XSE Pro League 2026: Opening Day Picks & Analysis

The XSE Pro League 2026 opens in Guangzhou, China with a full eight-game BO1 slate on July 1st, 2026. While we don’t have all of the elite CS teams in attendance, there are still some top squads at the event. It should be an entertaining tournament and it looks pretty wide open to me.

Remember that the best-of-one format introduces a lot more variance into the equation.

Let's break down the matchups!

3DMAX vs Ninjas in Pyjamas

Both teams have made recent lineup changes, which adds even more uncertainty to an already volatile best-of-one situation.

Pick: NIP > 3DMAX
Top Projection: xKacpersky
Top Leverage: misutaaa

FaZe vs TYLOO

FaZe will make their debut with JBOEN as the new AWPer instead of broky. Tough matchup against TYLOO.

Pick: FaZe > TYLOO
Top Projection: frozen
Top Leverage: JamYoung

9z vs EYEBALLERS

Another intriguing battle. 9z have become a serious contender at the highest level, but EYEBALLERS have an interesting all-Swedish mix of up-and-coming talent and experience.

Pick: 9z > EYEBALLERS
Top Projection: luchov
Top Leverage: dgt

Monte vs Nemesis

There are rumors swirling around Gizmy potentially moving elsewhere. For now he remains at Monte, who are firm favorites here.

UPDATE: Monte has been acquired by Luminosity. lux has replaced Gizmy as the in-game leader.

Pick: Monte > Nemesis
Top Projection: Rainwaker
Top Leverage: afro

BetBoom vs SINNERS

BetBoom had a great run at the IEM Cologne 2026 major and should be able to topple SINNERS.

Pick: BetBoom > SINNERS
Top Projection: Magnojez
Top Leverage: MoDo

PARIVISION vs Alliance

This will be the debut of PARIVISION’s new starting five. They switched out two players for new pieces: one a veteran (HObbit) and the other a relatively unknown young firepower piece (slaxejezzz).

Pick: PARIVISION > Alliance
Top Projection: zweih
Top Leverage: eraa

B8 vs MIBR

This is a tough one to call. Both teams are strong and are trending in the right direction. MIBR will be making their first official appearance with nqz as the AWPer.

Pick: B8 > MIBR
Top Projection: insani
Top Leverage: npl

BIG vs Lynn Vision

BIG have been looking better and better since blameF came on board as the captain. I give them the edge in this one.

Pick: BIG > Lynn Vision
Top Projection: blameF
Top Leverage: z4KR

Win probabilities are approximate and subject to change. Always check current numbers before locking decisions.

For player-level ratings check CARNAGE before games start. For game-level fair values see MARKET. We also have RANGE, which shows outcome distributions on a player and team level, and COMMS, our daily notes feed.

Good luck!