BBL Esports finished Stage 1 of the VALORANT Champions Tour with a respectable 3-3 record, which includes two massive victories against Natus Vincere and Team Heretics. However, while BBL had their moments, they didn’t show much in the first stage.

Fnatic reclaimed their VCT EMEA throne in May but struggled to accomplish much in Shanghai, where they exited the tournament in the first round when losing 1-2 against FUT Esports.

Fnatic were unquestionably the best European VALORANT team of 2023, but they’ve not looked like themselves since. Fnatic have the talent to do well, but they don’t deserve to be priced as such big favourites — even against BBL Esports.

Team Heretics reached the VCT 2024 Masters Shanghai finals at the start of the month and established themselves as the best-performing European VALORANT team of the season. But while they have solid international results, Heretics didn’t do particularly well in VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 before the playoffs.

We must also consider that Team Heretics have not had much time to rest. As is the case across other esports games, teams that compete in major events in the middle of the season tend to have slow starts to the summer splits.

It will take a solid team to take advantage of Heretics’ fatigue, but Natus Vincere might fit that bill. They had an explosive start to VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 and showed good qualities. They ran out of steam in the knockout stage, but NaVi have a sound roster with few weaknesses.

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BBL Esports have defied all odds so far in VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1, winning three of the four series played. Not only have BBL won most of their games, but they have defeated Team Heretics and Natus Vincere along the way.

GIANTX, meanwhile, are 0-4 with a -36 round differential, although they have been competitive in parts. They took maps from Fnatic and Team Liquid, and last week they forced a three-map series against Team Vitality.

This comes with an asterisk, as while GIANTX have had some small victories, they only seem to do well on Lotus. On the other side, BBL Esports are a well-rounded team who have already defeated much stronger squads and shouldn’t struggle against GIANTX.

These teams last met in the VCT2 204 EMEA Kickoff finals, when Karmine Corp won 2-0. But based on their recent results, it’s fair to question whether the right team is favoured.

Team Heretics aren’t getting much respect due to their slump in weeks 2-3, but they seemed to have found their rhythm when they humiliated Team Liquid 13-2, 13-7. Karmine Corp, on the other side, are 3-2 but haven’t looked good over the last two series, with a 1-2 loss against Natus Vincere and a very close overtime victory against the league’s worst VALORANT esports team, KOI.

One good game doesn’t prove much, but Team Heretics showed what they’re capable of early in the season, and it was only a matter of time before they found their traction.

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Fnatic picked up their third victory of VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 last Friday when they defeated KOI with a 26-15 combined round record. Before that, they defeated Gentle Mates and GIANTX without any real issues.

With a 3-1 record, Fnatic look to be in a fine spot. They’ve only played against weaker teams, but a strong showing on Thursday would re-establish Jake “Boaster” Howlett and his crew as a serious threat to win the VCT EMEA title.

FUT Esports started Stage 1 hot with wins against Team Liquid and Karmine Corp, but they proved to be no match for Team Vitality. That 2-1 loss might suggest FUT aren’t ready to face bigger teams, but they’re still a very good squad.

Individually, Fnatic have two excellent players, Leo “Leo” Jannesson and Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov, who have been posting great numbers this split. But even that might not be enough to stop Mehmet “cNed” ?pek.

If FUT Esports can count on cNed to perform on Thursday, they should be in a good spot to win. But even if cNed doesn’t have one of his pop-off performances, FUT should be priced closer to even money for this match. Value is with the outsiders.

Natus Vincere are the only undefeated team in VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1, having already beaten Team Vitality, Team Liquid, and Karmine Corp. It might be too early to evaluate how far this roster can go, but these guys are playing as well as they did under the FunPlus Phoenix banner in 2022.

BBL Esports are holding on well and enter the fourth week of VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 with a 2-1 record. Their only defeat of the season happened in Week 1 when they lost to Gentle Mates, but they more than made up for it with wins against KOI and Team Heretics.

After beating Team Heretics, BBL Esports should feel confident in their ability to compete with Natus Vincere. But Heretics didn’t play well last week, so that win isn’t a strong indicator of BBL’s strength.

BBL Esports can be competitive, but Natus Vincere should be too much for them to handle.

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BBL Esports started VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 with a humiliating 0-2 loss against Gentle Mates but then surprised KOI with a quick 2-0 victory on Thursday. Beating KOI in the state they’re in isn’t too impressive, but at least BBL got their name on the board after a concerning start to the year.

With a runner-up finish in the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff, Team Heretics have made a strong case for themselves as one of Europe’s top VALORANT esports teams. They also defeated Fnatic in the first week of VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1; however, they suffered a rough 1-2 loss against Vitality last week.

Seeing Team Heretics lose to Vitality suggests they’re not as stable as they seemed, but they are still the better team in this contest.

Team Vitality finished the first two weeks of VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 with a 1-1 record. They lost to Natus Vincere in the opening week and shocked Team Heretics last Wednesday with one of the best performances we’ve seen from Jokūbas “ceNder” Labutis and co. this season.

FUT Esports have proven themselves as live underdogs to do some serious damage in VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1. They showed some glimpses of greatness during the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff and have looked even better across the first two weeks of Stage 1 with wins against Team Liquid and Karmine Corp.

Even though FUT Esports look good, they have a lot more to prove, so we don’t expect them to run over Team Vitality.

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Team Liquid will be looking to bounce back following a tough 0-2 loss against FUT Esports on Friday. That defeat came after a strong display against KOI in the tournament’s opening round, although beating KOI in their current state is hardly a huge accomplishment.

Natus Vincere didn’t accomplish their goals in the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff, but they still performed well. After topping Group B with wins against BBL Esports and Team Liquid, NaVi stumbled against the improved Team Heretics.

Priced at $1.33 with esports betting sites, Natus Vincere are expected to have a field day. Team Liquid have yet to find much traction with their new international lineup, and they already lost to Natus Vincere in February.

BBL Esports and KOI will meet on Thursday in a clash between two VCT 2024 EMEA bottom feeders as both sides look to bounce back from rough showings in Week 1. KOI started the tournament with a 0-2 defeat against the unconvincing Team Liquid, whereas BBL suffered a 0-2 loss against the newly promoted Gentle Mates.

With that defeat, BBL Esports made it even simpler to tag them as one of the weaker sides in the region, as they already struggled in the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff. On the other side, KOI found some success in the season-opening event and made it to the play-in stage with wins against Team Liquid and BBL.

KOI defeated BBL Esports in February with 2-0 and a combined map record of 26-13. That makes it easier to justify a wager on them for this match, as not much has changed since then.

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FUT Esports finished the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff with just one victory against GIANTX and two losses against the eventual finalists, Team Heretics and Karmine Corp. That isn’t too bad, especially considering FUT Esports played very competitive series against Heretics and KC.

Team Liquid were far less successful in the season-opening tournament. They beat KOI in the first game but lost the rematch and also went down to Natus Vincere. In the first round of the VCT 2024 EMEA League, Liquid got their revenge against KOI but didn’t look great.

Team Liquid have faced only three different teams this season, so we can’t make any conclusions; however, they’ve not shown enough to earn the tag as favourites for this series. FUT Esports are the obvious choice at plus money.

BBL Esports had a terrible start to the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour and posted the worst record of the EMEA Kickoff, finishing with two losses and a -20 round differential. It’s unfair to criticise BBL Esports too much since they have only two games under their belt, but it’s also tough to find many positives.

Gentle Mates had a very similar experience in the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff, where they lost both of their series against Team Vitality. However, GM still performed well; they kept the first game close and were reverse-swept in the rematch after losing in overtime on the second map.

This is a match between two weak VALORANT esports teams, so anything can happen. But at $1.81 with the top esports betting sites, siding with Gentle Mates is a far more appealing option.

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Natus Vincere replaced Mehmet “cNed” ?pek with Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks in October, bringing the former FunPlus Phoenix roster back together in a bid to find more stability in the 2024 season. Even though replacing just one player might not seem enough for NaVi to bounce back from what was a very mediocre year, ardiis could be the missing piece that will bring this project together.

BBL Esports didn’t win much last season. They placed seventh in the VCT 2023 EMEA League and didn’t reach the world championship. The Turkish squad did win Superdome 2023 Egypt, so they’re in good form, but this doesn’t change the fact that BBL don’t have the talent of other top VCT EMEA teams.

Natus Vincere might be a hit-or-miss team, but they shouldn’t struggle to beat BBL Esports, who are one of the weakest teams in the VCT 2024 EMEA.

Team Liquid have picked up the former Apeks trio Enzo “Enzo” Mestari, Georgio “Keiko” Sanassy, and James “Mistic” Orfila, who will link up with Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen and Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin to form a competitive lineup.

Apeks’ core played well in 2023 but fell apart at the final hurdle and lost the VCT 2023 Ascension EMEA to Gentle Mates. But that was more a case of Gentle Mates finding traction, so failing to make it though Ascension doesn’t take away from how good Apeks were throughout the season.

KOI had a disappointing run through the VCT 2023 season, showing no progress from February up to the VCT 2023 EMEA Last Chance Qualifier in July. In a bid to find more success, KOI rebuilt the lineup at the start of February by signing Grzegorz “GRUBINHO” Ryczko and offering Kamil “kamo” Fr?ckowiak and Tobias “ShadoW” Flodstr?m to permanent contracts.

KOI’s roster seems like it was put together last-minute and doesn’t look strong. The situation behind the scenes, with numerous arrivals and departures of players since November, also can’t be great, so it’s easy to doubt this team.

Team Vitality have created a strong lineup for the VCT 2024 season with the signing of Emil “runneR” Trajkovski, Kimmie “Kicks” Laasner, Saif “Sayf” Jibraeel, and Nikita “trexx” Cherednichenko. Unfortunately, trexx will not be able to play in VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff, with Tomas “Destrian” Linikas taking his place.

Gentle Mates ascended to the VCT EMEA by defeating Apeks in the VCT 2023 Ascension EMEA and have kept all five players and both coaches on the roster. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering how dominant Gentle Mates were in the second division of the European VALORANT esports ecosystem. Still, it’s also tough to say how they will stack up with EMEA’s elite squads.

Gentle Mates looked incredible at the end of the 2023 season, so the talent is there. Considering they’re up against a new roster, there is reason to believe that Beyaz?t “beyAz” K?rpe and co. can win against a weakened Team Vitality.

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Team Heretics signed Benjy “benjyfishy” Fish last week as a replacement for Brandon “weber” Weber, who can now return to his position as the team coach. The signing of a former Fortnite player doesn’t make Heretics much better, but at least they don’t have to play with a coach.

KOI are priced as underdogs for this match, which doesn’t make sense if you look at their roster. KOI have good players, and even though they’ve not accomplished much this season, the same holds true for Heretics.

Both teams finished VCT 2023 EMEA League with a 2-7 record, and neither has played an official match since May. It’s also important to note that KOI won against Heretics (2-1) in their only meeting of 2023.

There is no reason to have Heretics priced as favourites. Unless benjyfishy proves to be a great Valorant player, this is KOI’s game to lose.

Karmine Corp beat BBL Esports (2-0) at the start of VCT 2023 EMEA League, but they finished the regular season tied for last place with Heretics and KOI, so it’s not too surprising to see them priced as underdogs. But at $3.00, Karmine Corp are very underestimated.

BBL Esports were better than Karmine Corp this season, but they haven’t accomplished much either. The Turkish squad ended VCT 2023 EMEA League in seventh place, with a 3-6 record, and their only three wins came against KOI (2-1), Heretics (2-1), and Vitality (2-0) during their slump.

The teams’ form doesn’t matter much here since BBL Esports and Karmine Corp haven’t played a game since May. And even if we compare the players on BBL Esports and Karmine Corp, it’s hard to explain why BBL Esports are priced as $1.36 favourites.

The offered Valorant betting odds don’t make sense. The value is with Karmine Corp.

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?BBL Esports’ improvement over the last few weeks is quite remarkable. They went from 0-4 to 3-4 and are now in a good spot to finish the season inside the top six. Over the last three series, BBL Esports have won against Team Vitality (2-0), Team Heretics (2-1), and KOI (2-1), which isn’t anything spectacular, but great.

Like BBL, Team Liquid have looked much better of late and enter this match with a 4-3 record and 2-1 from their last three. They defeated Heretics (2-0) in Week 4, added a hard-fought 2-1 win against Giants in Week 5, but then had to admit defeat to Natus Vincere (0-2) last week.

Liquid still played well against NaVi (10-13, 10-13) despite missing Saif “Sayf” Jibraeel, who fell ill ahead of the match. It’s uncertain whether Sayf will return on Friday, but even if he does, we wouldn’t price Team Liquid at $1.44.

BBL Esports have shown enough recently for us to believe that this will be a close affair, and even though Team Liquid look better on paper, value is with BBL Esports at the offered Valorant betting odds.

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KOI are in a terrible spot, and unless they find a way to bounce back in Week 7, they’ll finish the season outside of the top six. But despite entering Week 7 of VCT 2023 EMEA League with a 1-5 record and a five-game losing streak, KOI are priced at $2.10 to defeat Team Heretics.

That isn’t too shocking considering Team Heretics have won just two series this season (2-5); however, they beat Giants (2-0) last week and have produced a few strong showings over the last couple of rounds.

In Week 5, Team Heretics nearly won against BBL Esports (1-2) and forced Team Liquid to overtime (8-13, 15-17) a week prior. This is still a match between two struggling Valorant teams; however, it’s very difficult to trust KOI, who have not shown anything noteworthy since the season’s first week.

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