ESL One: New York 2019 Opening Odds: Liquid & Astralis Seen as Favorites

• ESL: New York takes over the Barclays Center from September 26th to September 29th
• World #1 Team Liquid completed the IEM Grand Slam after winning four consecutive ESL or DreamHack Masters tournaments
• Former top team ‘Astralis’ look to recover from their dry spell

The CS:GO world goes back to New York from September 26-29, 2019 where Team Liquid will look to continue their dominant 2019.

Seven teams have already qualified and they are waiting on one more to round out the eight teams competing.

ESL One New York 2019 Betting Odds

*Odds taken July 30, 2019

Team Liquid Is Simply Unbeatable

It wasn’t too long ago that Team Liquid were unable to finish in first. Now it seems like every tournament they attend, they end of hoisting the trophy. In large part it’s because they have.

Team Liquid’s roster of Nitro, EliGE, Twistzz, NAF, and Stewie2K have put North American CounterStrike on top. They’ve won the past five tournaments they’ve attended and did so in dominant fashion. They most recently dismantled ENCE 3-0 in the grand finals of IEM XIV – Chicago.

It’s one of the most dominant runs we’ve seen in the history of CounterStrike and it got supplemented by an extra $1,000,000 for winning the Intel Grand Slam. A cash prize handed out for winning four out of ten events run by ESL or DreamHack Masters. Team Liquid accomplished it by winning four straight tournaments.

This team shows no signs of slowing down and should probably be heavier favorites than they currently are.

Astralis Aren’t What They Once Were

When Team Liquid was stuck in their second place slump, the team that continuously toppled them was Astralis.  In 2018, Astralis was dismantling everyone like Team Liquid is doing now. It was first place after first place, but that has come to an abrupt halt as they haven’t won an event since Blast Pro Series: Sao Paolo back in March.

It’s been rough sledding for Astralis in the past couple of months. They’ve missed the finals in three straight tournaments that they’ve entered. That includes a jarring 2-0 loss to ENCE at Blast Pro Series Madrid, and a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the #9 ranked team on the HLTV CS:GO rankings, ‘FURIA’, at the ECS Season 7 Finals.

Astralis has shown that they can contend at any tournament. They’re not that far removed from an Intel Grand Slam of their own. However, with their recent track record, and the way Team Liquid is playing, they’re anything but a sure bet at the moment.

The Long Shots

Eight teams are still looking to qualify for the final spot at ESL New York. The highest ranked team among those is Cr4zy at 16th on HLTV’s Rankings. I wouldn’t even think about placing money on any team below NRG.

Pick to win: Team Liquid (+150)

The Other Guys

It’s quite simple. There’s no one worth betting on to win outside of Team Liquid. As for the finals, there are a few teams that could overcome the odds and take out Astralis for the other spot in the finals.

There’s no one worth betting on to win outside of Team Liquid.

First is ENCE. I’ve already stated their 2-0 win over Astralis at Madrid, so they clearly have what it takes to take down a top team. They’re currently #3 in the world and have been a much improved team over the past year. The problem is their inconsistencies. They’ll go from winning Blast Pro Series Madrid to finishing 13th at ESL Cologne.

That ugly 13th finish might be overshadowed by a couple of second place finishes at DreamHack Dallas and IEM Chicago where they came up short both times to Team Liquid. Still, they’re recent results are actually better than those of Astralis.

NRG is another interesting choice. +550 seems like a good line for them. On June 11th, NRG swapped out Daps for Stanislaw and they’ve yet to fully mesh with the new roster. Regardless, they’ve still traded sets with the likes of Faze and come the end of September the team should have their chemistry ironed out.

Picks to Reach Finals: Team Liquid (-300), ENCE (+250)