forZe vs. K23, Preview & Prediction - Free 10/17 CS:GO

forZe has a solid chance to get three points and improve their chances to reach the playoffs, while this game is do or die for K23, who suffered a couple of defeats in the opening two games of the tournament. forZe is a favorite in this Best of 3 encounter that will take place on Saturday.

forZe Team Stats and Latest Results

forZe is in a fine form of five consecutive wins as they bounced back from an opening loss at the IEM New York 2020 CIS Espada, in the game in which they actually won the first map but still lost in the end. Namely, forZe beat North, Nexus, HAVU, and Gambit at the Flashpoint 2 Closed Qualifier before defeating Cyber Legacy 2-1 in the second round of this tournament. Interestingly, each of these five wins produced a maximum of three maps. forZe won ten of the previous 14 matches.

When it comes to the maps in the last three months, forZe displayed strong performances on Inferno (80.6% win rate) and Mirage (75.0%), while they were below average only on Overpass (46.2%). forZe’s lineup has a lot of experience as they play together since August 2020 and appeared on 132 maps with a record of 87 wins and 45 losses. The team members are facecrack (1.01 rating), almazer (1.05), FL1T (1.20), xsepower (1.22), and Jerry (1.04).

K23Team Stats and Latest Results

K23 was in a good form of four straight victories, but they lost a pair of matches here at the IEM New York 2020 CIS and even failed to get a single map against Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere. Although they showed some resistance in those defeats, K23 is facing elimination, and they must get a win over forZe on Saturday if they want to stay alive in the playoff race. K23 won ten of the last 15 games.

During the past three months, K23 was unbeaten on three appearances on Train and played well on Mirage (66.7%) and Overpass (66.7%), while Nuke (37.5%) proved to bet their least favorite map. K23 also assembled its lineup in August this year, but they appeared on only 49 maps with a record of 28 wins and 21 losses. The lineup consists of mou (1.06), neaLaN (0.99), Keoz (1.04), n0rb3r7 (1.13), and kade0 (0.88).

forZe vs. K23H2H Record

These rivals have met on seven occasions so far, and forZe is leading the all-time series 4-3. K23 won the previous two H2H games, though, including the most recent one at the FunSpark ULTI 2020 Europe Qualifier.

forZe vs. K23 Betting Preview

forZe is in a better form at the moment and even though K23 won the last two H2H encounters, I am favoring forZe to win this game and improve their chance to make it to the playoffs. I wouldn’t bet with high stakes, though, because this H2H matchup tends to be quite tight and exciting. Five of seven H2H duels produced a maximum of three maps, so if you don’t prefer betting on the winner, you can try with Over 2.5 maps here.

The Pick: forZe to win (-189 @PINNACLE)

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