The action is heating up at Brazy Party as the second day of action will see plenty of more teams in action.

The first day of action didn't disappoint as teams such as BIG, 00NATION, OG, and others opened Group play. Thursday's action won't disappoint either as Cloud9 and Astralis join in the fun. A lot of the teams are just trying to build a little confidence as the season starts to get into some of the bigger events on the server.

Thursday's schedule has four matches across the two groups as Astralis takes on GamerLegion, and Cloud9 has a face-off with Sprout. The action also includes matches featuring ENCE, SAW, 9INE, and Imperial. Let's take a closer look at those matches.

Astralis is the clear favorite

Group C opens play with a clash between Astralis and GamerLegion. Both teams will try not to lose this map on their own. Both organizations find themselves in a comfortable spot in the world rankings as both are among the top 30.

The biggest issue for Astralis is they are used to being among the top 15. They continue to be led by device who is averaging 0.80 kills per round. As for GL, their top performer has been iM who averages 0.76 kills per round.

Astralis enters off a recent loss at the hands of Ninjas in Pyjamas during their run in the qualifications for the coming IEM Major. As for GamerLegion, they snapped a three-match winning streak with a 2-1 loss against Bad News Eagles. They have been playing teams of far less notoriety as of late, and that could cost them in this kind of setting.

Astralis is a surefire pick at -175 to win this head-to-head match-up.

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Not an Easy cover for Cloud9

This might be the match-up of the day as Cloud9 and Sprout two very strong teams take to battle. This is the first match in Group D, and it could be the match of the event if both teams play to the level they are known for.

Sprout may not seem very strong based on their ranking, but they have been known to be a pain in some teams' sides. Cloud9 has been on a roll, and it has moved them all the way to #6 in the rankings.

Cloud9 might be getting too much credit in this match, as the money line for this match-up is super high. That's the kind of match-up that breeds trouble. Sh1ro has been one of the best players on the server this season, and if Cloud9 doesn't overlook this Sprout team good things can happen for the team.

Cloud9 was outstanding through much of the IEM Major qualifications, so this is pretty much just some tune-up matches for the team. Sprout has a clear disadvantage in this match, yet, they have pulled off surprises before, Be careful, but Cloud9 is still the right play to cover at -250.

ENCE will cover without trouble

ENCE and SAW have a big clash in the second of the Group C matches. ENCE enters on a hot streak having won three-straight matches. As for SAW, they rebounded from a four-match losing streak with a recent victory against HEET.

This is a first-time meeting for a pair of teams on two sides of the spectrum. ENCE is ranked 9th in the world, while SAW is 36th. Not much to say there. It is also clear ENCE has a better top player in NertZ who is averaging 0.81 kills per round. As for SAW's ewjerkz he is averaging just over 0.70 kills per round.

Not much flash, for SAW. It doesn't seem to be making a difference though, as SAW is actually favored to cover a +1.5 point spread. That's a bit odd, no matter they lack enough talent across their line-up to outduel ENCE, who is among the top teams in the world right now. Backing ENCE +120 to cover is the right move.

bet365 News Team

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