Gambit Youngsters vs. NAVI Junior Preview & Prediction - Free CS:GO Betting Picks 7/31

Gambit Youngsters and NAVI Junior are set to square away in the Group B Opening Matches of the Eden Arena Malta Vibes Cup 5. The 16 participants are broken into four double-elimination groups where the Opening Matches are single map matches while the rest in each group are best of three. Each of the top two teams in each group will advance to the single-elimination Playoffs stage to compete for their share of $40,000 USD. This will be the first ever meeting between these two tough teams.

The Russian squad of Gambit Youngsters comes into this one ranking 28th in the world, and they are certainly deserving of this high ranking. They have won an outstanding eight straight contests with all but one being best of three maps, and the team only lost one map total along the way. Gambit Youngsters holds one of the best CS:GO players in the world in sh1ro, and he's getting some great help from Ax1Le too. A wise man once said that streaks are meant to be broken, but Gambit Youngsters certainly isn't showing any signs of slowing down any time soon as they have now broken into the top 30 in the rankings.

NAVI Junior features Ukranian and Russian players, and they are the academy team for the world's 4th ranked team Natus Vincere. NAVI Junior holds the 72nd ranking currently though, and they have been underperforming massively as of late. The team has lost four of their last fives matches including three straight series against BIG Academy, lvlUP and selectach; all of which are winable games. The play of B1T, Aunkere and Gospadarov will be needed heavily if NAVI Junior wants a shot at taking down this stiff opponent.

Pick: Gambit Youngsters Spread -4.5 Rounds (-130 @ Bovada)

Those who follow CS:GO closely can probably figure out why I'm on the spread of Gambit Youngsters. They have sh1ro who has made a name for himself as one of the world's best and most consistent players. NAVI Junior has seemingly fallen off a cliff since moving up to take on more Tier-2 teams, and even though this is a single map match which is more volatile, I have zero faith that they can keep this one close against Gambit Youngsters who has now broken the top 30 and continues to improve. Expect sh1ro, Ax1Le and company to make easy work of the struggling NAVI Junior team.