Match Prediction: B8 - Wildcard
We continue publishing betting tips during BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 — the key tournament of this summer. The third round of the first stage of the world championship is currently underway, where only 8 out of 16 teams will advance further.
Today, B8 and Wildcard will face off, and both teams have shown strong results after the first two days at BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025. They currently sit in 2nd and 3rd place, having defeated solid opponents along the way.
This matchup also presents an interesting CS2 betting prediction opportunity, as both teams are fighting for a 3-0 record. Now let’s try to figure out which of the two — B8 or Wildcard — will move forward to a perfect score, and who will lose their flawless run and increase their risk of elimination.
How the bookies view it: Wildcard Favorite
Before we move on to our betting prediction and match analysis, let’s first determine the favorite in the B8 vs Wildcard matchup. The most objective indicator here is the bookmakers' odds.
Most leading esports betting experts agree that Wildcard holds the advantage in this match. The average odds for their victory are around 1.50–1.60. This is quite understandable, as Wildcard regularly competes in Tier-S tournaments, giving them the opportunity to face the world’s top teams and gain valuable experience. Even if the results are not always impressive, the experience is worth it.
Now let’s move on to a more detailed breakdown.
Wildcard form. What result can be expected from Wildcard
Let’s start our breakdown with the favorites of this match — Wildcard. First, let’s take a look at the team’s recent results to better understand why they are considered the favorites here.
Over the past six months, Wildcard has participated in three Tier-S tournaments. The first was Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, where they delivered a surprising performance in the group stage but failed in the playoffs, finishing in 15th-16th place.
Their next Tier-S tournament was PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, where they performed slightly better, securing 12th-14th place.
The most recent Tier-S event was BLAST Rivals Spring 2025, where they achieved a 5th-6th place finish.
Between these top-tier events, Wildcard also participated in lower-tier tournaments, where they often managed to take first place.
Player | Time on team | Maps played | Rating 2.1 |
JBa | 1 year 6 months | 301 | 1.11 |
Sonic | 1 year 6 months | 298 | 1.13 |
stanislaw | 1 year 6 months | 302 | 0.96 |
phzy | 10 months | 160 | 1.14 |
susp | 10 months | 177 | 1.08 |
The team’s coach is vinS, who has been with the roster for 10 months. He has coached 177 maps with a win rate of 62%.
B8 form. What result can be expected from B8
Now let’s take a look at the results of the Ukrainian team B8. At the moment, the team holds 23rd place in the HLTV rankings, one position ahead of their opponent. But how important is that? Let’s break it down as part of our betting prediction.
We’ll look at their results over the past year, just as we did with Wildcard. What we see is that B8 hasn’t participated in any Tier-S tournaments over the year. Most of their matches were played in Tier-B events, where they have maintained a 100% win rate.
But what about higher-level events? In Tier-A tournaments, B8 played four times but never managed to secure a first-place finish, although they did reach the finals twice.
At ESL Challenger Katowice 2024, they reached their first Tier-A final, where they faced SAW but lost 2:0.
Their second runner-up finish came at CCT Season 2 Global Finals, where they faced a much stronger opponent — HEROIC. Unfortunately for B8, they once again suffered a 2:0 defeat.
There were also two more Tier-A tournaments: Elisa Masters Espoo 2024, where they again lost to HEROIC 2:0 and finished 3rd-4th, and MESA Nomadic Masters Spring 2025, where they took 3rd place after losing to the Mongolian team Chinggis Warriors.
Player | Time on team | Maps played | Rating 2.1 |
npl | 1 year 10 months | 572 | 1.17 |
esenthial | 1 year 4 months | 445 | 0.97 |
headtr1ck | 1 year 1 month | 400 | 1.15 |
alex666 | 1 year 1 month | 388 | 1.08 |
kensizor | 5 months | 128 | 1.06 |
The team’s coach is maddened, who has been with the team for almost 3 years. He has coached 696 maps with a win rate of 56%.
Recent head to head: Wildcard edging it
This is the first meeting between the teams. They have never faced each other in official tournaments before.
Players to watch: phzy and npl
Both teams have their own star players and distinct playstyles. phzy is a great AWPer, very entertaining to watch, with a high clutch win rate. Meanwhile, npl tends to step up in crucial moments, boasting a strong percentage of opening kills and entry frags.
Probable map picks
So, which maps can we expect in this match? It’s important to consider that both teams will ban each other’s strongest maps and try to end up on a map that is more or less comfortable for both sides. The match will be played in a Bo1 format.
From a betting tips perspective, I expect the map to be either Ancient or Inferno. Let me explain why — the information will be based on the teams’ performances over the past 3 months, rather than their all-time stats.
Which maps does pick and ban most often Wildcard?
Here is the table with the teams’ map results over the past few months.
Category | Map | Winrate | Notes |
Strongest maps | Nuke | 80% | 8W - 2L |
| Ancient | 80% | 4W - 1L |
| Inferno | 72.7% | 8W - 3L (First Pick) |
| Train | 66.7% | 2W - 1L |
Average performance | Anubis | 50% | 3W - 3L |
| Dust2 | 40% | 4W - 6L |
Weakest maps | Mirage | 0% | 0W - 1L First Ban |
The conclusion is that Nuke and Ancient are the team’s strongest maps based on win percentage. However, they will likely feel more confident playing on Inferno.
Which maps does pick and ban most often B8?
Now let’s move on to B8 and take a look at their strongest and weakest maps.
Category | Map | Winrate | Notes |
Strongest maps | Ancient | 80% | 8W - 2L |
| Mirage | 75% | 18W - 6L (First Pick) |
| Inferno | 64.3% | 9W - 5L |
Average performance | Dust2 | 54.5% | 6W - 5L |
| Anubis | 50% | 2W - 2L |
| Train | 42.9% | 3W - 4L |
Weakest maps | Nuke | 0% | 0W - 2L |
As we can see from the statistics, Ancient is B8’s strongest map, but Mirage is their most played one. However, Mirage is unlikely to be played since it’s Wildcard’s weakest map. On the other hand, Nuke is B8’s weakest map, which is the complete opposite of Wildcard’s excellent performance on it. From a CS2 betting tips perspective, this map pool balance makes the veto phase especially important for both teams.
Predicted result of the match
Well, we’ve reached the end, and it’s time to make a prediction on who is more likely to win this match at BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 Stage 1. The Bo3 format plays a huge role — but any team can still win or lose, and even on their weakest maps, teams are capable of delivering incredible performances.
But let’s stick to the data we have. When it comes to betting, Wildcard seems to be the more logical and stable choice. The team has more experience, and on the maps that are most likely to be played, they generally have a higher win rate.
However, I’ll repeat — this is a Bo3, and while experience is crucial, we also can’t forget about the mental aspect. Both teams are riding the momentum and confidence from their recent wins, so anything can happen in this match. Good luck, and may the team you’re supporting come out on top.
