EPICENTER 2018 CSGO Tournament Overview

It’s that time of the year again guys! Another CSGO EPICENTER tournament is just a few days away and with it, we are approaching the most important tournaments scheduled for late 2018. Just like last year, EPICENTER 2018 will be held in Moscow, the centerpiece of Eastern European pro gaming scene.

However, at the very start of our EPICENTER 2018 tournament overview, we have to mention something that made a proper stain on it already. You see, Astralis and Mousesports, some would say the main attractions of EPICENTER 2018, withdrew from the tournament due to busy schedules and player fatigue. It’s a completely understandable move on their end – this time of year is a hectic time, especially now that ESL Pro League is in full fledge.

Still, despite the lack of Astralis and Mousesports, EPICENTER 2018 has a couple of big names to show off. The likes of FaZe, NaVi, and NiP (among others) are here and will battle it out against each other till the very end.

With all that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the official format of this tournament before heading into more details later on!

EPICENTER 2018 Tournament Overview

Just like last year, EPICENTER 2018 CSGO tournament will be held in Moscow and will feature a total of 8 teams. Yes, there were some surprises in the team composition due to the fact Astralis and mousesports withdrew from the tournament, but now we’re back on track with only 1 more team left to be decided. Below this paragraph, you can find more information about the format, including overviews of both group stage and playoffs. But, before we dig into that, first let’s check out the main aspects revolving around EPICENTER 2018!

• EPICENTER 2018 will have roughly $200K less in prize pool money than last year’s installment. More precisely, it will feature a total of $295K that are going to be split between all 8 teams after the tournament ends.
• We will see all 7 currently available maps for competitive play. This includes Cache, Dust II, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass, and Unfortunately, our EPICENTER 2018 tournament overview won’t feature more details about the map pool since it would take up way too much space here.
• EPICENTER 2018 is going to be played in Moscow’s superb Park of Legends Ice Palace venue which can fit between 10,000 to 14,000 people, depending on the seating design. It is conveniently located near the Avtozavdoskaya Metro Station which means fans from outside of Russia won’t have a lot of difficulties finding it.

Tournament Format

The next section of our in-depth EPICENTER 2018 tournament overview is going to revolve around the format. So, let’s dig straight into it to better understand what are we going to be able to bet on:

Group Stage

The tournament format section of our EPICENTER 2018 tournament overview starts off with the group stage. There will be a total of 8 competing teams, 4 in each group. 3 top teams go through to the playoffs. 1^st seeds go straight to semifinals while 2^nd and 3^rd seeds will have to fight their way through from the quarterfinals. All group stage matches will be played in Bo3 fashion with a double elimination system setting the rules.

Here’s the official group stage overview of EPICENTER 2018:

Playoffs

This time around, all playoffs matches are scheduled to be played in Best Of 3 manner. This includes the Grand Finals too which was not the case last time out (a quick reminder – EPICENTER 2017 Grand Finals between SK Gaming and Virtus.pro were Bo5). Now that we have that out of our way, let’s check out the playoffs bracket of EPICENTER 2018:

Group Stage Alterations

As I mentioned in the introductory section, Astralis and Mousesports withdrew from the competition leaving 2 spots blank. This forced the organizers of EPICENTER 2018 to seek for 2 additional teams for their tournament system to work. That led to the introduction of an additional Wildcard Playoffs slot. We’ve already seen ENCE, Hellraisers, and AVANGAR go through to the main event, with the remaining match between Virtus.pro and Swole Patrol deciding the last team that’s going through.

EPICENTER Group Stage Betting Predictions

Group A

Now I am going to share with you a couple of sentences about my thoughts on the group stage. More precisely, here are some EPICENTER 2018 betting tips! Group A is going to be a proper blast with FaZe, NaVi, ENCE, and HellRaisers bound to give their best to go through to the playoffs. If I had to pick a team that’s not going to the playoffs, I’d have to go with HellRaisers. Everyone expects FaZe and NaVi to go through, there is no doubt about that. Plus, ENCE is still on the wings of wonderful StarSeries victory with 9 consecutive wins so I can’t see them backing down here either. If it comes down to them vs HellRaisers (and it most likely will), I definitely give them the advantage of going through to the quarterfinals.

Group B

Group B, on the other hand, is going to a bit less stargazed. NiP, Liquid, AVANGAR and either Virtus.pro or Swole Patrol don’t have the star players like the teams from group A: What they do have is impressive and unparalleled team cohesion and great tacticians for coaches. Perhaps we won’t see spectacular matches like in Group A, but I bet we’ll see some strategic mind games all over the board. As for group B betting predictions, it is actually pretty tough to call out the team that’s going to finish last. From the current standpoint, I’d say either AVANGAR or whoever goes through from VP vs SP matchup is going to finish at the last spot. NiP and TL are both just too strong at the moment to allow themselves any slipups.

Where to Bet on CSGO EPICENTER 2018?

Considering the fact we’re a betting website, our EPICENTER 2018 tournament overview can’t finish off without some betting related information. So, for all of you who aren’t sure where they can bet on EPICENTER 2018 matches, here’s a quick list featuring the most popular CSGO betting websites currently available.

For those looking to jump straight into the betting action for EPICENTER 2018, here are the top sites we recommend:

• SportsBetting.ag
• BetOnline
• Bovada

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