MAD Lions vs. Espada, Preview & Prediction - Free 8/30 CS:GO

The semi-final of the Eden Arena Malta Vibes Cup 9will start with a clash between MAD Lions (Denmark) and Espada (Russia). MAD Lions are the favorites in this encounter, but Espada played very well at the Eden Arena Malta Vibes Cup 9. They reached the Grand final there, and now are looking for a step forward and the trophy here.

MAD Lions Team Stats and Latest Results

MAD Lions suffered an early elimination out of the DreamHack Open Summer 2020 Europe with a couple of defeats to Heroic and Endpoint, and now they switched focus to the Eden Arena Malta Vibes Cup 9. The Danish team is a favorite to beat Espada and make it to the Grand final, but their recent form is far from being encouraging. MAD Lions lost eight of the previous 12 matches, and although they have a 4-1 record in the last five, including the wins over GamerLegion, Apeks, and MIBR here, you should be cautious with backing the favorites here.

When it comes to the maps in the last three months, MAD Lions are unbeaten on Vertigo (four matches played) and have been solid on Nuke (57.1% winning rate). On the other hand, the Danes are without a victory on Inferno and Dust2 and have been weak on Overpass (25.0%).MAD Lions’ current lineup consists of: innocent (1.10 Rating), AcilioN(0.87), acoR(1.21), sjuush(1.06), and roeJ(1.08). This lineup played together on 17 maps since August 2020 and has a record of eight wins and nine losses.

Espada Team Stats and Latest Results

Espada made it to the very end in the previous edition of this tournament, but succumbed to a narrow loss to the compatriots Spirit and had to settle with the second place and $10,000 prize. They beat c0ntact, Dignitas, and AGF to reach the semi-final, and lost only one map in the process. The Russians won 12 of the previous 14 games.

Overpass proved out to be Espada’s favorite map over the last three maps as they have a record of 81.2% on it, while they also played well on Dust2 (68.4%), Mirage (62.5%), and Inferno (62.5%). Espada failed to impress on only on Nuke (30.8%).

MAD Lions vs. Espada H2H Record

These rivals have never met before.

MAD Lions vs. Espada Betting Preview

MAD Lions are the better-ranked team, but that doesn’t mean they should be considered as big favorites here. Espada is in a better form and they already played in the Grand final of the Eden Arena Malta Vibes Cup 9, so I am sure they will not give up without a fight here. I am backing Espada to win at least one map in this duel, but the braver bettors can try with a win on the underdogs.

The Pick: Espada +1.5 (-172 @GG.BET)