The ESL Pro League Odense schedule is set, with 16 leading CS:GO teams heading to Denmark for the Season 10 finals. It's an event bursting at the seams with quality and a hefty prize pool of $600,000. This is where you'll find the schedule, standings updated throughout the tournament and an analysis of the teams involved from Counter-Strike writer Tim Masters
Schedule
ESL Pro League Odense takes starts on December 3rd 2019 and ends on December 8th. The group stage matches will take place from December 3rd to 5th, with the playoffs held between December 6th and December 8th.
Day one matches
The ESL Pro League Odense schedule starts with four matches in Group A and four matches in Group B. Initial matches are best-of-one (BO1), with all subsequent matches BO3, except the Grand Final, which is BO5.
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Group A
Natus Vincere vs TYLOO - live stream, stats, odds
FaZe Clan vs MIBR - live stream, stats odds
Heroic vs 100 Thieves - live stream, stats odds
Fnatic vs Evil Geniuses - live stream, stats odds
Related: FaZe vs MIBR preview
Group B
Astralis vs Grayhound - live stream, stats odds
G2 Esports vs Sharks Esports - live stream, stats odds
mousesports vs ATK - live stream, stats odds
North vs Team Liquid - live stream, stats odds
Playoff bracket
The ESL Pro League Odense playoff bracket will be made up of the top three teams from each group, with group winners going straight into the semifinals, while second and third-placed teams contesting the quarterfinals.
Preview and predictions
Counter-Strike writer Tim Masters runs the rule over the teams looking to ake an impact in the ESL Pro League Odense standings
With the end of the year rapidly approaching, the tournaments are coming thick and fast for top CS:GO teams, and we’re getting a better idea of who the year might have belonged to.
Picture: Copyright ESL / Helena Kristiansson
For all the praise Liquid got from experts in the summer, who said there was no possible way that 2019 could belong to Astralis, winning two Majors has put the Danes in a great spot, and their victory at ECS Season 8 Finals has only enhanced their claim to team of the year, in CS at least.
Now they travel to Odense, where they will attempt to shake off the jetlag of a flight from Arlington and put their best foot forward at the very stacked ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals.
It won’t be an easy task to win back to back events, and the jetlag will mean surviving day one will be just as tough, if not harder than normal for the teams flying from Texas to contest the event, and try and take home a quarter of a million dollars.
Late-2019: Jetlag season
All the big names are in attendance for this event, which makes the scheduling such a shame. As SPUNJ was quick to point out on Twitter, there is no real obligation for teams to attend every event under the sun, and if the likes of EG, Liquid and the Danes were to kick up a stink and complain about the clearly negative effect of events running back to back on different continents it would probably make a difference.
Sadly, for now at least we are stuck with the first few days most likely being less than optimal, and that means there will be an opportunity for the teams who didn’t qualify for the ECS event in the States. In particular a resurgent FaZe Clan and the boys from down under, now known as 100Thieves, will be looking to take advantage of their extra preparation, and end 2019 on the sort of note they can be proud of.
Picture: Copyright ESL / Helena Kristiansson
Of the teams that went deep in Arlington, it is Astralis, Liquid, Fnatic and EG who should have the least prep time, and of the four it is Liquid who have been handed the toughest test to get underway. While Fnatic and EG face off in the derby d’jetlag and Astralis get a nice opener against the guys from Greyhound, Liquid have to take on a rejuvenated North for their first game of the event, and could find themselves in a spot of bother if that goes south.
Of the two groups, it’s Group B, where you’ll find Team Liquid, that looks more challenging with not just Astralis in the mix but also dangerous teams such as mousesports and G2.
There is enough cannon fodder that the big two will feel they can make it out at least, but Greyhound and Sharks will still cause problems for anyone not paying attention. Group A looks far more interesting, with a number of teams that could finish anywhere from first to last.
Picture: Copyright ESL / Helena Kristiansson
Na'Vi need a win
Perhaps the most interesting thing that could happen in the ESL Pro League Odense schedule would be for Na’Vi and FaZe to play really well, and deliver on the obvious talent in their midst, but we’ve spent most of 2019 waiting for that to happen and in the case of Na’Vi it hasn’t yet, really.
The decline of s1mple from godlike to just very good has also taken a toll, and the stress relief that was supposed to come when Zeus retired doesn’t appear to have materialised just yet.
Picture: Copyright ESL / Helena Kristiansson
In theory Group A has a lot of talent, with 100T, FaZe, EG and the aforementioned CIS mix involved, and honestly any of those four could emerge as group, or even event winners if things go their way…and Astralis play badly.
If the Danes are at their best, you should expect them to make the final, and Arlington suggests that the same is true for Team Liquid, who looked a step ahead of the old money EG and Fnatic at the Texan arena.
If not, then ESL One Pro League Odense 2019 will turn out to be one of the most interesting events since the last Major, meaning you need to tune in and enjoy the action while you can.
We are set for a long gap at the start of 2020 before CS goes crazy again, so sit back, get yourself a drink and settle in for a week of elite CS:GO, with shocks guaranteed and possibly a coronation at the end if Astralis can play their best.
