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Elisa Invitational Summer Swiss Stage Invites Revealed

Elisa Invitational Summer Swiss Stage Invites Revealed

Elisa Esports have revealed the Swiss Stage invites for its $100,000 Elisa Invitational Summer Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. The field will feature many prominent names, including ENCE, HAVU Gaming, and SKADE.

Eight Squads Enter the Elisa Invitational Summer Swiss Stage

Elisa Esports invited eight teams to the Elisa Invitational Summer Swiss Stage, where they’ll join eight 16 regional squads. The invitees were unveiled on Wednesday, May 5, as the final teams to round up the Swiss Stage lineup.

The invited teams include ENCE, HAVU Gaming, SKADE, Tricked Esports, SAW, forZe, Endpoint, and EPG Family.

These will join a 16-team field, consisting of 777 Esports, AGF Esports, APeks, Astralis Talent, Case Esports, Club Brugge eSports, CPH Flames, Double Poney, gorillazzz, Lilmix, Lyngby Vikings, Natus Vincere Junior, Nordavind, Sangal Esports, YOung Ninjas, and KOVA Esports.

The Elisa Invitational Summer will kick off with the Regional Swiss Stage, featuring only the aforementioned 16 teams. These will compete in a 16 Team Swiss system format with all matches played as best-of-three (Bo3).

The top eight teams from the Regional Swiss Stage will advance into the Main Swiss Stage, where they’ll face off against the eight invited teams. For the main stage, the same format will be in place to determine which eight teams advance into the playoffs.

The Elisa Invitational Summer playoffs will pit the top eight teams from the Swiss Stage against four invited teams in a single-elimination Bo3 bracket. The teams who will make it into the playoffs via the Swiss Stage will begin the playoffs in the round of 12, while the invited teams receive a direct bye into the quarter-finals.

The organizers have yet to reveal which four teams will enter the Elisa Invitational Summer playoffs.

Ancient Could Make Its Way into the Competitive Pool

A rather controversial announcement from Valve on Tuesday, May 4, unveiled Ancient will replace Train in the active-duty map pool. This would see Train removed from the competitive play and get replaced by Ancient, which has received a number of changes before its competitive debut.

Replacing Train with Ancient marks the first change to the CS:GO active map pool since March 2019, when Vertigo replaced Cache. Vertigo has since undergone numerous changes, which will likely be the case with Ancient as well.

The announcement also revealed that the first Regional Major Rankings (RMR) events that are set to play out in the coming weeks will continue using the old map pool. That, however, does not include the Elisa Invitational Summer.

Elisa Esports have yet to comment whether Ancient will be added to their map pool for the Elisa Invitational Summer. However, it seems likely we could see Ancient make its competitive debut this week.

Action Begins on Thursday, May 6

Elisa Invitational Summer 2021 will kick off on Thursday, May 6, with the opening round of the Regional Swiss Stage. It will conclude on Saturday, July 7, with the grand finals.

The opening round of play will feature two games, starting with Natus Vincere Junior vs. Lilmix, followed by a clash between Nordavind and 777 Esports. The games will play out at 17:00 and 20:00 CEST, respectively.

Odds for Natus Vincere Junior vs. Lilmix match

Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:

  • NaVi Jr. -167
  • Lilmix +125
  • NaVi Jr -1.5 Rounds -122
  • Lilmix +1.5 Rounds -109
  • Over 26.5 Rounds -110
  • Under 26.5 Rounds -120

The esports bookmakers have NaVi Jr. priced as favorites and not necessarily because they field better players. Lilmix enter this match on a four-game losing streak, which has shifted the scale in favor of the Ukrainians.

The problem here is that NaVi Jr. haven’t played too many games this season, which could work against them. Regardless, this should be a close and exciting match featuring young Ukrainian stars clashing with Lilmix led by the CS legend Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund.

Odds for Natus Nordavind vs. 777 Esports match

Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:

  • Nordavind -455
  • 777 Esports +299
  • Nordavind -4.5 Rounds -115
  • 777 Esports +4.5 Rounds -115
  • Over 26.5 Rounds -132
  • Under 26.5 Rounds -101

The Norwegian side 777 Esports are in for a tough match this Thursday as they take on Nodravind. Although neither side impressed with their performances of late, it’s easy to see why the esports bookmakers don’t believe 777 can succeed.

It’s important to note that 777 have stood tall against the opposition of similar caliber before. So perhaps Nordavind shouldn’t take this match too lightly.