It’s David vs a whole different kind of Goliath as Natus Vincere face off with Rare Atom in Group D of ESL Pro League Season 17

Chinese CSGO isn’t exactly known for its brilliance, with only one team ever having made major headlines in the game’s long history. Enter Rare Atom, a Chinese side at its first ever S-Tier event that has already shaken up the CSGO scene with an almost ridiculous upset. There are high hopes for this team, so their next opponent, Natus Vincere, will have to do their research on them ahead of their match together. Speaking of research, if you’re looking to do some CSGO betting on this match, this preview and predictions piece is for you.

Rare Atom

After raising our (and possibly their own) expectations sky-high, Rare Atom have been pulled back down to earth by a resurgent ENCE. Now they’re not just down in the Mid Bracket of the group, but are set to play one of the most powerful and consistent sides in recent years. Given that the Ukrainians are well known for their resilience, the Chinese team’s youthful ranks will have to tread carefully lest another beatdown from a European side should await them.

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Players 

Liang “advent” Zhuo

• HLTV Rating: 0.87
• Impact Rating: 0.76
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.4%
• Average Damage Round: 62.1
• Kills Per Round: 0.56

Andrew “kaze” Khong

• HLTV Rating: 1.18
• Impact Rating: 1.21
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73.8%
• Average Damage Round: 79.2
• Kills Per Round: 0.77

Yang “JamYoung” Yi

• HLTV Rating: 1.19
• Impact Rating: 1.17
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 74.0%
• Average Damage Round: 81.4
• Kills Per Round: 0.76

Chen “Moseyuh” Qianhao

• HLTV Rating: 1.12
• Impact Rating: 1.13
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.8%
• Average Damage Round: 78.4
• Kills Per Round: 0.72

Wang “Mercury” Jingxiang

• HLTV Rating: 1.18
• Impact Rating: 1.25
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.7%
• Average Damage Round: 82.7
• Kills Per Round: 0.75

Player to Watch

It’s difficult to predict which player would do well when you have such a small sample size of matches to watch, but in terms of statistics we’re going with Mercury as the Rare Atom player for this series.

Natus Vincere

Na’ Vi may have looked down and out after being taken to the cleaners in the last two maps against forZe, but a well earned win against their old rivals Astralis seems to have put them back on track. There’s still a lot of work to be done within the team, but if yesterday’s match was any proof, they still have what it takes to get back into top shape and rustle some jimmies. That being said, the Ukrainians seem like a bit of a one-man army team at the moment, and that needs to change as soon as possible if they are to harbor any lofty goals.

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Players

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev

• HLTV Rating: 1.24
• Impact Rating: 1.35
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 74.0%
• Average Damage Round: 85.8
• Kills Per Round: 0.85

Denis “electroNic” Sharipov

• HLTV Rating: 1.09
• Impact Rating: 1.19
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.6%
• Average Damage Round: 82.6
• Kills Per Round: 0.74

Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy

• HLTV Rating: 1.03
• Impact Rating: 0.87
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73.1%
• Average Damage Round: 69.8
• Kills Per Round: 0.62

Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi

• HLTV Rating: 1.11
• Impact Rating: 1.10
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.0%
• Average Damage Round: 75.5
• Kills Per Round: 0.70

Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi

• HLTV Rating: 1.01
• Impact Rating: 0.98
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 70.2%
• Average Damage Round: 71.7
• Kills Per Round: 0.64

Player to Watch

Given his apparent return to form, it would be foolish of us not to tip s1mple for this. He is as beastly as they come, and will most likely be the difference maker in this matchup.

ESL Pro League Season 17 Group D: Rare Atom vs Natus Vincere Predictions

Our hearts might want a glorious underdog story with Rare Atom winning and eventually earning themselves a Playoff spot, but our minds tell us that Na’ Vi will win 2-0. 

Maps 

Rare Atom will probably pick Inferno, which Na’ Vi probably won’t object to, while Na’ Vi will most likely get their hands on Overpass. We’re going with Nuke as the decider.

Score 

Map 1: Na’ Vi to win with Rare Atom >11.

Map 2: Na’ Vi to win with Rare Atom <9.

Top Fragger

When s1mple is in form, you don’t argue unless there are other GOATs present on the server. You just hand him the top fragger prediction medal and hope he doesn’t have a freak day of poor shooting. 

Match Links

The match will be available on ESL’s Twitch or YouTube channels, with coverage set to begin at 14:30 ET/13:30 CST/12:30 PT.

Join us next time for more CSGO match previews, and check out our wide variety of other CSGO content while you’re at it.