CS:GO ESL One Cologne EU Finals Odds & Betting Preview: Heroic vs Vitality
- The grand finals of ESL One: Cologne – Europe take place on August 30th between Heroic and Vitality
- Heroic made it to the finals thanks to an epic semifinal win over G2 Esports
- Vitality are slight favorites entering the finals against Heroic – read below for our betting pick
The ESL One: Cologne finals are set. The grand finals will feature a best-of-5 between Heroic and Vitality on August 30.
ESL One: Cologne – Europe Grand Final Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Vitality | -140 |
| Heroic | +105 |
All odds taken Aug 29
Grand Final Heroics?
Heroic has been on the rise in 2020 and they’ve continued their ascension at ESL One Cologne. In July, they cracked the top 20 of the HLTV CS:GO World Rankings and now at the end of August, they find themselves at 11th.
Prior to ESL One: Cologne, Heroic found success at the IEM New York Online: European Qualifier. They didn’t have to overcome the toughest competition but they showed just how strong of a team they were. They 2-0’d OG and x6tence to finish first at the event and easily qualify for IEM New York.
At ESL One: Cologne, Heroic has carried on that momentum and has displayed that same ability against stronger competition. Their tournament started with a head-to-head against Faze Clan. Although they’re right next to each other in the current HLTV standings, Heroic crushed Faze in a quick 2-0.
Although they had a tough loss to G2, Heroic stepped it up in playoffs to make the finals. Their results include a 2-0 win over Complexity before they got vengeance against G2 in the semifinals. This was no easy victory for Heroic. The opening map went all the way to triple overtime before Heroic was finally able to take the early lead. This kind of adversity could prove favorable for Heroic as their finals opponent will not fall over easily.
Team Vitality Deserving Favorites
Vitality has slowly risen to become one of the top CS:GO teams in the world. Although they’re considered as such, 2020 hasn’t been a very dominant year for them. They finished 7th-9th at DreamHack Masters Spring Europe, and 9th-12th at the IEM World Championship. Although those results were disappointing, they were up against stiffer competition than what they’ve seen at ESL One Cologne Europe. The most important thing to note from the IEM World Championship was Vitality’s 2-1 win over Heroic.
Focusing in on their journey to the finals, no team has truly been able to challenge Vitality just yet. Only one team has been able to beat them, and that was Astralis, who has since been eliminated from the tournament. Outside of Astralis, not a single team has taken a map off of Team Vitality. Faze Clan, Sprout and Ninjas in Pyjamas all went winless against Vitality.
Considering the odds, Vitality is a very slight favorite over Heroic. Since the odds are so close, there’s a good amount of value to be had on Vitality since they’d normally be much more highly favored over a team like Heroic. Heroic is having a really solid tournament but they’re not normally in the same conversation as a team like Vitality. Take advantage of the odds here and take the favorite.
Pick: Vitality (-140)
Growing up, Matthew was in love with sports. So, following his undergrad, it only made sense to dive head-first into the world of sports media. Rather than sticking to traditional sports, Matt found his way to eSports and gaming. He also produces, edits and serves as an analyst for SQUAD.
