SMASH vs. c0ntact 6/3 Preview & Prediction - Free CS:GO Betting Picks

Group B action of the #HomeSweetHome: Week 7 tournament is set to kick off with a battle between c0ntact and SMASH. The #HomeSweetHome Week 7 features 16 participants. The teams are broken into four double-eliminated GSL format groups for the Group Stage with the opening matches being best-of-one-map while the rest in the group will be a best-of-three-map affair and the top two teams advancing to the playoffs.

Spread: SMASH 2.5 Rounds

Total: 26.5 Rounds

c0ntact Preview

HLTV world ranking: 43rd

Record: N/A

The European mixed-bag roster of c0ntact has been spotty, but when they play well the team is REALLY good. Inferno and Mirage are the team's best maps, but over the past three months they haven't been overly dominant, even on these maps. The team holds a 5-3 record on Inferno although they have a 79.2% win rate there after getting the first kill. Their record on Mirage is 3-2 with a 72.4% win rate after getting the first kill also which isn't very impressive.

EspiranTo and ottoNd will have to do all they can to carry their team to victory here. EspiranTo has averaged a decent 0.71 kills per round but has died 0.69 times per round the past three months as well. His couterpart ottoNd averages 0.69 kills with only 0.64 deaths per round which is a better kill to death ratio than EspiranTo. LETN1 and emi, not to talk down on them, have almost been hindering the team lately with their poor kill/death ratios. The key to victory for c0ntact is for their main two stars to shine, and they need help elsewhere also.

SMASH Preview

HLTV world ranking: 45th

Record: N/A

SMASH, like their opponent, features a mixed roster with players from three different countries. SMASH has seen the most success in the past three months on the map Mirage. They hold a 9-5 record in this time period with a 74.4% win rate after registering the first kill. The team has shown potential on the maps Train and Dust2 also, but they haven't been able to mount near the success that they have had on Mirage with any other map available.

Something that really, really scares me about backing SMASH in this contest is the fact that none of the five players on their roster are currently holding a kill to death ratio of very much higher over one. It's hard to name a statistical leader in these cases as they prefer to use a team effort. However, bubble will have to step things up in a big way. He has averages a poor 0.57 kills per round while dying 0.71 times per round also. SMASH will need either a team effort if they plan on becoming victorious in this contest.

Pick: c0ntact ML (-115 @ Bovada)

Oddsmakers have this game currently set as a pick-em, and I could somewhat see why. However, I can't in good reason place any faith behind a team who doesn't have a player standing out as a statistical team leader. Their opponent c0ntact has been hit and miss in their own right, but their veteran-packed roster knows how to win and they are itching to find themselves back in the spotlight. I fully expect c0ntact to take care of business in this contest as their roster is the better composed of the two.