Day one of the CS2 Esports World Cup 2024 tournament sees 14 teams go head to head, fighting for a place in the Playoffs of the event. We’re taking a look at all seven matches, to see who we think we will advance to the next stage in Riyadh.
Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © PGL
Earlier this year, Sashi looked to be massively on the up, putting together a young Danish roster to compete with the best. This culminated in Esports World Cup 2024 qualification. Their momentum has been halted a little of late, but it’ll be interesting to see how they fare against top opposition in MOUZ. Still, if we’re taking one, we’re taking MOUZ every day of the week.
Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © PGL
The most interesting thing about Vitality vs. M80 is seeing how malbsMd’s replacement, Lake, performs. He’s touted as a big talent in NA, and coming up against Vitality on his debut is the definition of being thrown in at the deep end. Even if he pops off individually, it’s difficult to see a path to victory for M80 here.
Credit: Joao Ferreira | © PGL
The team at the top of our EWC 2024 CS2 power rankings face off against the team in 14th. What could go wrong? Frankly, it’s impossible to look past Spirit here. They came out on top in London at the BLAST Premier Spring Final before the player break, and we fully expect them to be in contention to win the Esports World Cup 2024. MIBR are just a small hurdle in the process.
Credit: Joao Ferreira | © PGL
FaZe and FlyQuest last played one another at IEM Chengdu 2024, with the former taking a comfortable 2:0 win. While the Aussies have been improving and FaZe declining of late, we still think there’s too much individual class for FlyQuest to have a real shot here. Make no mistake though – it’d be a really fun upset to see, if FlyQuest can pull it off.
Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © PGL
FURIA adding skullz certainly makes them a better team on paper. But does it give them enough quality to beat NAVI, even on their worst days? We’re not sure. We’d need to see the absolute worst of NAVI for FURIA to stand a chance, and we haven’t seen anything from this core to suggest they’ve got the confidence nor the quality to capitalize. Expect a NAVI win here.
Credit: Enos Ku | © ESL
If there’s going to be a shock in the opening CS2 matches at the Esports World Cup 2024, it’s going to come here. While most would take G2 on paper despite their recent CS2 roster changes, The MongolZ looked electric prior to the player break. If G2 don’t immediately click on the server, we wouldn’t be shocked to see The MongolZ take the W here.
Credit: Luc Bouchon | © ESL
Of all the opening matchups at the Esports World Cup 2024, Virtus.pro vs. Complexity is by far the hardest to call. We’re giving the edge here to Virtus.pro for one reason. Complexity have been stagnant for a little while now, while VP’s results have slowly improved. Just before the player break, Virtus.pro even managed a Semi-Final at the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024. Assuming they retain their form at the EWC 2024, Virtus.pro should take this clash, although we expect it to be on a knife’s edge.
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