With both the IEM Cologne and LPL Summer reaching their conclusions at the weekend, it is set to be another eventful week in the world of Esports with Counter Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends again at the forefront.
CS:GO: IEM Cologne group stage kicks off the week
The week begins and ends with the same event in the spotlight - the IEM Cologne.
The S-Tier tournament in Germany began last week with the initial play-in stage as MOUZ, Fnatic, Astralis, Monte, The MongolZ, OG, 9INE and Ninjas in Pyjamas paved paths to the group phase.
And the groups have since got underway with a number of matches pencilled in on Monday.
Among the games to keep an eye on are the lower-bracket semi-finals in Group A with Fnatic -250 to beat +175 GamerLegion, while +138 Monte are -188 to defeat Cloud9.
CS:GO: Heroic and ENCE tussle for playoff berth in Cologne
On Tuesday, things go up a gear in the IEM Cologne with Group A's upper-bracket final between Heroic and ENCE on the cards.
The winner of the match will progress directly to the playoffs and, as group winners, they will start in the semi-finals.
Heroic are fancied to prevail at -200 with ENCE priced at +150.
League of Legends: Bilibili Gaming and LNG in straight shootout for LPL Summer final spot
But it is not just about CS:GO's IEM Cologne on Tuesday as the League of Legends LPL Summer Playoffs in China also edge closer to their conclusion.
There is plenty riding on the LPL Summer with the eventual champions set to book their place in the end-of-year World Championship and JD Gaming have already booked their spot in the Grand Final with a 3-0 win over Bilibili Gaming.
That defeat knocked Bilbili Gaming into the other semi-final - essentially the lower-bracket final - and they will now have a second bite at the cherry as they take on LNG.
The winner of the match will reach the Grand Final and battle it out to be LPL Summer champions with Bilibili Gaming favourites at -200 and LNG Esports outsiders at +150.
League of Legends: Decisive final week gets underway in LCK Summer
Most regional League of Legends divisions are into their playoff phases this week but in the case of the LCK Summer, there is still one week to go in the regular season.
The final batch of regular season matches get underway on Wednesday with -275 T1 up against +200 shots Kwangdong Freecs, while Dplus KIA are -1200 to win the other match against +600 Nongshim RedForce.
The top five playoff spots are already confirmed with KT Rolster, Gen.G Esports, Hanwha Life Esports, Dplus KIA and T1 having qualified.
But sixth spot is still up for grabs with Liiv SANDBOX in prime position along with Nongshim RedForce but each of Kwangdong Freecs, OKSavingsBank BRION and DRX could all yet break into the playoff positions.
League of Legends: Lower bracket commences in LCS Summer Playoffs
From one elite League of Legends division to another and on Thursday North America's LCS Summer playoffs continue with the start of the losers' bracket.
In that bracket, Dignitas take on TSM on Thursday. Dignitas are +138 outsiders, while TSM are fancied to progress at -188.
The LCS Summer Playoffs, otherwise known as the LCS Championship, conclude with the Grand Final on Sunday 20th August.
League of Legends: Big guns involved in other LCS Summer lower-bracket clash
In the other losers' bracket opener, 100 Thieves are in action against Team Liquid.
As it is the losers' bracket, whichever team loses this match will be knocked out of the tournament immediately, while the winner will progress to round two to face a loser of one of the upper-bracket contests.
Team Liquid are -350 to win, while 100 Thieves are priced at +250
League of Legends: LPL Summer champion to be crowned in Grand Final
It is a weekend not to be missed in the world of Esports, starting with the Grand Final in the LPL Summer playoffs.
JD Gaming will play either Bilbili Gaming or LNG Esports in the tournament's conclusion and the champions, who will be determined by a best-of-five battle, will take home ¥2,000,000 in prize money and book their spot in the League of Legends World Championship 2023.
CS:GO: IEM Cologne reaches Grand Final
As if one major final was not significant enough this weekend, on Sunday it is the turn of the CS:GO IEM Cologne Grand Final.
With the playoffs having not even started yet, it is of course unknown which two teams will be fighting for the title but the winners will claim $400,000 in prize money and qualify for the IEM Katowice 2024.
Esports - CS:GO IEM Cologne Friday matches
Counter Strike: Global Offensive's latest major competition, the IEM Cologne, is up and running in Germany with a $1 million prize pool on the table.
bet365 News Team
Jul 28 2023
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