The Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII Cologne kicks off on Tuesday, June 5, with the first round of the Play-In stage featuring 16 teams competing for a spot in the CSGO tournament group stage. Check the Heroic vs Sprout Betting Analysis below.
Yet out of all eight day-one matches, the one that stands out is the clash between Heroic and Sprout, who have never met before with their current lineups.
But even without any past head-to-head results, it’s easy to see why Heroic are priced at shorter esports odds. Not only are they one of the top CS:GO teams in the world, but Heroic are also set to face Sprout, who are not exactly what you would call an elite team.
Still, this is a best-of-one match, where anything can happen, so the question remains: which of the two teams offers a better esports betting opportunity?
Last game records
Heroic enters this match with a perfect 5-0 record, which they’ve achieved during Pinnacle Cup Championship, a CSGO tournament Heroic ended up winning with a 2-0 sweep of Astralis. Other teams Heroic beat at the event include MIBR, Fnatic, Finest, and BIG.
On the other side, Sprout are 2-3 across their last five fixtures with wins against FURIA and 00Nation, and three defeats against Movistar Riders, Outsiders, and SAW. Not a very inspiring record, albeit, unlike Heroic, Sprout have played games this month, so at least they’re not rusty.
Heroic vs Sprout Betting Analysis
Heroic enter this match as heavy betting favorites, which makes a lot of sense. Any esports betting guide will tell you that Heroic are a better team, but you don’t need to look far to confirm that.
Unlike Sprout, who have been struggling to achieve much at the highest level of play, Heroic have consistently reached high placements in many of the top tournaments, which also explains why they’re significantly higher rated than Sprout on the global CS:GO ladder.
But sometimes, a higher rating and success over the years isn’t enough to win.
Heroic
The esports betting odds show Heroic as -500 favorites which sounds right. The Danish squad are ranked no.9 on the global CS:GO ladder, and even though they’re far from FaZe in 1st, Heroic are still a team that can compete with the world’s best.
To further confirm that, Heroic won the Pinnacle Cup Championship last month and have done well at the Major a month prior, placing top-8. Earlier in the year, Heroic also won the PGL Major Antwerp European RMR Grou A and finished top-four at IEM Katowice.
Admittedly Heroic are a team that is always around but never on top, but they still consistently place in respectable spots in some of the world’s biggest CS:GO tournaments, and that is a strong testament to their quality.
Sprout
Sprout are the current no.34 team in the world, which perfectly illustrated how strong this team is. They’re a good Tier-2 squad that will occasionally grab an upset win, but this is not a team you would expect to be able to compete with the elite squads.
Unlike Heroic, Sprout have not won a single notable event this year. In fact, Sprout have not won a single tournament besides ESL Meisterschaft Spring 2022.
Earlier this month, Sprout played well at DreamHack Valencia, albeit they couldn’t reach further than semis, so while they have shown some improvement, that’s not enough to make us believe Sprout can actually defeat Heroic.
Updates
Sprout have not made any roster changes since May, while Heroic have. Most notably, Heroic parted ways with refrezh in June and replaced him with Jabbi from Copenhagen Flames.
Since the arrival of Jabbi, Heroic have yet to play a single match, so it’s tough to say how the new arrival will fit in. But it will be interesting to see how he does in his debut against Sprout.
Heroic vs Sprout Betting Preview
Heroic is clearly a much stronger team than Sprout, not only because they’ve achieved much more over the year, but also because Heroic has a far better roster.
The quality gap is so large that it’s tough to make a case for Sprout even at the offered odds, albeit there is one thing going for the outsiders.
This is a BO1 match, which usually favors the underdogs. That is because BO1s are highly unpredictable, and it’s not too uncommon to see heavy favorites stumble.
Realistically, it takes only a small mistake for the favorited team to lose, so the question is: will Heroic deliver, or will they slip?
Heroic vs Sprout Betting Prediction
Even though there is a world where Heroic slip and lose against Sprout, we wouldn’t count on that happening.
They are a bit ring rusty, having played their last match nearly a month ago, but even with that handicap, Heroic shouldn’t’ struggle against Sprout.
Perhaps we could make a case for Sprout had they played better in their recent outings, but seeing them lose against Outsiders, SAW, and Riders makes it tough to trust the Germans quad.
How to bet on Team Heroic vs Sprout
At the offered betting odds, betting on heroic isn’t too appealing, but we’re happy to side with the Danes to cover the 5.5-round handicap.
This would require Heroic to keep Sprout at under ten rounds in the game, which isn’t easy to do, but it’s more than achievable for the current no.9 team in the world.
Prediction: Heroic -5.5 rounds
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