Natus Vincere vs. Syman Odds, Prediction, and Pick for May 8th – ESL One: Road to Rio

Group B of the CIS Division at the ESL One qualifiers kicks off today with a matchup between Natus Vincere and Syman Gaming.

Everyone who is following the CS:GO scene will know that NaVi is coming into this tie as a huge favorite. Their opponents will have a mountain to climb here but do they have what it takes to stage a huge surprise?

My Natus Vincere vs. Syman betting preview for today tries to answer this by looking at the main betting options and forming my prediction based on them and the key stats for both organizations.

I’m starting off with the latest betting prices. The ones below are courtesy of BetOnline’s sportsbook.

This game is one of the biggest mismatches in the tournament so far and you shouldn’t be surprised by these odds one bit.

Syman has been able to snatch one win so far but Natus Vincere is the most elite force in the group and a huge performance will be needed if they are to challenge them.

NaVi continue their hunt for top spot in Group B today. The team hasn’t been perfect but flashes of their brilliance were seen in the demolitions of ESPADA and 100pro.

However, they did record a rare loss to Russians Virtus.pro in the second round. The tie could still have gone either way but lack of focus condemned the team to narrow defeats on both Inferno and Train.

Despite the misstep, s1mple and company remain the overwhelming favorites here and I doubt they will allow themselves to underestimate any of their remaining fixtures.

The Kazakh organization could’ve got off to a good start but failed to close out their tie against Hard Legion Esports.

They won the first map and looked good value to edge the second round but fell in overtime and were then beaten on Overpass.

They managed to defeat ESPADA but the heavy loss against Virtus.pro that followed has once again proven that the team is punching above their weight at this level.

Unless something quite extraordinary happens, Natus Vincere should breeze past their opponents today. They will be on their toes after falling to Virtus.pro and Syman simply doesn’t have the resources to stop s1mple and his teammates.

I reckon this will be more of an exhibition match for the Russians and the underdogs’ fate could be sealed in record time.

You won’t get high odds for backing the favorite but the -312 price that BetOnline provides for a 2:0 win is decent given the circumstances.

The best CS:GO betting sites have a bunch of other esports events covered and you can read our predictions for Friday’s top matchups below: