Are you gearing up for the thrill of your first major tournaments, or perhaps delving into the world of esports betting with a goal to up your analytical game? If that’s the case, you surely grasp the complexities of the field. Wondering what’s the next step?
Heading into the fray without prior intel on your opposing teams, especially in tournaments featuring lesser-known players, is a misstep you’ll want to avoid. But if you’re aiming for the big leagues in esports, rolling up your sleeves for some serious analytics is not just a suggestion—it’s a necessity. Let’s dive into how you can prep for your adversaries and dissect teams before the matches begin.
Getting a Headstart with Preliminary Analysis
Not every tournament graces the screens of HLTV, and you’ve likely noticed the plethora of services streaming matches and inviting predictions on the victor. Start by picking your match. Aim for games featuring teams with plenty of accessible intel. Avoid venturing into analysis for regions with a nascent CS:GO scene—you’ll just encounter the unforgiving arms of randomness. Your focus should be on Europe, the USA, and occasionally South America.
Once you’ve chosen a region, zero in on the tier of the teams. Stay clear of the murky waters of players you’re seeing for the first time. Stick to tiers 1-3, whose triumphs you’ve tracked or at least heard of. An invaluable skill is understanding the team’s overall style and each player’s approach—some favor an aggressive play, while others might ‘toy’ with the game until the clock turns red.
Zooming In: Personal Player Analytics
Here, we’re particularly keen on highlighting the ‘forwards’ of the teams. Compare player stats on platforms like HLTV.org. It’s best to consider recent history, say the last three months, but also weigh the total official matches played by the esport athlete. Pick a top player from each team and juxtapose their stats; a K/D ratio of 1.1 against 1.4 could be an early indicator of the favorite.
Don’t shy away from examining individual stats on gaming platforms. Most players frequent FACEIT, opening up a repository of their profiles. Calculate the number of matches and eye the win rates over their last 20 games. Spy on those with the highest K/D ratios in their recent 20, then analyze their in-game positions—which we’ll also cover in this article.
It’s also wise to juxtapose team snipers and captains. For snipers, it’s about technical prowess that can sway the game’s outcome with sheer skill. Captains, on the other hand, reflect tactical team preparation. A high-fragging captain might suggest players often take the reins, which can lead to unpredictable match results.
Assessing Match Preparedness Levels
Not all players train equally. Some take breaks before tournaments to mentally reset and avoid burnout, while others might immerse themselves for ten hours a day. Common sense dictates that the more practice, the better the performance, with a few exceptions attributed to variance.
How do we gauge player form and readiness? Through their Steam profiles, of course! Visit the cybersport athletes’ profiles and scrutinize the hours logged over the last fortnight. Wondering how to find a CS:GO player’s Steam profile? While googling might work, it’s tedious and might lead you to fake pages. Instead, head straight to Liquipedia, where official player profiles, including Steam links, are just a search away—an excellent method for spotting the genuine accounts.
Review the hours clocked by each player. Thirty hours over two weeks? That’s worryingly low at a mere couple of hours a day. If the entire team follows suit, their odds plummet for the upcoming clash. For comparison’s sake, some log over 100 hours in a fortnight, averaging over seven hours daily. These are the ones who might not need much warm-up to outshoot rivals sans tactics.
Don’t miss out on the players’ social media pages on Liquipedia either. They often share boot camp videos and other peeks into their routines. A player engrossed in CS:GO practice stands in stark contrast to another soaking up the sun in the Maldives. Know where to place your bets in that scenario.
Travel can also be a factor affecting performance. The concept of jet lag after long-haul flights and time zone shifts can leave a player feeling exhausted for days. While organizers try not to schedule matches immediately post-arrival, it’s a detail worth considering.
Deep Dive into CS:GO Match Analytics
So, after we’ve touched upon the raw individual talent, let’s plunge into the deep end of each team’s statistics. And for this, my friends, there’s no better ally than the ever-reliable HLTV.org. This website is a treasure trove of club results replete with nitty-gritty details. To make a well-informed decision, I’d suggest you tunnel vision on the recent couple of months—after all, it’s rare for teams to perpetually bask in the zenith of their prowess. Sure, there are outliers like Astralis who have decimated the CS:GO scene for years on end, but they’re the exception, not the rule. Most teams ebb and flow; it’s all a dance with their level of fatigue and their burning desire to clinch victory.
Diligently comb through the latest matches of each squad. Gauge how they fare against the formidable foes and keep an eye on their scoreline against the lesser adversaries. If you notice a team frequently dragged into the nerve-wracking overtimes, betting on them might be akin to playing with fire.
And hey, let’s not forget that players are flesh and blood, with emotions and psyches that can sway a game. Take a tournament with a $50,000 prize pool—nowadays, that might not raise every team’s heartbeat. It’s conceivable that for some, it’s more of a casual bootcamp vibe: trialing new tactics, relaxing into the game, the whole shebang. During such events, underdogs often emerge victorious, hungry to make a mark. Discover more on game dynamics and player psychology to get the upper hand.
Now, if you’re talking about a high-stakes tournament like IEM or a major, the atmosphere shifts dramatically. While early upsets are not unheard of, the playoffs are often where the underdogs’ dreams get dashed into cold, hard reality.
Head-to-Head Standoffs
Let’s shift gears from the general to the personal clashes. Picture this: a dominant force in the CS:GO realm might have its Achilles’ heel in the form of a nemesis team. When these two tango, predictability flies out the window, even if there’s been a streak of wins on one side.
Peering into their Bo3 series can offer clues. If overtimes are common or the games end with nail-biting scores like 16:14, trying to single out a favorite is sheer gambling. In these instances, broaden your analysis and look beyond mere head-to-head stats.
Strategizing CS:GO Picks and Bans
Then there are teams with their beloved map picks, akin to a signature move. For instance, in the current meta, it’s almost a given that Natus Vincere would gravitate towards Dust 2 with about 90% certainty. Such squads also have their ‘insta-ban,’ a map they emphatically cross off the list first thing. More strategies at ghbetsites.
To start, align the win rates of the teams on each map side by side, and scrutinize which opponents they trounced to earn those figures. It might turn out that a 70% win rate on Nuke was primarily built on the backs of lower-tier clubs.
By identifying the strongest and weakest maps for each team, you can attempt to foresee which battlefield will stand as the decider—the map left in the wake of the picking and banning tug-of-war.
Let’s not overlook the more adaptable clubs like Gambit, who skillfully navigate all seven maps in the pool and keep them in constant rotation during practice. With such teams, the odds of triumph on any given map are substantially high, even when facing an adversary who considers it their stronghold. Remember this nuance when pinpointing your favorites.
