100 Thieves vs Gen.G Preview and Prediction- Free Betting Picks 8/18

100 Thieves vs Gen.G will face each other in the group stage of the ESL One Cologne 2020: Online North America. The two teams are a part of Group A, which also includes FURIA and Chaos. ESL One Cologne 2020: North America has eight teams competing for $135,000. The teams play in a double-elimination GSL format group stage. The top two teams advance to the playoffs which are single-elimination matches.

100 Thieves Team Preview

HLTV Rank: 18th

With a 1.26 rating, jks has been the shining star for 100 Thieves in the past few months. The Australian player has been impressive in the server with 88.1 damage per round which is a very high number compared to his peers.

100 Thieves is ranked 18th in the world and is well-versed on maps like Inferno, Train and Vertigo. The team relies on its players’ firepower and their approach to the game to ensure a strong performance. As much as the team relies on the sheer firepower, its players are also constantly working on unique strategies to counter the best North American teams.

It has been quite sometime since 100 Thieves played an official match. However, the team had won three and lost two matches prior to the players’ break.

Gen.G Team Preview

HLTV Rank: 15th

Gen.G is ranked 15th in the world and has a diverse mix of players. The team has the brains of daps as well as the firepower of players like BnTeT, s0m and autimatic. daps’ approach to the game often relies on some innovative counterplays that catches the team’s opponents off-guard.

Gen.G is very strong on Mirage, where the team’s excellent T side breaks the opponent’s economy and often ensures a strong performance. The team has also played a lot of matches on Inferno; however, the low win-rate is an indicator of repeated failed attempts.

Gen.G often competes against the best North American CS:GO teams with varying levels of success. The team has wins over opponents like Team Liquid, 100 Thieves and Cloud9. But there are also losses against the same teams. The difference between the top tier teams in North America is very small and it could be an indication of an upset in this tournament.

Pick: Total Over 2.5 (+106 @ Pinnacle)

The two teams are closely matched and their last series went the distance on both maps. While Gen.G won the series 2-0, both maps were extremely close highlighting the lack of any significant advantage for either team. I am taking this series to follow the same steps and go the distance of over 2.5 maps.