9INE vs. ex-ETHEREAL, Preview & Prediction - Free 12/14 CS:GO

ex-ETHEREAL is a favorite in this Best of 3 encounter when they face 9INE in the Swiss Round 1 of the Vulkan Fight Series 2020 on Monday. While the loser of the game will still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs, the winner will have an easier path and will need two more wins to make it.

9INE Team Stats and Latest Results

9INE didn’t have a lot of luck at recent tournaments and their biggest achievement of late was at the ESEA MDL Season 35 Europe Climber Cup, where they managed to secure status after defeating Elites and MAESTRO. To their defense, they didn’t play many games in the past few months and are currently ranked at No. 88 in the CS:GO rankings. 9INE lost six of the previous 11 matches.

During the last three months, 9INE was invincible on Train (played twice) and decent on Nuke (75.0% win rate) and Vertigo (66.7%), while they failed to get a victory on Inferno (played three times) and Mirage (played twice). Since September this year, 9INE is playing with the current lineup and appeared on 23 maps with a record of 11 wins and 12 losses. The team members are qRaxs (1.01 win rate), xfl0ud (1.06), CyderX (0.94), QutionerX (1.00), and Izzy (1.06).

ex-ETHEREAL Team Stats and Latest Results

ex-ETHEREAL returned to the CS:GO circus three weeks ago and lost the first game to K23 at the DreamHack Open December 2020 Closed Qualifier. However, they bounced back with four consecutive wins and won 1st place and $9,000 at the Rive Winter Rush 2020 in the process. They lost again to K23 at the MIDNITE Nine to Five 7 but then beat Saints, ALTERNATE aTTaX, and Espada to reach the playoffs, where they will meet x6tence. ex-ETHEREAL won seven of the last nine games.

In the previous three months, ex-ETHEREAL was unbeaten on Mirage (played twice) and Train (played three times), while they didn’t get a win on Vertigo (played once) and were below average on Nuke (33.3%). ex-ETHEREAL assembled its current squad in November and appeared on 23 maps with a record of 14 wins and nine losses. The lineup consists of PASHANOJ (0.88), R0b3n (0.95), zorte (1.13), KENSI (1.07), and KaiR0N- (1.12).

9INE vs. ex-ETHEREAL H2H Record

These rivals have never met before.

9INE vs. ex-ETHEREAL Betting Preview

Although ex-ETHEREAL will play two games on Monday, and this one is going to be the latter, I think they can beat 9INE without problems. They are on a three-game winning run and will have enough time to rest after a match against x6tence at the MIDNITE Nine to Five 7. 9INE definitely has a chance to make a little upset here, but I am backing the favorites to open the tournament with a victory.

The Pick: ex-ETHEREAL to win (-161 @PINNACLE)