |
| Odds: | MIBR -225, TeamOne +162 |
This is an incredibly difficult game to assess as both MIBR and TeamOne have been in woeful form in recent matches.
MIBR, led by veteran HEN1, failed to qualify for the IEM Rio Major, with defeats to Liquid, ATK and Isurus condemning them to missing their home major.
Prior to that disappointing result, they had been decimating domestic opposition and that run included a 14-1 map score in ESL Challenger Season 42.
TeamOne qualified for this tournament after a flawless run through the Ace North American Masters Fall, but the competition they faced in that tournament was far from strong and that has been proved in their subsequent matches.
The South American's have won just one of their next seven matches, with the sole success coming over 84th-ranked Infinity. When they have come up against an opponent of MIBR's calibre, they have struggled, losing to the likes of Imperial, Fluxo and ENCE.
The head to head also makes for very grim reading, with MIBR dismissing TeamOne 2-0 at ESL Challenger League Season 42 in September.
Both teams are having their struggles, but MIBR's veteran presence means they are likely to jump out of this slump quicker. They are the rightful favourites and should come out on top against TeamOne, though it would take a brave man to be confident.
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