Team Liquid vs Movistar Riders Prediction: Spaniards are in a bad form

The second major tournament after the resumption of the CS:GO season kicked off on August 31. ESL Pro League Season 16 runs until October 2, hosting the best teams in the world. 24 teams will compete for a prize pool of $823,000 and a ticket to the BLAST Premier World Final 2022. The CIS-region will be represented by four teams, two of which are in the top 3 of the HLTV ranking. For a whole month, fans of the shooter can enjoy world-class CS. The only thing left to do is to choose their favorite.

On September 21, Team Liquid and Movistar will play their opening game in ESL Pro League Season 16. We will find out which team will be stronger very soon. The meeting is scheduled to start at 20:30 (UTC+3).

Team Liquid: good form

• Current HLTV ranking: #3;
• Changes over the last three months: +9;
• Best map: Mirage – 100% in 4 maps;
• Worst map: Ancient – 50% in 4 maps.

Team Liquid did a great job at BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022. The team managed to take 1-3 places and get a slot in the Fall Final. The guys suffered only one loss at the tournament, losing to Natus Vincere. But all the other matches they were able to win. YEKINDAR is a great addition to the squad, becoming the key unit in the lineup. HLTV is now showing that the fifth Team Liquid player is unknown, but YEKINDAR has been announced for ESL Pro League Season 16, and he should participate in the tournament. He is very important to the team right now. As for the upcoming match, Team Liquid will strike Nuke, removing one of their opponent's strongest maps. With their pick, the Liquid should take Mirage or Vertigo. Considering they lost their last matchup with Vertigo, the Mirage pick looks more likely. In addition, the team has a 100% win rate on this map. The Spanish team, on the other hand, has only a 33% success rate. Mirage is looking too good. Remembering the losses of Movistar Riders to 1WIN and ECLOT on this map, I don't think the Spaniards will be able to play against Team Liquid.

Movistar Riders: not playing much & not that great

• Current HLTV ranking: #5;
• Changes over the last three months: +13;
• Best map: Ancient – 80% in 5 maps;
• Worst map: Mirage – 33% in 6 maps.

Movistar Riders are not playing their best lately. The team won only one of their last six matches. First, the Spaniards failed at the third open qualification for Road to Rio 2022, losing to B8. Then Movistar Riders crashed at the SteelSeries Nova Cup Tournament in Dash 2 where they lost all their matches (their opponents weren't even in the top 50 of the HLTV ranking) and finished in last place. Despite the high ranking the team doesn't show strong game. Yes, the guys had time to prepare for the tournament, but whether they were able to fix the game problems is unclear. Given the Nuke ban, the Spaniards are likely to take Ancient. They already defeated Team Liquid in their last head-to-head encounter. It makes no sense to change what works. The more so that the rest of the maps look noticeably worse. Of course, Movistar Riders can take Ancient for themselves, but on the other maps the Americans look the favorites. Especially considering the current form of the lineups.

Head-to-head encounters

The teams face off twice. Both matches ended with Movistar Riders winning.

Expert Betting Tips

Team Liquid has shown a great game in recent matches and they have to gain points in the opening match of ESL Pro League Season 16. Bookmakers at 1xbet offer odds of 1.49 on Team Liquid’s Frags Handicap (-6.5) which looks like a good option. It is also possible to bet on Maps Total Over (2.5) for odds of 2.20 at Bet365 & 2.10 at Betway.