It’s been all Europe and North America in the ESL Pro League so far, but another region is finally taking center stage as the Asian Pro League playoffs kick off on September 21.
Many Counter-Strike fans may not know much about the Asian region, so let’s take a look at the teams and how much of a chance they have to win it.
Who’s playing at ESL Pro League Asia?
Just four teams remain in the Asian Pro League and they’ll battle it out in a double-elimination bracket from September 21 to October 6. Chinese powerhouse Tyloo enters as the heavy favorite, followed by domestic rival ViCi Gaming.
The remaining teams, Invictus and Beyond, can be described as the third and fourth teams in the region, but they’ll have to put up something special to take down Tyloo and ViCi.
You can check out each team’s odds to win it below:
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Tyloo | -125 |
| ViCi Gaming | +200 |
| Invictus | +400 |
| Beyond | +700 |
Odds as of September 11 at Sportsbook
Can ViCi finally stop Tyloo?
In Asian CS:GO, 2020 has all come down to Tyloo vs ViCi Gaming. The two teams have claimed the top two spots in the region, with practically every big event seeing the two meet in the grand finals and Tyloo winning.
Tyloo has more experience and a slight edge in skill over ViCi, as the team has been together for years, claiming Asia’s spots at major LANs and experiencing international competition first-hand.
ViCi, meanwhile, rests their hopes on young star Yi “JamYoung” Yang. JamYoung has been touted as one of the brightest stars in Asia and many were surprised when he joined ViCi over Tyloo. ViCi will be looking to him to put up an incredible showing and finally push the team over the edge and to a victory over their bitter rivals.
Do Invictus and Beyond stand a chance?
Invictus and Beyond are two impressive teams in the Asian region, but the gap between them and Tyloo and ViCi Gaming has been evident for some time.
Almost every event sees either ViCi or Tyloo eliminate one of these teams and usually it’s not even close. Invictus did manage to upset ViCi once in July but was later eliminated by Tyloo. Beyond, meanwhile, has yet to even scratch the two giants.
To say that things look hopeless for the two wouldn’t be an understatement and we’re very likely to see another Tyloo vs ViCi final. It would really take a miracle for either Invictus or Beyond to make something happen. However, there have been a few magical moments in Counter-Strike, so only time will tell.
