FATE vs. SJ Gaming Preview & Prediction - Free CS:GO Betting Picks 7/24

We have an interesting CS:GO contest upcoming as FATE is set to do battle with SJ Gaming in the CSGOFAST Cup 5 semifinals. There's a lot on the line here as only the top two teams in this tournament receive a payout, and the loser of this series will leave empty-handed. The winner of this one will move into the Grand Final to face either AGF or Berzerk for their shot at $11,000 USD.

The Bulgarian squad of FATE comes into this contest ranking 38th in the world. They have won three of their last five contests, although these wins came over Izako Bears, Budapest Five and GameAgents which aren't overly impressive wins. FATE tends to rely on an all-around team effort which can be a solid strategy, but this can also hurt a team if no one steps up to lead them. Train and Dust2 are the clear-cut favorite maps of FATE, and outside of these two maps and Overpass they have very shaky results.

Meanwhile, the Finnish squad of SJ Gaming enter ranking only 135th in the world, but they are much better than their ranking would imply. They were ranked as high as 35th in the world before a roster change doomed the team. However, they have found a new life since the arrival of jemi. He's been absolutely outstanding over the last three months as he averages 0.89 kills to only 0.69 deaths per round. SJ Gaming love Dust2 and Overpass, but they aren't very solid on any other map in competition.

Pick: FATE Spread -1.5 Maps (+165 @ Bovada)

I mentioned that SJ Gaming is an up and coming team earlier. However, they have a few things standing in their way, one being this FATE team. SJ Gaming has only produced solid results on two maps historically (Dust2 and Overpass), and it just so happens that FATE are very good on these maps also. Neither of these teams have been popping off the page in terms of total success lately, but I like FATE to sweep this series.