Gambit Esports vs Heroic: The Danes are not at their best

The last big tournament of the year promises to answer several questions for the fans. Will someone be able to stop Natus Vincere? Will we see another CIS Final? And finally, who will win the 500 thousand dollars prize fund for winning the tournament? BLAST Premier: World Final 2021 will be held in Copenhagen on LAN from December 14 to 19 in a studio format without spectators. The prize pool will be one million dollars.

Gambit Esports and Heroic will play their opening match at BLAST Premier: World Final 2021 on December 14. Whether the Danes will be able to break their unlucky streak and outplay the favourites, we will find out very soon.

Gambit Esports left IEM Winter 2021 with a 5-6 position. The result is not bad, but it is clear that the Russian team hoped for more. In the tournament's last match, Gambit Esports lost to Team Vitality in a very tight battle. The team managed to bounce back in the third decisive map with a score of 7-13, but it was not enough to win, and in the additional rounds, Gambit Esports lost. But personalities in CS:GO decide a lot, as s1mple and ZywOo continue to prove every day. You could have expected more from sh1ro or Hobbit in the last match, but it worked out.

In terms of maps, the obvious pick for Gambit Esports looks to be Vertigo. The Danes have only a 25% win rate on Vertigo, which is the worst of all the maps except Dust2, which they don’t play. Defeats to Sinners and BIG show that this card is far from ideal. Yes, both the former and the latter team quote Vertigo highly, but still, their overall level leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t think the Russian team will have much trouble on this map. Nor do I think Gambit Esports will pick any other map. Especially after their confident victory over Team Vitality.

Heroic has not looked the best in recent matches. The team has lost four out of five matches. At IEM Winter 2021, the Danes are in last place without winning a single match. Heroic’s rating slumped on all maps. Right now, the team’s best map is Overpass, with a 62% win rate. But of course, this map is not a priority for the Danes. They are banning it in most cases and rarely play it. On all other maps the win rate of the team is around 50%, which looks very weak for a team in the top 5 world rankings. Gambit Esports will ban the most popular map of the Danes - Nuke, which will greatly ease their lives.

On the other hand, Heroic cannot get rid of their opponent’s strong maps. Although the teams haven’t met each other for a long time, I don’t think Heroic will pick anything other than Inferno. There is a minimum chance of Ancient, but Inferno is more believable. The Danes have a 56% win rate on this map and three defeats from their last four matches. CadiaN has noted that the last two months have been very difficult for the team, and they need to recharge. Whether those few days will be enough to recharge is unclear. But looking at the map pool, Gambit Esports has the advantage.

Gambit Esports is the favorite for the upcoming match. Yes, the Russian team does not show their best game, but against the background of Heroic looks much better. Yes, and the map pool is on the side of Gambit Esports. I don’t think a couple of days will be enough for proper rest, and the Danes will play much better than IEM Winter 2021. The bookmakers offer odds of 1.84 for Gambit Esports to win with a handicap (-4.5), which looks like a good option. You can also take the Russian side to win 2-0 for 2.50 or Total Under 2.5 maps at 1.83.