?The only player to end the group stage with a flawless record was the current world champion Joona “Serral” Sotala, who won all seven games without dropping a single map. The 24-year-old carried over the momentum into the first round of the playoffs, where he crushed Julian “Lambo” Brosig (3-0).

Now Serral will face his toughest challenge yet, as he clashes with his nemesis, Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti, who has caused him problems before. The two European SCII superstars had met twice in 2022, first at IEM Katowice, where Serral won 3-2, and most recently during King of Battles 3 at the start of May, when Reynor won 4-0.

Despite his success last time out, Reynor enters this match as a $2.25 underdog, which makes sense considering that Serral has yet to drop a map this tournament. However, that doesn’t mean that he will remain untouched.

Historically, the Serral vs Reynor meetings have been unpredictable, and the two players have often exchanged blows. So even though Serral has looked better this tournament, we don’t like him at the offered price.

Realistically, wagering on Reynor to hand Serral the first tournament defeat isn’t a wrong choice especially knowing that he crushed the Finn just one month ago, and still we’re getting plus money on the Little Caesar.

?Clément “Clem” Desplanches placed second in Group D with two defeats (5-2) against Tobias “ShoWTimE” Sieber (2-1) and Thomas “ShaDoWn” Labrousse (0-2). Likewise, Kevin “Harstem” Koning won five series in Group C, with defeats against Nikita “SKillous” Gurevich (1-2) and Joona “Serral” Sotala (0-2).

Despite their slip-ups in the group stage, Clem and Harstem both played well in the quarter-finals, beating Miko?aj “Elazer” Ogonowski (3-0) and Gabriel Raffaele “HeRoMaRinE” Segat (3-2), respectively. But even though both have been performing well this tournament, you have to favour Clem to come out ahead on Friday.

Not only is he a more accomplished player, but Clem is also 30-15 in the head-to-head with Harstem since they first met in 2017. Moreover, Clem has not lost against the Dutch SCII pro since ESL Open Cup #33 Europe in August 2020, translating to a run of 13 series wins and a 26-1 map record.

You could argue that Harstem is good enough to compete with Clem, but their past head-to-head meetings would suggest otherwise. Clem to win 3-0 pays around $2.20 with the top StarCraft II betting sites – which is a good bet, in our book.

?More esports betting tips

ZEST vs NEEB SCII BETTING & MATCH DETAILS

?This Wednesday, Joo “Zest” Sung-wook and Alex “Neeb” Sunderhaft will lock horns in Group B of the DreamHack SC2 Masters Winter Season Finals.

The latest StarCraft II betting odds have Zest as a clear favourite, but we wouldn’t be so quick to write off Neeb. For while Zest has achieved far more this year, he is also the type of player who could have an “it’s an online tournament” kind of day.

Zest’s only previous meeting with Neeb in 2021 came back in January, when the Korean won 2-1 to take his career head-to-head record to 7-2. Neeb’s most recent win against Zest happened in 2018 during the IEM Season XII World Championship.

Neeb enters this match with only two wins from his last eight outings, which isn’t great, but we have to remember that Neeb won against Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti twice in October (2-0, 2-1) and holds an excellent 68.8% win rate in Protoss vs Protoss match-ups.

Zest is a much better player on paper, but he has had a few blunders in online tournaments this year, so there’s a chance he slips again. Neeb to win at $5.00 is worth a small play, but we’re taking the outsider with a map advantage.

?As the latest StarCraft II betting odds suggest, this should be a very one-sided affair, which makes a lot of sense. Haseeb “TeebuL” Ishaq, while an experienced SCII player, has never reached the achievements of the current no.1 in the Korean ESL Pro Tour ladder, Cho “Trap” Seong-ho.

Even though Trap is clearly a better player, he hasn’t been too impressive of late. He has dropped games against Kim “Cure” Doh-wook (1-2), Kang “Solar” Min-soo (0-2), Mateusz “Gerald” Budziak (0-2), and Park “Armani” Jin Hyuk (1-2) last week.

You could argue that TeebuL is not as good as either of those players; however, that doesn’t explain why we’re getting $5.76 on the Brit with a map advantage. It wouldn’t surprise us to see Trap win this bout 2-0, but there’s a higher than a 17.4% chance that Trap drops a map on Tuesday.

?The current no.2 on the American ESL Pro Tour ladder, Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn, will clash with Korea’s no.5, Kim “Cure” Doh-wook, for the first time since August 2020, when Cure won 1-0. It marked his fifth head-to-head victory against the Canadian SCII pro (5-0) since 2014.

Cure enters this match in solid form, with wins against Ke “Has” Feng, Park “Dark” Ryung-woo, and Byun “ByuN” Hyun-wo. Similarly, Scarlett has had plenty of success recently – most notably, she placed third in PiG Sty Festival at the end of October.

Given her head-to-head record with Cure, it’s hard to trust Scarlett to cause an upset, but we’re still getting very generous odds on the Canadian with a map handicap. She has recently improved her performances in the Zerg vs Terran match-up and is currently at a 58.2% all-time win rate against the race.

Korea’s no.1 in the ESL Pro Tour 2021/22 standings, Cho “Trap” Sung-ho will clash with North America no.2 Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn in what the esports bookmakers have billed to be a one-sided affair.

Although Trap is 5-1 in the head-to-head with Scarlett, the offered betting odds seem a bit exaggerated. That’s nothing unusual, considering that the bookmakers traditionally favour Korean SCII pros over Western players.

Scarlett might have beaten Trap only once in her career, however, she has won at least one map against the Korean in all but one of her six h2h bouts. What’s more, Scarlett usually does well into Protoss (63.64% win rate). Scarlett with a map handicap is a great bet at solid odds.

The sole Oceanic representative at the tournament, Sean “Probe” Kempen, will meet a formidable opponent in his opening group match, where he’ll face Korean no.3 Cho “Maru” Seong-ju. As the betting odds would suggest, Probe is not expected to win.

However, that doesn’t mean we’re ready to fade the Australian no.1. Probe enters the Season Finals with a 12-1 record, and while he hasn’t faced any top-tier players during that stretch, it’s the momentum that counts.

It’s also important to mention that Probe generally does well against Terran (61.14% win rate), which is one more reason why we like the Aussie with a map advantage at big odds.

Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti and Joo “Zest” Sung-wook last met in April, when the Italian SCII pro won 1-0. It marked his second consecutive win against Zest, following a commanding 4-2 victory in the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2021 finals.

Reynor is now 7-5 up in the head-to-head with the Korean SCII star and 2-2 on the year. Zest won the first two meetings in 2021 with 3-0 and 2-0 but has struggled to emulate that success in their last two outings.

Reynor and Zest promise to produce an exciting and close affair; however, it’s fair to view Reynor as the most likely victor. He is in much better form than Zest, who has been dropping maps against much weaker opponents of late.

Most recently, Zest struggled to edge past North American no.3 Max “Astrea” Angel (3-2) at ESL Open Cup #77 Americas, where he also lost to European no.13 Leon “goblin” Vrhovec (1-2). Results like that make it difficult to side with Zest over The Italian Stallion.

Mykhailo “Kas” Gaida and Aleksey “Strange” Solyakov last met at the end of April, when Strange won 2-1. It marked his ninth head-to-head victory in a row, taking his all-time record against Kas to 12-5.

Strange hasn’t lost against Kas once since 2017, and it’s hard to expect that will change Thursday. Strange is 1-2 on the tournament with a 4-4 map differential, whereas Kas is 0-3 and has won only two maps out of eight played.

Kas will need to start showing a lot more before we can believe he can break Strange’s streak. This should be an easy 2-0 for the Russian SCII pro.

Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti enters this match as the reigning IEM Katowice champion and one of the favourites to claim the gold medal. Although he has had some slip-ups recently – namely a 0-3 loss to Clément “Clem” Desplanches – the Italian StarCraft II pro has yet to drop a game this tournament and is 3-0 with a 6-1 map differential.

Leon “goblin” Vrhovec is 2-4 in his last six and enters this bout on a two-game losing streak. He was viewed as a massive underdog beforehand, but his poor form makes it that much harder to believe he can cause an upset on Thursday. What’s more, Reynor boasts a strong 66.8% win rate against Protoss.

US-based LoL Commentator ’Froskurinn’ Axed By Riot Games

Popular American streamer Indiana ’Froskurinn’ Black has been released from her contract by LoL developer Riot Games. The 29-year-old had been a broadcaster for the LEC since early 2019, and she previously covered the highly-competitive Asian LPL.

The LEC had a particularly difficult year, including a controversial partnership with Saudi Arabia. Color commentators in the LEC were harsh critics of the move, including Froskurinn. The Portland-based caster indicated that she is open to new opportunities for the 2021 season.

It’s unclear whether Froskurinn will remain in the League of Legends esports scene. She has broadcasting experience in other types of games, including sim racing esports. Her approachable broadcasts, often paired up with Drakos, made her a fan favorite.

Asia esports news

DAMWON Beats Suning To Become LoL 2020 World Champions

The 2020 League of Legends Worlds Championship is over, and South Korea’s DAMWON has emerged as the winner. DAMWON prevailed over China’s Suning in a thrilling final match. The Korean team was overwhelmingly favored by sportsbook odds going into the finals.

DAMWON comfortably dominated the match, taking home the Summoner’s Cup with a 3-1 score. Suning marched to the beat of their own drum, following their own unique strategies. However, DAMWON’s more conventional approach proved superior in the end.

While bookmaker odds painted one picture, not everyone agreed. Suning was highly praised throughout the tournament for their superb level of play. In fact, Fnatic’s Selfmade weighed in on the match-up, saying he thought Suning had it in the bag.

Africa esports news

Nigeria’s Kucheza Gaming Launches New School Esports League

Youth-focused esports company Kucheza Gaming has unveiled a new partnership with Big5Games and Mettlestate. The three organizations will be putting together a brand new esports league aimed at schools.

Dubbed the School Esports League, the new competition will bring together young players from across Nigeria with the goal of helping millions of Nigerian students develop their competitive esports skills. Initially, SEL will include two games: Fortnite and FIFA.

Additional titles will be added ahead of February’s SEL Boost season. They’re expected to include games in the racing, MOBA, and sandbox genres. The league will reward the best players with attractive cash prizes and scholarships.

Europe esports news

CS:GO: ESEA Mountain Dew League Season 35 Europe Wraps Up Group Stage

The 35th season of ESEA’s Mountain Dew League Europe has finished group stage play. The leading teams have been determined, and playoff matches are all set. Eight squads will face off in a single-elimination bracket.

Playoff teams are HellRaisers, Endpoint, forZe, Wisla Krakow, Nexus, Team Secret, sAw, and Sprout. All four quarter-finals will be played on November 21st. The next day, the four winners will face off in the semis, vying for a spot in the grand final.

The champion will be determined on November 23rd. All playoff matches are scheduled for 21:00 MSK. The ESEA MDL is a major event for most European betting sites, and CS:GO sports betting fans follow the competition closely every season.

South America esports news

Estral Esports Beats Timbers 3-2 To Win Mexico’s Rainbow Six Major

The Mexican leg of the Six November Majors has come to an end, crowning Estral Esports as champion. It’s the second win for Estral in the Mexican division of LATAM’s Six Major this year. The team is often a favorite for regional Six
Major betting sites.

Estral had a stellar year in Rainbow Six, finishing first in Mexico’s regular season. Winning the Major gives the team a sizable chunk of points, helpful in classifying for the Six Invitational. In addition, Estral walked away with $10,000 in cash. Timber took home $7,000 for 2nd place.

The win would give Estral enough points to qualify for the Six Invitational, if it happened tomorrow. They’re currently ranked 15th, just barely making the cut. However, a lot can happen between now and February. It’s still too early to know if Estral will make it to the Six Invitational.

Oceania esports news

EnDerr Prevails Over Seither In Oceania’s DreamHack StarCraft 2 Masters 2020 Winter

After an exciting four-man double-elimination bracket, the DreamHack StarCraft 2 Masters 2020 Winter Oceania competition is over. Results are in, and there’s one clear winner. EnDerr has come out on top over Seither, in a grand final that mirrored their winner’s final match-up

Seither had to fight for his spot in the final, having lost the winner’s final to EnDerr 3-2. Defeating RazerBlader 3-1 in the loser’s bracket, Seither reconquered his position in the grand finals. The best-of-7 match saw EnDerr clearly dominate, beating his rival 4-1.

Now, EnDerr will be able to represent Oceania and the rest of Asia in the upcoming DH SC2 Winter Season Finals.

BLAST Premier Fall 2020

This bout will mark a rematch from three weeks ago when Team Vitality swept Complexity Gaming 2-0 in the semi-finals of IEM New York. The French squad have won five of seven games since then, including triumphs over BIG (2-0) and Astralis (2-1) en route to a runner-up finish at DreamHack Open Fall 2020.

This could turn out to be a very close fixture. However, before we see Complexity’s new signing (Justin “jks” Savage) in action, it makes more sense to trust Vitality’s great form and proven quality. Complexity might still win one map, so an outright bet on Vitality is the way to go.

FaZe Clan will enter this bout with Olof “?olofmeister?” Kajbjer as a replacement for Nikola “?NiKo?” Kova?, who is edging closer to a move to G2 Esports. While olofmeister? is by no means a bad player, he is not nearly as good as he once was and will struggle to fill the void left by NiKo’s departure.

That is not to say FaZe are a bad team now, but they are certainly weaker than before. Given FaZe lost 0-2 against BIG less than two weeks ago, the German squad should pick up another clean sweep here.

LPL Pro League 2020 Season 3

Rooster and AVANT Gaming met in the third round of the LPL Pro League’s upper-bracket playoffs just under two weeks ago, when Rooster humiliated AVANT with a 2-1 reverse sweep. Since that bout, both sides have played a handful of games and produced quite volatile results – which is nothing too shocking, as these online Australian CS:GO esports fixtures are often a complete coin-flip.

However, this also means that Rooster’s win over AVANT does not mean much, nor does AVANT’s revenge 16-4 win over Rooster on Monday. This match seems like it can end either way, so it’s best to trust our money with Rooster to cover the map line.

DOTA Summit Online 13 SEA

The reigning ESL One Thailand 2020 Asia champions hold a 4-3-3 record and are 3-3-1 across the last week, which is neither great nor terrible. Motivate.Trust Gaming have shown some potential as well, with seven wins in their last 10, but they can also be hit-or-miss at times.

These teams have shown similar form, so there is a high chance we could see a draw. However, it is worth considering an outright bet on Motivade.Trust Gaming at higher odds – especially since they swept TNC 2-0 during BTS Pro Series Season 3 Southeast Asia last month.

DreamHack SC2 Masters 2020 Winter Europe

MaxPax became known for his success in using unusual builds against some of the best StarCraft II esports players, but he has since improved his macro play to emerge as a proper top-tier competitor. Still, MaxPax has yet to find his footing this tournament, with three losses and a 2-6 map differential.

Similarly, Rubén “AqueroN” Villanueva has lost all of his three fixtures, but he has also failed to win a single map. What’s more, AqueroN has lost five out of eight meetings with MaxPax, including their most recent bout in September.

MaxPax might not be in great form, but this is a perfect opportunity for him to break his losing streak. A 2-0 win should be achievable for the Danish StarCraft II pro.

ESL One Germany

Even though Team Secret have lost only 11 series since The International 9 and enter this bout on a 20-game winning streak, the European juggernauts are not invincible – as seen last Friday, when Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and co. nearly lost to Team Nigma (2-1). That is not to say we trust mudgolems to snap Secret’s streak, but Neta “33” Shapira’s squad fields enough individual quality to exploit Secret’s minor weaknesses.

Esports bookmakers have mudgolems priced at around $3.05 to win at least one map, which is very generous considering they took care of Team Liquid (2-1) on Saturday and recently swept Nigma and Natus Vincere. At these odds, we will gladly take our chances with the outsiders to keep the series close.

After a somewhat lacklustre run through the group stage where they lost to Team Liquid (1-2) and mudgolems (0-2), Natus Vincere bounced back and defeated OG (2-1) in the first round of the playoffs. However, that does not justify the surprisingly high odds offered on Vikin.gg, who defeated this roster in August and come into this match following a convincing 2-0 sweep of Alliance.

It’s hard to call out a winner for this bout, but we can say for certain this won’t be a one-sided affair. There is a world where Vikin.gg wins, but we will play it safe and predict each team to win at least one map.

Top Clans 2020

Motivate.Trust Gaming are 8-1-1 across the last three weeks, and that record includes two clashes with Neon Esports. One of those meetings ended in a stalemate, and the other in a 2-0 win for Anurat “boombell” Praianun and his crew.

Neon’s 2-4-4 record across the last couple of weeks is somewhat unconvincing, but they grabbed stalemates against TNC Predator and BOOM Esports and also bested Team MagMa. Out of 12 meetings with Motivate.Trust Gaming, Neon have won five, drawn three and lost four, but they are 0-3-2 in their last five clashes.

Neon should put up a fight, but the odds are slightly too short for us to consider siding with the outsiders. Instead, we will trust Motivate.Trust Gaming to take down Neon once more.

Galaxy Racer have yet to achieve any remarkable feats since the formation of their Dota 2 esports squad in July, but nor have they looked too shabby. Their only defeat in October came against Army Geniuses, yet even that loss should be taken with a grain of salt since Galaxy Racer had other obligations that day and likely did not put too much effort into that bout.

Similarly, Adroit showed solid form throughout October (5-1-2), although they did not face any tough opponents. Out of eight games, the only two notable teams Adroit played against were Zerothreetwo Dota (2-0) and Among Us (1-1).

At higher odds, Adroit would be worth a shot. However, as it stands now, siding with Galaxy Racer is the smarter pick.

DreamHack SC2 Masters 2020 Winter Europe

Leon “goblin” Vrhovec can be extremely satisfied with his performances so far this competition. Even though he dropped his most recent game against Nikita “SKillous” Gurevich, we can’t look past goblin’s 2-1 over one of the tournament favourites in Gabriel Raffaele “HeRoMaRinE” Segat.

Krystian “Krystianer” Szcz?sny, meanwhile, left a lot to be desired with his 0-2 losses against Alexis “MarineLorD” Eusebio and HeRoMaRinE. While he deserves some praise for defeating Julian “Lambo” Brosig (2-1), that hardly compares to what his next opponent has shown.

We don’t expect to see any upsets this Wednesday. If goblin can show even half of what he did against HeRoMaRinE, this clash should be a cakewalk for the Croatian StarCraft II esports pro.