WIth a $500,000 for a first place finish, there’s a lot to play for at the grand final of PGL Major Krakow 2017. Both of the heavy favourites, SK and Astralis are now knocked out which leaves Gambit and Immortals to play the final.
PGL Major Krakow 2017 – 23th July 2017 – Finals – 17:30 CEST
|
Draw Best Odds at Betspawn |
|
Gambit
ImmortalsGambit
Now ranked 14th, Gambit weren’t expected to reach the grand final but they certainly deserve it after their performance so far.
After knocking out Astralis in a 2-1 Bo3 yesterday, they retain their clean sheet record in this years tournament. Gambit took the first map, Overpass 16-10. Overpass was Astralis’ pick, a map that they have played plenty of times before and were expected to win easily. Astralis got revenge by taking Gambit’s pick, Inferno 16-8.
It was all to play for in the 3rd map of the series. Gambit got off to a great start by securing the first 3 rounds on CT side of Train. Once Astralis spent up in round 4, they managed to turn the tables by winning and putting the scoreline to 3-1. Gambit closed down any momentum Astralis had hoped to gain and put the scoreline up to 8-1. The rest of the match followed a similar, frustrating pattern for Astralis. Gambit eventually took the deciding map 16-12 to secure their place in the final.
Immortals
Immortals have won 5 out of 7 of their games at Krakow so far. Their only two losing games were to the original favourites, Astralis and SK Gaming. Immortals didn’t let Astralis get away with their win easily as they pushed the game into overtime and eventually lost 19-17 on Overpass.
Their 2 map win over Virtus.pro in the quarter-finals would usually be a big achievement, but Virtus.pro are nowhere near on form this month.
Immortals have had two 16-6 wins in the earlier stages of the tournament. The first being against the tournament underdogs, Vega Squadron and later against FlipSid3.
They are currently ranked above their final opponents, but only by 3 places at number 11 against Gambit in 14th place.
Head To Head Record
The two finalists have only played against each other twice. These were both games at DreamHack Auston 2017 in May where Gambit won 16-12 on both Inferno and Train. Interestingly, Immortals were ranked 16th at the time and have since risen to 11th place. Perhaps they are in better shape for this tournament?
Betting Odds And Predictions
Gambit are the bookmakers favourites for the final Bo3 Match Winner at odds of 1.60 against Immortals odds of 2.20. This will certainly be a close match which immediately suggests odds of 2.20 are value to back Immortals as the match winner.
AdreN (Gambit) managed a triple kill in their 1st round against Astralis in the quarter finals. He’s been a constant over-performer in the team’s pistol rounds and has a lot to prove in the finals at Krakow. The odds of AdreN (Gambit) getting 3 kills in the 1st Pistol round against Immortals is 16.00, certainly worth a punt.
Top Betting Tip
Neither team will let this series end early as they fight with every last breath for the $500,000 1st prize. Betting on Over 2.5 maps at odds of 1.95 seems like a more than sensible choice.