It’s the middle of April, and Esports bettors everywhere know what that means: The Counter-Strike 2 futures market is heating up as Season 19 of the ESL Pro League nears the final stages of their playoff push.
- What: ESL Pro League Season 19 Championship
- When: Playoffs run from April 23 through May 12
- Championship date: May 10 through 12 (in front of a live audience)
- Where: InterContinental Malta, an IHG Hotel, St. Julian's, Malta
- Prize Purse: $750,000
- Reigning Champion: FaZe
Last year’s reigning champions, FaZe (+215) currently sit atop the Counter-Strike 2 betting lines entering the playoffs. What’s more, their odds to win Season 19 of the ESL Pro League are holding fairly consistent across the top online sportsbooks in the United States, as you can see below:
To Win ESL Season 19 
FaZe +215 +225 +225 +225 Vitality +270 +275 +300 +350 Natus Vincere +270 +300 +275 +400 G2 +325 +325 +325 +400 Virtus Pro +370 +500 +370 +400 MOUZ +430 +500 +430 +430 Astralis +640 +750 +640 +640 Eternal Fire +1700 +2000 +1700 +1700 Falcons +2100 +2250 +2000 +2100 Heroic +2100 +2500 +3300 +2100 Liquid +2700 +3000 +3300 +2700 Complexity +3500 +3500 +3500 +3500 BB Team +4400 +4400 +4400 +4400 ENCE +5500 +5500 +5500 +5500 FURIA +5500 +5500 +5500 +5500 BIG +7500 +10000 +10000 +10000 Imperial +7500 +10000 +10000 +10000 SAW +8000 +10000 +10000 +10000 Monte +10500 +10000 +10000 +10000 TheMongolz +10500 +12000 +10000 +10000 Fnatic +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 GamerLegion +16000 +16000 +15000 +20000 Ninjas in Pyjamas +25000 +25000 +25000 +25000 M80 +27500 +25000 +27500 +25000 3DMAX +27500 +27500 +27500 +27500 FlyQuest +50000 +50000 +50000 +50000 FORZE +100000 +100000 +100000 +100000 Sharks +100000 +100000 +100000 +100000 BOSS +100000 +100000 +100000 +100000 PERA +250000 +100000 +250000 +100000 Bad News Kangaroos +250000 +100000 +250000 +100000 TYLOO +500000 +500000 +500000 +100000
Please remember to continue rechecking these online esports betting odds until you actually submit your wager. Our Counter-Strike 2 betting odds are accurating entering Tuesday, April 16. Since the championship round won’t start until May 12, this gives the best esports betting sites in the United States plenty of time to futz and fiddle with their Counter-Strike 2 outrights. You should especially brace for movement as the Group State of the ESL Pro League playoffs unfolds and the markets adapt to a more concrete pecking order.
To that end, here’s a brief refresher in how the ESL Pro League playoffs work. The Counter-Strike 2 Group Stage will play out between April 23 and May 5. From there, we enter the official playoff round, which will be held from May 7 until May 12. The last rounds of the playoffs, including the championship bout, will be played in front of a live audience beginning May 10, running all the way through the title matchup on May 12.
Thirty-two teams are currently ready to square off in an epic Counter-Strike 2 tournament. Which squads enter as the best betting options? Let’s explore.
FaZe Continues to Dominate the Action in Counter-Strike 2 Futures
Though the reigning champs are not currently runaway favorites, their performance in recent weeks suggest they might need to be.
FaZe Clan (+215) ran the tables at IEM China 2024, absolutely overwhelming top Counter-Strike 2 competition with an incredible synergy. Their flash assists are up, and while they aren’t racking up as many kills in some of their competitions, they more than offset that with a drop in average deaths on their side.
Who is the Better Bet to Win Season 19 of the ESL Pro League: Vitality or Natus Vincere?
Both Vitality (+270) and Natus Vincere (+270) enter with the second-best odds to win Season 19 of the ESL Pro League Counter-Strike 2 field. Somewhat ironically, both also had their hopes dashed by FaZe Clan during the PGL Counter-Strike 2 Major Copenhagen. However, they each ended up playing (perhaps) the world’s best squad pretty tightly.
When you dig into the details of these teams, it makes sense that their odds are so closely linked together. Vitality has technically had the better year, winning 75 percent of their matches. But Natus Vincere has come of late, winning 75 percent of their own games over the past month.
Forced to choose, we still lean toward Vitality. They are winning at least 50 percent of their matches across every Counter-Strike 2. Though Natus Vincere is holding up well across the spectrum, they have posted a losing record in the nine matches they’ve faced on the Ancient map.
Top Dark Horse to Win ESL Season 19
We were a little surprised to see FURIA (+5500) come in at 55-to-1 for the ESL Pro League’s Counter-Strike 2 futures. They have admittedly hit a rough patch, losing two consecutive matches. But they have not been rolling out their best strategies during that time. This instead feels like a stretch of experimentation—of self-discovery.
Figuring out more about how to play different styles can be beneficial. They definitely need to take fewer chances on the Inferno and Nuke boards, where they are a combined 0-7. But they have still won nearly 55 percent of their matches over the past year,
Assuming FURIA is able to hammer out a more consistent lineup—their rotation has varied—we think they’re talented enough to find themselves in Malta for the live Counter-Strike 2 part of the playoffs.
Our Pick to Win the ESL Counter-Strike 2 Championship in 2024 Is…
FaZe Clan is our pick to win it all during ESL Season 19.
This won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone. It’s FaZe Clan for crying out loud. Still, this year’s crop of teams is stacked. Not only do Vitality and Natus Vincere loom, but G2 (+325), Virtus Pro (+370), MOUZ (+430), Astralis (+640) and even Eternal Fire (+1700) have all improved their showings a great deal from this time in 2023.
Nevertheless, with the way that FaZe members rain (+2.6k scoring) and broky (+2.2k scoring) are playing at the moment, we just can’t bring ourselves to pick against this group.
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