Fifteen teams are facing off in the inaugural Counter-Strike Esports World Cup. Which ones have the best shot to win it all, for the first time ever? That’s what we’re here to figure out!
- What: Counter-Strike - Esports World Cup
- When: July 17 - July 21
- Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Watch: Streaming on Twitch
- Prize Pool: $400,000 for first place ($175,000 for second place, $85,00 for third and fourth place)
Whenever a tournament debuts, it can be difficult to handicap it. So much depends not only on the talent, but the tournament structure. We’ll lay out the Esports World Cup bracket setup in a second, but for now, he are the latest betting odds on Counter-Strike entering the tournament:
To Win CS2 World Cup 2024 
Spirit +275 +250 +250 +250 Vitality +320 +300 +325 +300 FaZe +390 +400 +390 +390 MOUZ +490 +500 +490 +500 Natus Vincere +600 +600 +600 +600 G2 +700 +700 +700 +700 Virtus.pro +1200 +1200 +1500 +1200 The MongolZ +1400 +1500 +1500 +1500 Complexity +2500 +2500 +2500 +2500 FURIA +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 MIBR +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 M80 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 Sashi +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 FlyQuest +12000 +10000 +10000 +15000 JiJieHao +100000 +100000 +100000 +100000
Remember to double-check these online esports betting odds until you actually submit your wager. Our Esports World Cup betting odds for Counter-Strike are accurate entering Wednesday, July 3. This gives the top online sportsbooks in the United States plenty of time to adjust their Esports World Cup betting lines prior to the start of the Counter-Strike tournament on July 17.
As you can see, Team Spirit (+275) enters as the favorite to win the Counter-Strike Esports World Cup. But both Team Vitality (+320) and Faze (+390) are nipping at their heels. Plus, G2 (+700) just made a major addition to their roster.
So, which teams are most likely to win the whole thing? Let’s get into it!
Full Breakdown for Counter-Strike Esports World Cup Schedule and Rules
The Esports World Cup Count-Strike bracket will be broken up into three phases. They are as follows…
The Opening Stage
This is the first round of the tournament. It will be a single elimination format, so if you lose…yikes. Each match will be a best of three mini series. The winners all move on to the Esports World Cup Playoffs. Meanwhile, the losers are sent to the Esports World Cup Play-In Stage.
The Play-In Stage
Much like the Opening Stage, the Play-In Stage also follows a single-elimination format. However, this time, each matchup is only best-of-one. So if you lose, you’re done. The team that wins this bracket will advance to the playoffs.
The Playoffs
The Playoff bracket is also a single-elimination format. Every matchup will be best of three, similar to The Opening Stage. The last team standing at the end of it all will be the Esports World Cup champion and receive the $400,00 prize purse
Why Team Spirit is Favored to Win the Esports World Cup
Anyone who hasn’t closely followed the road to the Esports World Cup may be surprised that Team Spirit (+275) is favored to win it all. This is fair. We have grown accustomed to seeing FaZe top the competitive field.
And yet, Team Spirit was on their “A” game during the BLAST Spring Premier Final. Not only did they quickly dispatch Team Vitality and Natus Vincere, but they also took down FaZe themselves. Though Team Spirit’s kill-to-death ratio can get a little shaky for stretches, they’ve earned their favorite status.
Who is the Bigger Threat to Win It All: FaZe or Team Vitality?
Believe it or not, this isn’t much of a question for us. Yes, Team Vitality (+320) made it further during the BLAST Premier League Spring tournament and even beat FaZe (+390) during their matchup. Furthermore, FaZe is in the midst of a rough patch, having lost four of their past five matches.
Still, their lineup has more continuity than many of their competitors—some of whom have needed to make changes ahead of the Esports World Cup.
FaZe has the same top five they locked into place during December. And while they have struggled on plenty of different maps, they are clearly starting to jell. The experience, mind you, that comes with playing over 100 maps during this time cannot be dismissed either.
Which Team is the Best Counter-Strike World Cup Dark Horse?
Our attention here immediately goes to G2 (+700). Paying out 7-to-1 caught our eye because of all the talent on their roster. Their mix of headshot specialists and jaw-dropping kills per round has us smitten.
So why the long odds? It appears twofold. The team recently lost Nemanja "nexa" Isaković to an undisclosed mystery team. That created a huge hole in the lineup. But they just replaced him with 21-year-old Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa, who boasts a host of notables, including a 65 percent hit rate on headshots.
This move feels like enough for G2 to be considered great value. Even with the learning curve they may experience while incorporating malbsMd into the lineup on the fly, they seem like way more of a threat than advertised to win it all.
Esports World Cup Prediction
Try as we might to contemplate other options, we just can’t back off FaZe (+390). Paying out nearly 4-to-1 is an absolute steal in our book. And we just don’t see this team remaining in their rut for much longer.
Indeed, it seems as if they have struggled during some of these shorter sets. The best-of-five format suits them much better than the best-of-three setup.
But we’re still ultimately talking about a team that ranks inside the top three of six major LAN categories.
If it’s not going to be them, it really does feel like Team Spirit (+275) or Team Vitality (+320) will get the job done. But we’re inclined to invest in the more expansive track record from the FaZe organization—especially when they’re delivering this kind of prospective payout.
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