
It’s a new day for G2 Esports’ Counter-Strike team, but how will this new version of the team hold up against MIBR in PGL Astana?
After weeks of rumors and reports, G2 Esports confirmed the departure for star player Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov. The Russian joined G2 as a teenager and was the most impactful player on the team throughout his tenure. After a second-place finish in PGL Bucharest, the news became official.
Now, it’s the team’s Aleksander “hades” Miśkiewicz era. So what’s the betting outlook on the new G2 Esports as it returns to action in PGL Astana?
G2 Esports and MIBR have been matched up in the first round of the PGL Astana group stage. The group stage will feature the standard Counter-Strike Swiss-style format, where teams need to win three out of five matches to advance. All matches in the group stage are best-of-threes.
G2 Esports has posted mixed but generally solid results throughout 2025. The highlight was a second-place run in PGL Bucharest, with the lowlight being a group stage exit from IEM Katowice. The departure of Nikola “NiKo” Kovač to Falcons hasn’t helped G2 and it’s unclear whether the departure of m0NESY represents a new start for the team or another downgrade.
Here is the new G2 Esports roster:
In 2025, G2 has been strong on Inferno and Dust 2 while being closer to even everywhere else. The team typically bans Train, though it’s unclear how the team’s loss of m0NESY and addition of hades will impact things.
MIBR has not had a very good 2025 thus far. The team has been able to compete in numerous prominent events, but hasn’t posted a good placement in any of them. The organization has a spot in the Austin Major knotted up and is seemingly content in its current team until then.
Here is the MIBR roster, which has been together since September 2024:
MIBR has a solid winning record on Anubis and Mirage but is losing everywhere else in 2025. Its worst map is one where it plays often, going 4-10 on Inferno to this point in the year. The team typically bans Dust 2.
G2 Esports and MIBR haven’t played against each other in 2025. Their last match was at ESL Pro League Season 20 in 2024, which was a 2-0 win for G2. Both teams have undergone some big changes since then.
G2 Esports is a significant betting favorite over MIBR, with the moneyline on the team standing at 1.37. MIBR is far behind at 3.06. Bookies are expecting hades to be able to capably fill m0NESY’s shoes on G2. Either that or there’s a serious lack of faith in MIBR.
G2 should be able to defeat MIBR in the PGL Astana group stage. It remains to be seen how good the team is, but MIBR has consistently lost against tier-two European teams like GamerLegion, 3DMAX, and Virtus.pro. It’s unclear whether G2 ranks above or below those teams, but they’re likely to be comparable.
Think you know who will win? Place your bets here!
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