We are approaching the end of the group stage of Masters Copenhagen and things are going exactly as they should so far. LOUD and XERXIA have been eliminated after two defeats and were unable to pull off any surprises. The last match of each group will be played tonight with KRÜ Esports and Northeption trying their best to upset their opponents.
The underdogs have been unsuccessful so far, but they have what it takes to survive the group. KRÜ managed to steal one game away from Guild and FunPlus Phoenix has not played perfectly so far, which means Northeption still has a chance to win. Let's recall what happened in the group stage and move on to the remaining matches.
Masters Copenhagen Group Stage results
In Group A, Guild Esports showed why they were the favourites. With a 2-0 win over Masters Reykjavík champions OpTic Gaming, they advanced to the grand final where they met KRÜ Esports and defeated them 2-1. With this result Guild secured the playoffs. OpTic Gaming then faced Brazilian LOUD in the rematch of Masters Reykjavík grand final and defeated them 2-1, eliminating the latter from the tournament.
In Group B, DRX and FunPlus Phoenix, the favourites of the group, won their first matches against Northeption and XERXIA. Korea's DRX proved stronger than FPX, defeating them 2-1 in the group final and advancing to the playoffs. In the elimination match, Japan's Northeption met Thailand's XERXIA and defeated them 2-1. XERXIA's first Masters journey ended early, but they were able to take a map from their opponents both times.
DRX and Guild Esports will join Fnatic, XSET, Paper Rex and Leviatán in the playoffs. The winners of today's matches will follow them. If you are looking for a place to both watch the games live and find information about them, visit Luckbox and sign up now to claim your 100% bonus which you can use if you decide to place bets on any of the games.
Northeption vs FunPlus Phoenix
Here are the betting odds for this match:
Northeption (3.10) vs FunPlus Phoenix (1.32) - 17:00 CEST
There have been no surprises in Group B so far. DRX and FPX defeated their opponents and faced each other in the winners’ match. Northeption was able to crush XERXIA and move on to the decider match. FPX is the clear favourite against their Japanese opponents and is expected to enter the playoffs.
FunPlus Phoenix was defeated by DRX, but is still one of the strongest teams in Copenhagen. ardiis is in the top five in average combat score and average damage per round and is also in the top ten in K/D score. After missing Masters Reykjavík, they will be extra motivated to defeat a weaker opponent and make it to the playoffs. However, they are missing their most important piece, SUYGETSU, and that affects their chances in Copenhagen dearly.
Northeption came to Masters Copenhagen after defeating the heroes of Reykjavík, ZETA DIVISION. They are here to show the Japanese fans that they are just as strong as their predecessors, but have not been able to prove that yet. With their last chance on the horizon, Northeption will rely on Meteor to surprise us as he stands out with his stats: 230.0 ACS, 1.21 K/D and 153.5 ADR.
KRÜ Esports vs OpTic Gaming
Here are the betting odds for this match:
KRÜ Esports (2.70) vs OpTic Gaming (1.42) - 20:00 CEST
OpTic Gaming had an unlucky draw, facing a group favourite in their first match, and also struggled in their elimination match against LOUD. OpTic is still the favourite, but KRÜ is closer to a surprise than Northeption.
OpTic, considered the best team in North America, somehow lost NA Challengers to XSET, after winning Masters Reykjavík. Moreover, they were beaten 2-0 by Guild and struggled against LOUD. They will not be able to rely on individual performances as only Marved stands out with stats that are mediocre at best.
KRÜ Esports are once again going into a tournament with no expectations and are taking advantage of it. They used their luck of the draw to beat LOUD and almost took down Guild in the final, which ended with a 16-14 game on Icebox. KRÜ is no pushover, and we are counting on them to show that against OpTic.
