Team Falcons have the potential to do well in this tournament. But even five months after finalising their roster with Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen, they are not in the spot everyone expected them to be.

They have had a couple of solid showings, most recently with a grand final appearance at ESL Challenger at DreamHack Summer 2024. Still, the Falcons also placed 9th-12th at the Fall Groups and Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024, although most of their struggles have come against the world’s elite Counter-Strike teams.

M80 replaced NRG for BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2024 and seem to be in solid form, yet all of their success this season has come in lesser events. So, while M80 have been winning games, they are not that great when playing at such a high level.

Complexity have a realistic chance to finish top of their BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2024 group; however, this will not be clear until the next round, when the North American squad will likely face off against Team Falcons.

The expectations on Metizport are far lower. As the world’s No.90 squad, the Swedes have not once this year appeared in a tournament of this scale, while they recently replaced Jack “Jackinho” Str?m Mattsson with Lucas “L00m1” Haukland.

Complexity are not known for their consistency, but they have posted commendable results over the last three weeks, which makes it hard to question top Counter-Strike betting sites and their odds for this match.

Priced at $1.16, Virtus.pro are odds-on to defeat Zero Tenacity on Thursday. Even though the Russians are on a five-game losing streak, those results came against stronger teams such as Team Liquid, G2 Esports, BIG, Complexity, and Team Falcons.

Zero Tenacity recently ended their losing streak, picking up a few wins over the last week. However, all of their recent games were against lower-rated teams, so it is unlikely the Balkan lineup will manage to translate that success to this fixture.

Virtus.pro should not be losing games like this, nor should they give away too much. Despite their shaky record, VP are still vastly superior and look poised to come out with a 2-0 sweep.

Esports betting tips

This encounter marked the much-anticipated return of Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev to competitive Counter-Strike 2 action, as he joined Team Falcons on loan.

The match unfolded with twists and turns, ultimately leaving spectators with mixed impressions.

.@METIZPORT TAKE DOWN THE FALCONS! #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/7uqRewqjR6

— BLAST Premier (@BLASTPremier) March 6, 2024

Team Falcons began the series on a high note, clinching victory on Mirage, the opening map.

Despite S1mple’s somewhat lacklustre individual performance, marked by a rating of 0.84 and a kill/death difference of -1, his contributions proved pivotal in securing the win for his team.

However, as the series progressed to Overpass, S1mple exhibited signs of improvement in his individual gameplay.

Despite Falcons falling short on this map, S1mple’s resilience and adaptability shone through, evident in his positive first kill difference of +5.

The decider, Vertigo, presented its own set of challenges, particularly for a player like S1mple, who had limited experience on the map.

Nonetheless, he showcased a willingness to adapt, contributing with crucial kills and assists, albeit in a losing effort.

Overall, S1mple’s return to competitive play evoked both excitement and scrutiny.

While his presence undoubtedly adds firepower to Team Falcons, his mixed performance in this match raises questions about his adaptation to the evolving CS2 landscape.

As the season progresses, all eyes will be on S1mple and Team Falcons, as they navigate through challenges and strive for success in the competitive arena.

Meanwhile, Heroic and Cloud9 took care of business against Ninjas in Pyjamas and Rare Atom in their respective series to qualify for the quarterfinals alongside Metizport.

Thursday’s Spring Showdown matches

• Team Liquid ($1.66) vs SAW ($2.10) @ 3:15pm CEST
• Complexity ($1.30) vs OG ($3.40) @ 6pm CEST
• Monte ($1.83) vs Imperial ($1.83) @ 8:30pm CEST

More esports news