Imperial Esports and M80 will meet on Saturday, September 14, in the Group C upper-bracket final of ESL Pro League Season 20. Both teams have exceeded expectations — especially the Brazilian lineup, who bested MOUZ in the upper-bracket semifinal.

Imperial’s strong showing on Wednesday explains the betting odds offered by the top Counter-Strike bookmakers, although it is not fair to overlook what M80 have produced so far. While they have had an easier path, Elias “s1n” Stein still bested Complexity and Fnatic, which is no small feat.

M80 have an impressive 8-2 record from their last 10 outings, yet just three of their five players hold a positive average rating in ESL Pro League Season 20. In contrast, all but Vinicius “VINI” Figueiredo on Imperial have gone at 1.06 or better over their last two series.

Jo?o “felps” Vasconcellos (1.29) and Lucas “decenty” Bacelar (1.37) have been the driving force behind Imperial’s Cinderella run. On the other hand, M80 have a better win rate on four of the seven maps: Anubis (100%), Ancient (78%), Vertigo (50%), and Inferno (75%).

At $1.66, Imperial Esports are given a 60.2% implied probability of beating M80, which makes sense considering their victory against MOUZ. However, the world’s No.5 team haven’t been in the best shape of late, so that result can be taken with a grain of salt.

While this is Imperial’s game to lose, M80 should not be underestimated. If they can play around their maps, the American-German lineup should be able to put up a decent fight.

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