Young Ninjas vs. KOVA, Preview & Prediction - Free 5/9 CS:GO

Young Ninjas are favorites to defeat KOVA in the Swiss round 1 of the Elisa Invitational Summer 2021 Regionals when they meet on Sunday. There are 16 teams in this stage of the tournament, and the top eight will secure a ticket for the main event.

Young Ninjas Team Stats and Latest Results

Young Ninjas made it to the playoffs at the LOOT.BET Season 9 following a successful campaign in the Swiss stage with three wins in four games. They beat Lyngby Vikings, Copenhagen Flames, and NAVI Junior, while the lone loss came to LDLC. Young Ninjas’ most recent game was against SAW at the REPUBLEAGUE TIPOS Season 1, which resulted in a 2-0 defeat. Young Ninjas won 12 of the previous 20 matches.

Talking about the maps in the last three months, Young Ninjas played well on Mirage (68.2% win rate) and Inferno (57.7%), while they were below average on Overpass (42.1%) and Train (42.1%). Young Ninjas assembled their current lineup in February 2021 and appeared on 99 maps with a record of 52 wins and 47 losses. The team members are Sapec (1.00 rating), phzy (1.03), LNZ (1.03), nilo (1.00), and Mann3n (1.00).

KOVA Team Stats and Latest Results

KOVA reached this stage of the competition after defeating SJ and hREDS with identical 2-1 results at the Elisa Invitational Summer 2021 Finland Closed Qualifier. They failed to qualify for the Funspark ULTI 2021 Europe Regional Series 2, though, as they lost to PACT on three maps. KOVA lost nine of the last 21 games.

In the previous three months, KOVA was excellent on Nuke (85.7%), while they failed to impress on Mirage (25.0%) and Inferno (33.3%). KOVA has been playing with the same squad since March this year and appeared on 30 maps with a record of 14 wins and 16 losses. The lineup is made of uli (1.11), pietola (0.87), Twixie (1.05), Spargo (1.00), and Airax (0.92).

Young Ninjas vs. KOVA H2H Record

These rivals have met on four occasions so far, and Young Ninjas won all four matches. The previous H2H duel was at the Spring Sweet Spring 1 Regionals less than a month ago when Young Ninjas secured a 2-1 victory.

Young Ninjas vs. KOVA Betting Preview

I am a big fan of Over 2.5 maps, and this matchup has Over 2.5 maps written all over it. Namely, each of four H2H meetings produced a maximum of three maps, but this time around, I will avoid betting on totals. Maybe it’s time for a two-map game, and that’s why I will go with the favorites to get a win. Bet on Young Ninjas, who have a better team and a better H2H record.

The Pick: Young Ninjas to win (-182 @PINNACLE)