For the second-straight year, eight of the world’s best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) teams descend upon Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for ESL One: New York. The 2019 rendition remains a premier Tier-S competition and is one of the most prominent tournaments on the CS:GO calendar.
ESL One: New York 2019 boasts a prize pool of $200,000. Last year’s event had a $250,000 prize pool and paid out $125,000 to champion mousesports.
The first round of ESL One: New York 2019 is a group stage with two groups of four:
- The group stage uses a double-elimination format and the two teams with the best record in each group at the end of the program move on to the playoffs.
- The playoffs are a single-elimination bracket.
- The Semifinals are best-of-three and the Grand Final is best-of-five.
Team Odds to Win Outright
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Astralis | +105 |
| Team Liquid | +239 |
| NRG | +737 |
| ENCE | +890 |
| FaZe Clan | +1,102 |
| G2 | +1,456 |
| OpTic Gaming | +3,575 |
| eUnited | +7,107 |
ESL One: New York | The Field
Five of the eight participating teams were invited by the ESL to participate. The 2019 invitees include StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 champions Astralis and Intel Grand Slam Season 2 winners and world number one Team Liquid.
Before losing to Astralis in the quarterfinals of the StarLadder Berlin Major, Team Liquid had won five Tier-S tournaments in 2019 including IEM Chicago and ESL One: Cologne.
Astralis, Team Liquid, NRG +737, ENCE +890 and FaZe Clan +1,102 were directly invited to participate by the ELS after StarLadder Berlin.
Joining Astralis and Liquid as invitees are NRG and ENCE, ranked fourth and fifth in the world, respectively, and FaZe Clan, one of the most popular CS:GO teams in the world currently ranked ninth.
All three teams participated at StarLadder Berlin earlier this month where NRG fared best with a semifinal run that end with a 2-0 loss Astralis. ENCE was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Renegades and FaZe failed to qualify for The New Champions Stage.
Danish outfit OpTic Gaming earned a spot in the tournament with a win at the GG.Bet Invitational last month. The Europeans defeated forZe 2-1 in the Grand Final and are set to participate in their first Tier-S event since ESL Pro League Season 9 – Europe back in May.
G2 and OpTiC are joining ESL One: New York via European and North American Qualifiers.
The final two teams in the field arrive in Brooklyn via European and North American qualifiers. G2’s all-French roster booked their spot in July with a 2-1 win over CR4ZY in the Grand Final of the European qualifiers and eUnited joined them with a 2-1 North American qualifier Grand Final victory over FURIA on July 27.
G2 enters the tournament ranked seventh in ESL’s World Rankings while eUnited remains unranked. OpTic is 26th in the World Rankings.
Group Stage
The two groups at ESL One: New York 2019 were determined based on the ESL CS:GO World Rankings. In Group A is ENCE, eUnited, G2, and Team Liquid while Astralis, FaZe Clan, NRG, and OpTic make up Group B.
ESL One: New York Group A
Liquid is favored in Group A and has the second-best odds to win the tournament outright (+231) at Pinnacle, but second place could be a toss-up between G2 (+1388) and ENCE (+846) as eUnited (+6793) are not expected to make it out of the group.
G2 are experiencing a roster shake-up and could be unstable in New York, leaving the door open for ENCE to qualify for the playoffs. ENCE are currently +450 at Pinnacle to win Group A, the second-best odds ahead of G2 (+550).
ESL One: New York Group B
Group B also seems fairly straightforward as Astralis, favored to win the tournament at +114, is also the favorite to win the group (-259). NRG, coming off a strong StarLadder Berlin showing earlier in the month, is +337 to win Group B, the second-best odds, and it’s a good bet that they make it out of the group.
The North Americans should have strong fan support in Brooklyn but will likely meet Astralis in the winners match of the group stage. NRG was defeated 2-0 by the Danes in Berlin and could be forced to win a crucial decider match to make it out of the group if they fall to Astralis for the second time this month.
What To Expect For The Playoffs
The winner of Group A would meet the second-place finisher in Group B and in this case that would mean Team Liquid vs. NRG in North American showdown.
Liquid would be favored in this match-up for obvious reasons, but their surprise early exit at StarLadder may make them vulnerable in Brooklyn. Our pick is Liquid in this one but don’t be absolutely shocked if NRG come out on top; if you’re feeling frisky the payout may be worth it.
Astralis vs. ENCE in the second semifinal is much more straightforward as Astralis should flex their muscles and take down the Fins without too much trouble. Look for the Danes to earn the sweep and move on to the Grand Final where they would give fans what they came to see: Liquid vs. Astralis.
Grand Final
Liquid’s 2019 has been historic and they remain the top-ranked team in the world. But to win their sixth Tier-S title of the season, they must exercise their demons and topple the very team that dashed their StarLadder Berlin hopes earlier this month.
Astralis are the tournament favorites based on form as they arrive in Brooklyn as StarLadder Berlin champions, but their season has been a roller coaster ride. The Europeans were crowned champs at IEM Katowice and BLAST Pro Series: Sao Paulo in March but struggled before their StarLadder win.
To add even more fuel to the fire, this would be the third time these teams have met this season in a Grand Final. Liquid earned a 2-1 win at iBP Masters IV in January and Astralis were 2-1 victors at BLAST Pro: Series Sao Paulo.
if Astralis brings their A-game, Liquid may be helpless.
This Grand Final would be sure to produce fireworks and is essentially a toss-up. Expect Liquid to be fired up, but if Astralis brings their A-game, Liquid may be helpless. Astralis has been inconsistent this season so it’s absolutely possible they’re not at their best in Brooklyn.
I would bet on Astralis faltering and dropping a 3-1 decision to a hungry Liquid side looking to cement their position in CSGO history.
Bet On ESL One: New York At Bovada
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About the Author
Alonzo Solano
Sports Analyst and Content Writer
Alonzo is a Sports Betting Analyst and casino games enthusiast who has covered Football extensively at SBS, but don’t be surprised if you read him on other sports. He's the host of the NFL Latino TV podcast.
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