
Even if the Counter PIT events no longer attract the sort of top-tier teams that graced its first seasons, it nevertheless remains an interesting online event that’s worth taking a look at during the run-up of the Katowice major? Betting on it, however, could be a very different proposition: online Counter-Strike between lower-level teams can be a pit of death (pun absolutely intended), but a good understanding of the teams can nevertheless help you make educated choices in search for an edge.
The highest-rated team of the tournament is Chaos, the Swedes being 24th in Europe and 57th in the world per HLTV. Close behind are expert eSport and the Polish x-kom Team, the two teams that dropped down to the lower bracket in the semifinals, the latter eliminating the former on February 6th in a very close series.
x-kom Team (previously known as Venatores) also warrant a mention because they’ve signed three players last October, including nineteen-year-old jedqr fresh off FACEIT’s Polish Pro League. So far, their re-jiggled line-up has been performing above expectations: they finished 7-8th in 2018’s Counter PIT Season 3, failing to get out of their group. None of the top four sides are present from that time around – though AGO, the eventual winners have done some impressive things in the scene elsewhere, they’ve nevertheless failed to make it out of the groups this time around –, suggesting a changing of the guard and split priorities between multiple online tournaments for some of these sides.
CIS minor participants Nemiga were also in the mix, though they failed to make an impact in Katowice, they could not make it to the business end of the tournament. Arguably, the early elimination of Ronin Horde and Superjymy – 2 of the 3 Scandinavian sides participating in the OGA Counter PIT Season 4 Finals – was less of a surprise.
At the time of writing, five out of the six upper-bracket series ended in a 2-1 map score, suggesting the teams are indeed closely matched, making this a very competitive tournament. With four sides still in contention, betting on the eventual winner is likely only an enticing possibility before the lower bracket concludes – keep in mind that the teams in the upper bracket final only need to win four series overall to clinch this title.
While the broadcast quality – more specifically, the level of analysis and commentary provided – leave a lot to be desired, the event’s stream is otherwise surprisingly well-put together for such a small online event: definitely worth a look if you can’t satiate your CS:GO betting urges before the Katowice major!