WESG World Finals betting preview

The organisers have increased the number of teams attending WESG this year from 24 to 32 and as such the teams have been placed into eight groups of four. Unfortunately, EMC was unable to attend and therefore only 31 teams will be competing.

This event is unique as teams are only allowed to compete with rosters of the same nationality. This means fnatic are able to play with their full roster due to all five players being Swedish but Na’Vi have had to divide into two teams, Team Russia and Team Ukraine.

The qualified teams and their groups:

There is a great deal of diversity at this event, in terms of both skill and team regions. It will be interesting to see how some of the world’s best players match up against many of the lesser known teams in attendance.

WESG World Finals betting: Competition format

The format for this tournament will consist of two round-robin group stages, the first of which with the full 31 teams playing best-of-ones (BO1). After this initial stage, the remaining 16 teams will face off in another round-robin group stage, consisting of four groups of four, with these matches being best-of-twos (BO2).

Following this, the top two teams from each group will progress through to the playoff stage, which will be a single elimination best-of-three (BO3) bracket.

This initial round-robin stage will provide bettors with a good opportunity for some BO1 upsets, where some of the lesser known teams may do just enough to turn over the big names. As the tournament progresses to the BO2’s and BO3’s, we should begin to see some more consistent results coming through and the chances of an upset will be reduced.

This tournament structure should provide a platform for many of the more well-established teams to shine and make it to the playoffs, whilst giving some of the lesser known teams an opportunity to test themselves against the world’s best.

WESG World Finals odds: The favourites

SK Gaming (2.750*) has had a tough start to 2018. They’ve been knocked out early at recent events such as IEM Katowice and will be hoping to perform better here. With a number of the top teams not attending, their chance of success is increased. coldzera recently that some members of the team were facing personal problems outside of the game and hopefully these issues are now resolved.

The acquisition of boltz is a great move on paper, as he provides support and stability to this star-packed team. So far, however, things have not really worked out as hoped. They do have one of the tougher initial groups with BIG and Russia looming and will need to be hitting their best level in order to progress.

fnatic are able to play with their full roster due to all five players being Swedish but Na’Vi have had to divide into two teams, Team Russia and Team Ukraine

fnatic (5.510*) put in a mighty performance to win IEM Katowice. The Swedish team beat FaZe in the BO5 Grand Final on the 5th map in overtime. flusha looked in peak form as he went +28 kills for the series and gave fnatic a lot of momentum with his clutches.

If the same fnatic we saw in Poland turn up in China, they are certainly contenders for the title. Their Group G placement has put them in with Cloud9, but they should easily progress through to the playoff stage of this event, so long as their draw in the second group stage is not a group of death.

Cloud9 (3.760*) have proven that they can win titles, but their form since their Major victory back in January has been inconsistent. They beat SK in a BO3 at Katowice, only to fall to FaZe and will need to step up their game if they want to return to winning ways. They’re certainly capable of a top four finish, with the American side settling for nothing short than making the final.

Team Ukraine (6.810*) are fortunate enough to have arguably the current best player in the world, s1mple. He’s proven that he can put the weight of his team on his shoulders and carry them through to victories. He’s joined by fellow Na’Vi teammates Zeus and Edward, so will have good chemistry.

Additionally, as little is expected of this mixed team, he may feel more relaxed and express himself even more, unleashing an even scarier s1mple than we have seen in recent weeks.

Who are the ones to watch?

The Turkish team Space Soldiers (9.010*) have the advantage of being able to play with their full roster due to all being of the same nationality and will have their strategies and roles locked down. The team form a sort of middle ground in terms of ability, where they are just below the elite competition but above the majority of the lesser known teams.

With the ability to compete with anyone on their day, Space Soldiers' hopes of surprising people at the WESG World Finals will rest on the shoulders of Calyx and XANTARES, as they are the main heavy hitters of the group.

Team EnVyUs (13.020*) haven’t been involved in many of the recent events but will be targeting a repeat of last year where they were crowned WESG Champions.

The team have undergone some significant roster changes since and welcomed the return of former support player kioShiMa just recently. They will be without ScreaM as he’s competing for Team Belgium and as such have added former member SIXER to their roster. They could be the dark horse at this event and one to look out for in China.

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*Odds subject to change