Intermediate live blog
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Jack Stewart League of Legends Last week
LCS and LEC 2021 Power rankings The LCS & LEC are the two premiere franchised leagues in Western League of Legends, we analyse both each week in our LCS & LEC Power rankings.
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Adam Boothe Strategy Jun 30, 2021
Pinnacle Cup II betting preview Adam Boothe provides his expert insight into the Pinnacle Cup, analysing which challengers could cause an upset, the contenders that might compete to win it all, and where the value may lie in the market. Read on to find out more.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Jun 14, 2021
BLAST Premier Spring Final 2021 betting preview The BLAST Premier Spring Final will see eight of the best CS:GO teams in the world in attendance. Adam Boothe provides his expert betting insight on the potential competition at the tournament. Read on to find out more.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Jun 2, 2021
Intel Extreme Masters Summer 2021 betting preview The Intel Extreme Masters Summer returns with several of the top teams in the world in attendance. Adam Boothe provides his expert betting insight on the potential competition at the tournament. Read on to find out more.
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Pinnacle Strategy May 24, 2021
Pinnacle Cup: Round Eight recap It has been a long and gruelling group stage at the Pinnacle Cup - Dota. Several teams are starting to crack under the pressure and round eight of play has seen several stand-in players come in. Read on to find out more.
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Kristian Medina Valorant May 21, 2021
VALORANT Champions Tour Masters Reykjavik preview The VALORANT Champions Tour goes to Reykjavik, Iceland for the Stage 2 Masters. Ten teams from around the world converge for the first international competition in VALORANT history. Who will prove themselves as Masters Champions?
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Andreea "Divushka" Esanu Strategy May 19, 2021
Pinnacle Cup: Team Spirit takes the lead The 10 squads battling in the round-robin group stage of the Pinnacle Cup - Dota are half way through their matches and only one has managed to take a small lead and break the long trail of ties. Read on to find out more.
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Pinnacle Cup: Round Four recap We are nearing the halfway point in the group stage of the Pinnacle Cup - Dota. For a few teams, this is already “do or die” territory. For most, there is still plenty to fight for. So far, no team has been able to separate themselves from the pack and every team has lost at least one series.
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Andreea "Divushka" Esanu Strategy May 12, 2021
Pinnacle Cup: Seven teams are tied Seven teams are tied after three rounds of group stage matches of the Pinnacle Cup. Read on to find out more.
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Pinnacle Strategy May 10, 2021
Pinnacle Cup: Round Two recap The first two days of play in the Pinnacle Cup showed how close all of the teams are, with day two hammering that point home. We still have a long way to go before the playoffs but the picture of who will make it remains incredibly opaque.
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Andreea "Divushka" Esanu Strategy May 7, 2021
Pinnacle Cup delivers top-notch plays and hilarious mistakes Upsets, breathtaking teamfights, and a huge misplay – a recap on the thrilling first few days of the Pinnacle Cup – Dota.
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Andreea "Divushka" Esanu Strategy May 5, 2021
Pinnacle Cup: The group stage warriors The Pinnacle Cup is set to bring you explosive Dota 2 encounters between teams from Europe and the CIS region across May 2021. Read GosuGamers preview for the group-stage.
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Kristian Medina Valorant Apr 30, 2021
All eyes on VALORANT - A future esports juggernaut With VALORANT passing its one-year anniversary since launch, we take a look at its growth over the past 12 months and identify some of the key factors influencing its nascent esports scene. Read on to find out more.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Apr 26, 2021
DreamHack Masters Spring betting preview Adam Boothe provides his expert betting insight into the DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 and identifies where the value may lie in the matchups at the tournament. Read on to find out more
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Apr 12, 2021
BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown 2021 betting preview The BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown features some of the best CS:GO teams competing for a prize pool of $162,500. Adam Boothe takes a look at the teams in attendance and discusses the tournament in his betting preview. Read on to find out more.
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Adam Boothe Dota 2 Mar 25, 2021
ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 betting preview Dota 2 returns to LAN with the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021! In this preview our resident expert Adam Boothe provides his insight into the teams to watch and where value may lie in the market. Read on to find out more.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Mar 8, 2021
Pinnacle CS:GO Power Rankings In the first week of each month, we will release the official Pinnacle CS:GO Power Rankings, with curator Adam Boothe offering a brief overview of the teams, and some honorable mentions that missed out.
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Thorin Educational Jan 29, 2021
Building the Narrative: Esports and the Super Bowl In his latest column for Pinnacle Esports, Duncan “Thorin” Shields tells us how the biggest events in Esports and the NFL's Super Bowl use similar devices to build a compelling narrative.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Jan 20, 2021
The 2020 CS:GO Power Rankings Review In this special edition of the Pinnacle Power Rankings we recap one of the most unique years in CS:GO history.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jan 19, 2021
Best Roster Moves of 2020 With the 2021 season rapidly approaching, many teams have made changes to their squads, for better and worse. This article sees us look at a few of the teams that, in our opinion, made the best roster moves of 2020.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jan 19, 2021
Worst Roster Moves of 2020 With the 2021 season rapidly approaching, many teams made changes to their squads, for better and worse. This article sees us look at a few of the teams that, in our opinion, made the worst roster moves of 2020.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Dec 23, 2020
Rugby, and the future of CS:GO and VALORANT There's been a common question of whether or not VALORANT can, or will, overtake and dominate CS:GO in esports. But what if they could co-exist? For that, we look to traditional sports and the example Rugby can offer.
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The hidden depth of MMA and Counter-Strike Duncan "Thorin" Shields opens his first column for Pinnacle focusing on the hidden depth that exists in both MMA and Counter-Strike, and why so many people become new spectators for both.
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Mathieu Quiquerez CS:GO Nov 10, 2020
Aspects of communication in CS:GO Communication. Rightfully one of the most recurrent themes in Counter-Strike, it has also always been a topic of great interest for me. I used to be very affected by the quality of my teams’ vocal exchanges during games.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Nov 5, 2020
Flashpoint Season 2 Preview Flashpoint is set to commence its second season in November, where 12 teams will fight amongst its unique format in their attempts to achieve the $500,000 top prize.
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Kristian Medina League of Legends Oct 29, 2020
League of Legends World Championship preview The League of Legends World Championship is the final event of the LoL esports calender where the best teams in the world gather and compete for the title of World Champions. Read on to find out more about Worlds 2020.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Oct 2, 2020
Using maps in your CS:GO betting strategy For as long as I have been following the competitive Counter-Strike scene, the professional map pool has consisted of seven maps in active circulation at one time. However, beyond this Valve has, at seemingly random moments, swapped in a new map with the intention of updating the one they are removing.
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Mathieu Quiquerez CS:GO Sep 25, 2020
The pros and cons of international rosters in CS:GO We have come a long way in accepting that international rosters can compete at the highest level in Counter-Strike. Teams like FaZe and mousesports have opened up an avenue which other teams have then followed, with G2 being the latest remarkable example.
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Jack Stewart League of Legends Sep 24, 2020
Will the West perform at the League of Legends World Championship? The League of Legends World Championship is as competitive as ever, we take a look at the Western teams at Worlds 2020 and their chances this year. Read on to find out more.
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Jack Stewart League of Legends Sep 22, 2020
Top players and Rookies to watch at LoL Worlds 2020 The League of Legends World Championship might look a little different this year, but one thing that will remain the same is the level of competition.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Sep 21, 2020
Looking at the CS:GO coaching bug Right at the end of August 2020, just after ESL One Cologne crowned Heroic as its winner, a new scandal rocked competitive CS:GO. A bug in the game meant that coaches of teams could exploit the camera to gain information they were not supposed to be privy to.
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Mathieu Quiquerez CS:GO Sep 18, 2020
The eternal dilemma of individual consistency Having watched and participated in expert panels for years, I can safely say that consistency is one of the most recurrent terms in the realm of Counter-Strike. In fact, one of the highest praises we can possibly give to a player is to say they’re consistent.
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Michael Moriarty Rocket League Sep 10, 2020
Rocket League Predictions Inform your Rocket League predictions ahead of this week’s matches in the upcoming Rocket League Championship Series circuit with insight from Pinnacle’s odds, news and analysis.
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Michael Moriarty Valorant Sep 1, 2020
Understanding Vanguard: VALORANT’s Anti-Cheat Alongside VALORANT’s highly-publicised launch, Riot Games also made a big deal out of their new, innovative anti-cheat system - Vanguard. It operates a little differently to the anti-cheat offerings in other games, and we’ll explain more on how it works in this article.
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Mathieu Quiquerez CS:GO Aug 24, 2020
Using professional expertise for CS:GO betting Betting both on CS:GO and in general is a topic I’ve been slightly reluctant to cover and address for a while. I will start off by saying that you should always think any bet through and bet responsibly if it is an activity that you enjoy.
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Kristian Medina Valorant Aug 21, 2020
What is the meta in VALORANT? With the game still in its' infancy, VALORANT presents the opportunity to dissect how a meta evolves from the very beginning. In this article we discuss what is the meta in VALORANT and how has the meta developed at the amatuer level all the way up to the professional level.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jul 31, 2020
CS:GO weapons guide To take part in CS:GO, you need to get to know the weapons. From the different types of guns all the way to the grenades, mastering these elements will be the only way you’ll reach the top of your game.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Jul 23, 2020
How different tournament formats affect CS:GO betting The competitive scene of each game is very different. It is critical to understand how the scheduling affects not only the players, but a bettor’s ability to find opportunity. This article will look at how the CS calendar operates in its current state, broken into two parts and covering the top level of the scene first.
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Mathieu Quiquerez CS:GO Jul 22, 2020
What makes a good IGL? Players that compete in CS:GO often struggle with taking up the role of In-Game Leader (IGL). We asked former professional player Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez on his thoughts about what makes a good IGL.
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Michael Moriarty Rocket League Jul 10, 2020
RLCS X: Rocket League's new esports format Psyonix have announced a drastic restructure to their flagship competition, the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS). Changes include dropping the league format, instituting new “Major” competitions and one, annual, World Championship event.
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Kristian Medina League of Legends Jun 26, 2020
What is Gold Difference at 15 minutes? Gold Difference at 15 minutes, also known as [email protected], is a statistic that tracks the game state of a LoL match at the 15 minute mark. In this article we go over what is [email protected] and how you can use [email protected] in betting context. Read on to find out more.
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Pinnacle Educational Jun 24, 2020
How the Swiss-System works in esports For those of you that are avid watchers of CS:GO Majors, you may notice that the opening two sections host a format not seen at many other tournaments, the Swiss-system. We’ll look at how it came to be, and where it originated from, before injecting itself into esport tournaments across the world.
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Michael Moriarty Valorant Jun 19, 2020
Is VALORANT a viable esport? With VALORANT’s official release having occurred in the middle of June, naturally everyone’s eyes are looking to where it’ll head next. A big expectation of many is that it’ll explode as an esport, but will it be viable, and what approach will it take? We muse over some potential directions.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO Jun 18, 2020
Understanding the CS:GO economy for betting A noted point of importance of a good betting strategy can be found in the economic bonus. This article will go beyond the pistol round and analyse the economic rules, how their latest update has influenced outcome, and finally how it may affect a betting strategy
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jun 11, 2020
What is CS:GO Danger Zone? In 2018, Valve released the Danger Zone update for CS:GO. This update added a new map and a Battle Royale mode to the game. With a whole host of differences between it and the main game mode, learn more about how to get the best out of Danger Zone.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jun 10, 2020
128 and 64 Tick Servers: What's the difference? A long raging discussion found in many CS:GO circles is the difference between server tick rate. While the main CS:GO matchmaking runs on 64-tick, many competitive competition takes place on servers running 128-tick. But what is the difference, and why does that matter?
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Jack Stewart League of Legends Jun 4, 2020
How G2 Esports became the Kings of Europe Four years ago, the League of Legends (LoL) European Championship (then known as the EU LCS) was shaken to its core by the debut of G2 Esports - an organisation that would go on to become, arguably, the greatest Europe has ever seen.
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Kristian Medina League of Legends Jun 1, 2020
Totals betting in League of Legends There are a number of betting markets available for League of Legends. In this article we go over Totals betting in LoL, how it functions and how bettors can leverage it as an alternative to a Money Line bet. Read on to find out more.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO May 27, 2020
Best Players in CS:GO Since its release in 2012, and the franchise’s history dating back to 1999, CS:GO has had a vibrant professional esports scene. In that time we’ve seen a number of players hit the top echelons of play. We’ll investigate a few of these players, both from history and of the present day.
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Kristian Medina League of Legends May 20, 2020
Mid-Season Cup preview The Mid-Season Cup replaces the Mid-Season Invitational in 2020 and features eight of the top teams in Asia competing for the lion-share of $600,000. The online competition will feature three World Championship title holders: T1, FunPlus Phoenix and Invictus Gaming.
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Adam Boothe CS:GO May 20, 2020
The importance of Pistol Rounds in betting strategy In the first-person shooter Counter-Strike, the opening sequence of every single game is what is known as the pistol round, or pistol. It determines which side has the economic advantage into that particular half.
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Mathieu Quiquerez CS:GO May 13, 2020
The impact of moving to online CS:GO Due to the current global pandemic, offline esports events have suffered cancellations or postponements. As such, the fledgling industry has returned to a natural home – online. We’ve enlisted the assistance of a former professional CS:GO player to discuss the affects this may have on a number of teams.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO May 11, 2020
The rise of 6-man rosters in CS:GO Traditionally, teams in the Counter-Strike series have retained a solid 5-man roster. While other esports, like League of Legends and Overwatch, have moved into a larger roster environment, the majority of CS:GO has so far remained steadfast in its commitment to not having more than five people on a team.
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Michael Moriarty Rocket League May 7, 2020
Rocket League Spring Series Predictions With the scheduled RLCS Season 9 finals cancelled due to COVID-19, developers Psyonix have drafted up a new tournament to keep Rocket League Esports active. The Rocket League Spring Series has four tournaments in each of the RLCS regions, and will offer $350,000 in prize pool.
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Kristian Medina Valorant May 4, 2020
The economy in VALORANT In VALORANT the economy system plays a vital role in creating a balance between the Attackers and Defenders. It aims to prevent teams from suffering consecutive round losses due to the lack of credits ensuring both sides remain competitive.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Apr 28, 2020
Road to Rio: CS:GO Major Qualifiers With the Spring CS:GO Major of 2020 delayed to the Autumn due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the qualification system for the event has changed completely. With there being over a year between the two Majors, it was deemed necessary to put everyone’s place back up for grabs to see who will head to Rio in November.
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Michael Moriarty Educational Apr 21, 2020
Esports in China One of the esports industry’s current growth hotspots is found in China. Regularly challenging, and beating, the likes of North America and Europe in terms of competitors, sponsorship and viewers, it’s worth knowing what’s popular in the country.
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Mathieu Quiquerez Valorant Apr 17, 2020
VALORANT vs CSGO: A pro's perspective VALORANT has burst onto the esports scene and is gaining momentum with the potential to become a top title. With so many questions about similarities and differences between VALORANT and CS:GO, we enlisted a former professional CS:GO player to run through an in-depth analysis of VALORANT vs. CS:GO.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Apr 9, 2020
What is FPL? Outside of regular competition, a number of professional CS:GO players take part in the FACEIT Pro League (FPL) to engage in some slightly more relaxed, but still competitive, matches. But what exactly is the FPL? Read on to find out.
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Michael Moriarty Educational Apr 8, 2020
Esports in South Korea For those new to esports, you’d imagine the hotspots for the fledgling industry to be North America, Europe and China. That belief would completely miss out the contribution South Korea made to the start of esports as the first country where it hit the mainstream
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Michael Moriarty Rocket League Mar 25, 2020
RLCS Season 9 North America and Europe Preview The ninth season of the Rocket League Championship Series is underway, with ten teams featuring in North America and Europe's leagues. Each week we’ll preview games from the two main regions with insight from Pinnacle's odds and statistical analysis.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Mar 24, 2020
What is CS:GO Totals betting? Outside of the main options for betting on CS:GO matches, there are many alternative markets to bet on. One of the easiest alternatives to understand are Match Totals and Map Totals markets. So, how does Totals betting work and what is important for bettors to understand to utilise it? Read on to find out.
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Kristian Medina Educational Mar 3, 2020
Essential esports terms to know One of the fastest growing sports industries in the world, esports has brought a range of new terms to the main stream. We break down some of the essential esports terms to know including key stakeholders in esports, esports terminology, the top esports titles and more.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Feb 19, 2020
IEM Katowice Predictions The first IEM event of 2020 will be in Katowice, Poland, with $500,000 on offer. Sixteen teams will face off in the first Masters Championship of the ESL Pro Tour. -
Michael Moriarty CS:GO Feb 18, 2020
DreamHack Open Predictions The next DreamHack Open stop on the circuit will be in the Californian city of Anaheim. From the eight competing teams at the event, four of them will be making the LAN debut for 2020. -
Kristian Medina Rainbow Six Siege Feb 7, 2020
Six Invitational 2020 preview The Six Invitational 2020 returns to Montreal to crown the best Rainbow Six: Siege esports team. Read our betting preview for the Six Invitational 2020 as we break down the top five contenders at the tournament. -
Michael Moriarty Educational Feb 6, 2020
What is the GSL style format? A large number of esports tournaments use a group format that’s not used outside of the space. We’ll take a look at the format commonly known as GSL-style groups, how it works, where it came from and how many events use it.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jan 28, 2020
BLAST Premier Spring Series Regular Season Preview The first S-Tier event of the 2020 CS:GO season is nearly upon us. BLAST returns with a new format for the upcoming year, introducing a three-part event that is set to give out $1,325,000 in total prize pool. The first part of their new tournament is the Regular Season, where 12 teams will fight it out for spaces in the Finals or the Showdown.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jan 23, 2020
North at DreamHack Open Leipzig: Return of MSL The first event of the 2020 CS:GO calendar, DreamHack Open Leipzig, is imminent. In attendance will be North, who will be lining up with In-Game Leader Mathias "MSL" Lauridsen for the first time since September 2018.
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Benjamin Doughty CS:GO Jan 13, 2020
CS:GO: The year in review 2019 has brought us many memorable moments in Counter-Strike. We witnessed Astralis dominate the Major circuit, and saw Team Liquid break records to take the Intel Grand Slam in record time eventually resulting in Intel changing the requirements.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jan 9, 2020
Looking at Astralis vs Liquid in 2019 Throughout 2019, there were two main powerhouse teams battling it out for the top. Barring a brief gap of a couple of weeks in October, the top spot on the HLTV.org team rankings was held by either Astralis or Team Liquid.
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Michael Moriarty Rocket League Dec 11, 2019
Rocket League Championship Series Finals preview The eighth season of the Rocket League Championship Series is approaching. Twelve teams from all over the world are set to face off in Madrid’s Palacio Vistalegre to compete for a $529,500 prize pool.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Nov 14, 2019
ECS Season 8 Finals - MIBR and Sharks preview The Esports Championship Series is set to conclude its eighth season with its finals in Dallas, Texas. There, two teams hailing from Latin America are set to take part. We look at their chances.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Nov 7, 2019
ECS Season 8 Finals preview The Esports Championship Series is set to conclude its eighth season with a $500,000 final. Held at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas, it will feature eight teams from Europe and North America. -
Michael Moriarty CS:GO Oct 30, 2019
How does the ESL Pro Tour work? Before ESL One New York 2019, ESL announced their CS:GO tournament plan for 2020. This mostly encompasses the ambitious project of the ESL Pro Tour, where ESL and DreamHack interconnect their tournaments at various levels. -
Michael Moriarty CS:GO Oct 25, 2019
Why don't superstar teams work in CS:GO? Place yourself in this position: You’re the general manager of an esports organisation and you want to make a big splash into the world of CS:GO. The best way to do this, you think, is to cherry-pick the five best performing players in the world and place them all on one roster.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Sep 25, 2019
ESL One New York 2019 Preview ESL One New York 2019 sees Counter-Strike return to the Barclays Centre in the Big Apple. As with last year, eight teams are in attendance for a $200,000 prize pool. This year’s edition sees the competition become a Europe versus North America clash. Which teams will come out on top from the group stages and progress to the semi-finals? Read on to inform your ESL One New York 2019 betting.
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Kristian Medina League of Legends Aug 8, 2019
Origins in Teamfight Tactics Teamfight Tactics has an extensive Origin system which gives players the ability to create their own unique strategies while playing the game. In this article we discuss the origins in Teamfight Tactics. Read on to find out more.
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Kristian Medina League of Legends Jul 30, 2019
Classes in Teamfight Tactics Teamfight Tactics has an extensive Class system which gives players the ability to create their own unique stragies while playing the game. In this article we discuss the classes in Teamfight Tactics. Read on to find out more.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jul 22, 2019
StarLadder Berlin Minor Championships Preview - Asia and CIS CS:GO is ramping up to its spectacle event. With the StarLadder Berlin Major set to start at the end of August, the only tournaments remaining to confirm the eleven remaining teams are the four Minor Championships. Up next are the Asian and CIS region Minors.
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Michael Moriarty CS:GO Jul 16, 2019
StarLadder Berlin Minor Championships Preview - Americas and Europe CS:GO is ramping up to its spectacle event. With the StarLadder Berlin Major set to start at the end of August, the only tournaments remaining to confirm the eleven remaining teams are the four Minor Championships.
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Kristian Medina League of Legends Jun 26, 2019
Rift Rivals 2019 preview North America and Europe are set to clash at Rift Rivals 2019, with both vying to claim bragging rights for the best Western region in League of Legends. Current reigning MSI champions G2 return to the stage alongside Fnatic and Origen to represent Europe, while Team Liquid, Cloud9, and Team SoloMid hold the banner for North America. Who will win? Read on to find out more.
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Pinnacle League of Legends Jun 14, 2019
An introduction to live betting on League of Legends Identifying the earliest possible stage of any prediction is important. Consider the pre-game element of LoL during the initial pick and ban phase - if Team B bans Team A’s most important Champion, this can have a tremendous impact on the game. Understanding multiple different stages to the game is vital when handling live betting on League of Legends.
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Stuart Bridges CS:GO Jan 16, 2019
IEM Katowice: 2019: What is a CS:GO Major? The first CS:GO Major, IEM Katowice XIII – 2019 Championship, is starting on 13 February 2019 and in order to aim for the best results, we need to analyse the teams. But firstly, we need to understand the format, structure, qualifiers, and how progression works. Want to learn what a CS:GO Major is? Read on to find out more.
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Pinnacle Educational Mar 2, 2018
Will PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) be the next major eSports title? PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is beginning to thrive as an eSport despite the game being unfinished and large issues still remaining. Read on to find out more about the problems in the game and what it needs to do to become one of the major eSports titles.
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Pinnacle Educational Nov 8, 2017
Arbitrage betting explained Arbitrage betting promises risk-free returns - the Holy Grail of gambling - so is naturally a very popular topic within the betting community, but how does arbitrage betting work? We have laid out everything you need to know; this is arbitrage betting explained.