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CS:GO Betting Preview: Can Liquid Win the Playoffs of ESL One: Road to Rio - North America?
The North American tournament of ESL One: Road to Rio is about to enter its Playoffs Stage. Only 6 of the initial 12 teams are still in the race and to everyone’s surprise, Evil Geniuses and MIBR are not among them. This next stage of the tournament will offer numerous esports betting chances for those who want to bet on CSGO. Following the success of the initial ESL One: Road To Rio NA Betting Preview, in this article, we will give you a brief betting preview of the matches that are left to be played.
ESL One: Road to Rio – North America: Groups Summary
The Group Stage went a bit differently from how everyone expected. Teams like Gen.G and FURIA excelled while veterans such as Evil Geniuses and MIBR crashed and burned. Furthermore, Team Liquid didn’t dominate Group B, which was another surprise. Here’s a quick overview of the results.
Group A
| Place | Team | Wins | Losses | Rounds |
| 1st | Gen.G Esports | 4 | 1 | +11 |
| 2nd | 100 Thieves | 4 | 1 | +23 |
| 3rd | Cloud9 | 3 | 2 | +6 |
| 4th | Evil Geniuses | 2 | 3 | +1 |
| 5th | Triumph | 2 | 3 | -41 |
| 6th | Orgless (abandoned) | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Group B
| Place | Team | Wins | Losses | Rounds |
| 1st | FURIA Esports | 5 | 0 | +58 |
| 2nd | Team Envy | 3 | 2 | +36 |
| 3rd | Team Liquid | 3 | 2 | +0 |
| 4th | MIBR | 3 | 2 | +23 |
| 5th | Bad News Bears | 1 | 4 | -33 |
| 6th | Yeah Gaming | 0 | 5 | -84 |
The top 3 teams from each group advance to the Playoffs. The winners qualified directly to the Semifinals while the 2nd and 3rd place competitors will play in the Quarterfinals.
Playoffs Betting Analysis
These are the 3 teams to watch during the Playoffs Stage of ESL One: Road to Rio – North America.
FURIA is the Big Favorite
Based on everything we’ve seen so far, the strongest team of the Playoffs is likely to be FURIA Esports. The Brazilian squad looks determined to win here and their Group Stage results were absolutely impressive: 5 wins and 0 losses, in a group with opponents such as Liquid and MIBR. Both of these competitors were defeated with a score of 2 – 0, which is even more impressive than a simple win.
Gen.G is Currently the Dark Horse of the Race
Another great team to watch will be Gen.G Esports. This newly formed roster has exceptional players in it that come from strong backgrounds: autimatic from Cloud9, BnTeT from TYLOO, and daps from NRG and C9. This team didn’t look as strong as it turned out to be at the start of ESL One: Road to Rio – North America, but now everyone’s talking about them. And it’s hard not to, after the wins they got in Group A. Only Cloud9 managed to beat them. Everyone else got crushed by their very unique playstyle that nobody seems to get yet.
Never Underestimate Liquid
Finally, the third team to watch is Team Liquid. Even though they messed up in the groups and almost got themselves eliminated, they are still the strongest team in North America until proven contrary and will likely qualify at least for the Semifinals. There they will meet FURIA Esports and that match is going to be the high point of ESL One: Road to Rio – North America in my opinion. If Liquid can win that dispute, they will probably win the whole event. If not, then I don’t see anyone stopping FURIA in the Grand Final.
Playoffs Betting Odds
The first two matches of the Playoffs will be the following:
| 100 Thieves | tbc | VS | tbc | Team Liquid |
| Team Envy | tbc | VS | tbc | Cloud9 |
At Vulkanbet, you will find excellent odds for both of these matches and a lot more!