CS:GO Champions Cup Finals Odds & Preview: Ence Favored at +150

• The Champions Cup Finals begin on December 19th with the grand finals taking place on the 22nd
• ENCE are the favorites at +150  thanks to a second-place finish at the CS:GO Asia Championships
• G2 Esports are threats to win as they nearly toppled Astralis at the ESL Pro League Finals

The fast-paced schedule of the CS:GO circuit continues with the Champions Cup Finals from December 19th to the 22nd. While some teams are competing at EPICENTER 2019, a field of eight from Europe and China are competing in Malta for a $150,000 grand prize.

Champions Cup Finals Odds

Odds taken Dec. 18

ENCE Favored Over a Weak Field

With so many tournaments taking place at the end of the year, ENCE is a bit of an unknown as they’ve been significantly less busy than other teams. They’ve yet to compete in December with their last major tournament being the CS:GO Asia Championships on November 24th. That was a fantastic showing for them as they made it to the grand finals over MIBR.

Their one shortcoming of that tournament was a match against mousesports in the finals. However, losing to mousesports is no laughing matter at the moment. They’ve been on an absolute tear, which includes beating Astralis at the ESL Pro League Finals. ENCE is a tough team to get a read on, and they’re still adjusting to life post Aleksib. Although they’re the favorites, not sure it’s convincing enough to bet on them to win at +150.

G2 Nearly the Stars of ESL Pro League

G2 is another team that has an incredibly high ceiling, but you never know when they’ll reach it. It looked like they were about pull off a huge upset against Astralis at the ESL Pro League Finals. They had won the first map, and had the chance to close it out on Inferno. Astralis battled back to force overtime, in which they would eventually win the map, and escape the series with a 16-14 win on Train.

After that heart-breaking loss to Astralis, it all fell apart for G2. In the lower bracket, G2 got eliminated by ATK, thus ending their tournament after it had looked so promising. G2 has the talent, but they’re incredibly streaky. They could absolutely win this event, but they could also finish in last.

Threats to Make the Finals

ENCE and G2 are who I’d expect to go head-to-head in the finals. BIG has been very disappointing and have recent losses to the Movistar Riders, Hard Legion, and Heroic. FURIA could put up a challenge, however, they’re coming off a rough tournament at the CS Summit where the only match win they had was over the last place MIBR. One potential area for a value bet would be on BIG or Hard Legion making the finals.

Group B is comprised of G2 Esports, BIG, Hard Legion Gaming, and Team Spirit. It’s a weaker group than Group A simply because it avoids ENCE. If G2 is still feeling the effects of that close loss to Astralis, it’s very possible that they drop out of this tournament early. They’re prone to getting upset as we saw against ATK. This opens the door for another team like BIG to steal the first seed out of Group B and draw an easier path to the grand final.

I think G2 will follow up their up-and-down performance at the ESL Finals to win the Champions Cup over a much weaker field.

Pick: To Win: G2 Esports (+450). To Make Finals: ENCE (-250) & G2 Esports (+450)