?Mousesports have done surprisingly well to make it thus far, but they’re now set to face their toughest Flashpoint Season 3 challenger yet. G2 Esports needed some time to get their wheel spinning, but they’re currently looking a top-three team in Europe and enter this bout in great form.

G2 have made it past FaZe Clan, Heroic, and Ninjas in Pyjamas to earn their spot in the Flashpoint semi-finals, whereas mouz had to edge past Fnatic BIG, and Astralis. This will be the first meeting between these two squads since late April when G2 swept the international roster with 16-10 on Vertigo and 16-12 on Mirage.

Both teams are in great form, however, we are leaning more towards G2. They have the talent to match any team in the world, but not the consistency to warrant backing a clean sweep. A 2-1 victory for the French-Balkan squad is something we expect to see.

?Team Spirit and Gambit will clash in the EPIC CIS League Spring 2021 upper bracket semi-finals. It will mark their second meeting of the month, after Spirit upset the reigning IEM Katowice champions 2-0 during the group stage.

That victory marked Spirit’s first head-to-head triumph since October 2020, having lost four best-of series since then. Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov and co. will be eager to repeat their success from a week back, but we can’t help but feel like Spirit overperformed a bit that day.

Seeing an underdog win in these CIS derbies is nothing unusual and it may happen again. Gambit are the better team, however, and should be favoured on the CS:GO betting markets. We expect a close series that will likely end in Gambit’s favour – albeit it won’t be a clean victory.

?The Elisa Invitational 2021 Summer bout between gorillazzz and Natus Vincere Junior will be a clash between the young up-and-coming Ukrainians and the experienced line-up led by the three-time CS:GO Major champion Robin “flusha” R?nnquist.

Since forming his CS:GO project gorillazzz, flusha has yet to see much success. They’re 1-4 in their last five, which isn’t great, especially considering the quality of the teams that beat them – Sangal Esports, 100PingGods, and Copenhagen Flames.

Natus Vincere Junior have been doing better relative to the old guard, although they are winless in their last three, losing to Apeks and twice against Young Ninjas. We would normally side with gorillazzz due to the established talent they field, but at $1.57, this is not a position we’re interested in.

NaVi Jr. should be competitive enough to steal one map and make this bout interesting. They might even upset gorillazz, but we like overs as a safer bet.

?This is a must-win match for both High Coast Esports and VP.Prodigy, as both are winless this tournament and sit only one loss away from elimination. High Coast’s two losses came against Winstrike (0-2) and Tundra Esports (1-2), while VP.Prodigy had to admit defeat to Vikin.gg (0-2) and Dota Team (1-2).

Neither side has looked very good of late, so it is weird to see such a big gap in the odds at esports betting sites. VP.Prodigy might field an unproven roster, but we can’t ignore their solid run through the lower division of ESL One CIS Online Season 1 last month where they went toe-to-toe with teams much stronger than HCE.

VP.Prodigy might be a weaker team overall, but they should steal at least one map.

?Brame enter this match on the heels of two impressive wins against HellRaisers and Team Unique, which we should value slightly higher than Team Spirit’s triumphs against Dota Team and Winstrike. But even though Brame had to face tougher teams in those bouts, that does not necessarily mean they are stronger than Spirit.

Brame are 15-1-5 since the start of February, which might look good on paper, but they have not faced any tough opponents. Team Spirit are 4-2 across the last month and 8-0-13 in their last 21 outings, but they have had to play the likes of Natus Vincere, Team Secret and Virtus.pro.

We won’t overcomplicate it. Team Spirit are the stronger team and shouldn’t lose games like this one.

BLAST Premier Fall 2020

?G2 Esports enter this match on a two-game losing streak which includes losses against FURIA (1-2) and Astralis (0-2) at DreamHack Masters Winter 2020: Europe. Despite G2’s recent struggles, we don’t believe they should be priced as high as $2.05 against FURIA.

FURIA have won all of their last five outings, but they also dropped maps against Isurus, Virtus.pro, Team Liquid and G2. So while the form is solid enough, they are definitely beatable.

Regardless of FURIA’s win over G2 last week, there is value in siding with Nikola “NiKo” Kova? and his crew. They might have slipped a couple of times this month, but they still have the quality to match any team in the world.

?These two sides will clash for the first time since OG swept BIG 2-0 at FLASHPOINT Season 2 on Friday. OG have since won two games against MiBR (2-1) and Fnatic (2-0) and suffered a reverse sweep against Virtus.pro (1-2) in the FLASHPOINT grand finals.

BIG have yet to defeat OG this year, but that does not necessarily mean they can’t turn things around on Wednesday. Momentum will play a crucial role in this match, which is why we expect one side to take over the game and close out the series in two maps.

EPIC League Division 1

?Virtus.pro last met with Team Secret last Thursday, when they claimed a convincing 2-0 sweep. It marked their first head-to-head win of the year and the first since they bested Secret at the EPICENTER Major in June 2019.

Despite Virtus.pro’s strong form, they enter this match as underdogs, which does not seem right. In their last 10 outings, VP lost only to Vikin.gg and Team Liquid (twice), so there is no reason to have them priced above $2.00. At these odds, siding with outsiders makes more sense to us.

?Vikin.gg and Natus Vincere last met during the EPIC League group stage on Friday, when NaVi claimed a 2-1 victory. Although Vikin.gg won the second map, there are arguments to be made that NaVi deserved to walk away with a clean sweep.

Natus Vincere then went on to sweep Team Secret, which should serve as a morale boost as they look towards the EPIC League title. What’s more, NaVi are 2-1 up in the head-to-head with Vikin.gg with back-to-back victories, including a 2-0 sweep at ESL One Germany 2020 in October.

Vikin.gg are still a solid team, but due to their lack of form, it’s hard to believe they stand a chance against the ESL One Germany 2020 finalists. Vikin.gg could steal one map, but we don’t expect much more from them.

2020 AfreecaTV GSL Super Tournament 2

?Jun “TY” Tae Yang and Park “Dark” Ryung-woo will clash for the first time since May, when TY won 3-0. It marked TY’s first win against Dark in six meetings and the first since December 2018, when he won in a best-of-one series.

Even though TY won the most recent bout, there is no reason to have him priced as the favourite. Not only is Dark in great form, but he also does well against Terran (64.69% win rate). A fairer price on Dark would sit around $1.90, making this a great value bet.

?The latest StarCraft II betting odds make it very clear how this match should go, but we still find Cho “Trap” Sung Ho to be slightly overpriced. The 26-year-old Korean pro has defeated Kim “sOs” Yoo Jin in all of their last five meetings and racked up a 9-1 map differential in the process, with clean sweeps in all of the last four bouts.

What’s more, sOs usually struggles against Protoss (59.78%), whereas Trap historically does well in mirrored matchups (61.59%). Anything above $4.00 on Trap to win 3-0 is an excellent price.

Esports multi bet tips for Wednesday, December 9

EPIC League Division 1

?Just Error enter the final round of the EPIC League with only two wins, which came against Team Liquid (2-0) and Alliance (2-1). OG have managed a far better 4-4 record that includes recent wins against mudgolems (2-0) and Team Secret (2-0), as well as a narrow loss against the surging Team Liquid (1-2).

Even though OG and Just Error have never met before, it’s easy to see why OG are priced as favourites. That is not to say Just Error are a terrible team, but they’re in terrible form and come into this match off a one-week break.

?Team Liquid have met with Team Nigma 11 times in 2020 but won only three series. While the head-to-head record favours Nigma, it’s worth noting that it was Liquid who won their most recent clash (2-1) en route to the ESL One Germany 2020 trophy.

It’s hard to say which side will come out ahead in this one. Nigma look stronger on paper, but it’s Liquid who are in better form. The best bet to take here is over 2.5 maps, as all but two of the last seven head-to-head meetings have ended in a three-map series.

Prediction: Over 2.5 maps – $2.09 at BetOnline

AfreecaTV GSL Super Tournament 2

?Lee “INnoVation” Shin Hyung and Park “Armani” Jin Hyuk will clash for the second time this week on Saturday. They previously met during the Kung Fu Cup 2020 Weekly #29 on Thursday, where Armani caused quite an upset by winning 2-1.

That result marked Armani’s second victory over INoVation in history and the first of the year after losing the five previous meetings. Although the head-to-head record is lopsided, there is something to be said for backing the outsider at long odds. For this prediction, however, we will settle for a safer pick and side with Armani to win at least two out of five maps.

?Lee “Bunny” Jae-seon and Lee “Rogue” Byeong Yeol last met at the end of November when Rogue claimed his eighth head-to-head victory of the year. After that loss, Bunny also dropped the ball against INnoVation and Cho “Trap” Sung Ho.

Rogue seems like the most likely victor, but his odds are far too short. Instead, we like our chances with Bunny at the +1.5 handicap. He swept Shin “RagnaroK” Hee Bum not long ago, which gives us hope he can cause some damage to Rogue this weekend.

?Cho “Maru” Seong heads into this match with a 3-1 record which includes wins against Clément “Clem” Desplanches, Tobias “ShoWTimE” Sieber and Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti. Kim “Cure” Doh Wook has the same record from his last four outings, although he has not faced any high-profile names besides Rogue, who defeated him 2-3.

Maru and Cure last met in November when Maru won 4-1. It marked his first victory against Cure since 2017, although they have met only four times across the last three years.

While Esports bookmakers have Maru pegged as a firm favourite, the odds are still longer that expected. Give we would him have around $1.45, this is a great value bet.

Esports multi bet tips for Saturday, December 5

EPIC League Division 1

?After a shaky start to the tournament, Team Liquid have seemingly found their rhythm and now enter the penultimate day of the competition on a three-game winning streak. That run includes wins against Team Secret (2-0), Alliance (2-0) and OG (2-1).

Mudgolems had a decent start with 2-1 wins against Just Error and Team Nigma, but they have since cooled down and now enter the final week of the tournament on a four-game losing streak. They stole a map off Alliance (1-2) on Saturday, but that’s hardly worth celebrating.

We don’t see how mudgolems can stand up to Liquid in their current form. A 2-0 sweep is a realistic possibility, but the odds are high enough for us to settle for an outright bet on Liquid.

?Natus Vincere began their journey in the EPIC League with wins against Team Liquid, Just Error and Alliance, but they then went on to lose against OG, Team Nigma and Virtus.pro. Vikin.gg, meanwhile, have been very consistent throughout the tournament, winning all but one fixture.

The only issue we have with Vikin.gg is their tendency to drop maps. Regardless of that, they consistently outperform any team that stands in their way. The odds are not particularly high, but anything above $1.60 for the favourites is worth a bet.

?Alliance’s run through the EPIC League has been anything but praiseworthy. Nevertheless, they’re still the only team at the tournament who have bested Vikin.gg, so it’s fair to say Alliance are not to be written off entirely.

Virtus.pro enter this match with a very solid 5-2 record, but we were not too impressed with their recent performances against Vikin.gg (1-2), Team Liquid (1-2) and Natus Vincere (2-1).

Normally, we would side with Virtus.pro for this one, but Alliance look a bit overpriced. The Swedish side stole a map off Team Secret on Sunday, which is something only a handful of teams have managed to do this season. If that is any indication of their strength, we have no issues taking a shot on the outsiders.

IntoTheAlphaX Pro Circuit 4

?Lee “Rogue” Byeong Yeol and Kim “Cure” Doh Wook will clash in the IntoTheAlphaX Pro Circuit 4 semi-finals this Friday, which will mark their second meeting of the tournament. They previously met during the first group stage, where Rogue claimed a convincing 2-0 win that marked his fourth head-to-head victory since February.

After his commanding run through the first stage, Rogue went on to dominate in the second group stage, where he finished ahead of Shin “RagnaroK” Hee Bum, Lee Bunny Jae-seon and Park “Dark” Ryung-woo. Cure, on the other hand, had to settle for a runner-up finish in his group behind Cho “Trap” Sung Ho.

Even though Rogue is clearly in better shape, there is some value in siding with Cure to keep this match close. He forced Rogue to five maps (2-3) on Tuesday and not long ago swept Cho “Dream” Joong Hyuk, which leads us to believe he has more to offer than what the latest StarCraft II betting odds suggest.

DreamHack Masters Winter 2020: Oceania

?After a humiliating 0-2 loss against Renegades in the upper bracket, Chiefs Esports Club will now seek redemption against Avant Gaming, who lost their opening match of the tournament against ORDER (1-2).

Avant enter this match as heavy favourites over Chiefs, which is fair considering they have beaten their rival team in nine out of 11 maps played since June.

While these Oceanic CS:GO bouts are usually 50/50, there is nothing that would lead us to believe Chiefs can cause an upset here. The $1.98 on Avant to win 2-0 is a good price.

Esports multi bet tips for Friday, December 4

FLASHPOINT Season 2

?BIG enter this bout following a somewhat shaky reverse-sweep win against Team Envy. Virtus.pro, meanwhile, narrowly defeated MAD Lions in the quarter-finals with a 19-17 overtime win on Train.

Virtus.pro hold a 3-2 record in their last five, which some may rank on par with BIG’s 4-1 run considering the Germans have faced relatively weaker squads. However, that does not convince us that VP are equally as strong as the no.5 team in the world.

Even though VP stole one map off MAD Lions, FURIA, Spirit, OG, Gen.G and Cloud9, that hardly means anything since BIG are significantly stronger than all those sides. We expect BIG to take this one with ease, which makes the -1.5 handicap a very appealing option.

Nine to Five #7

X6tence enter this match with a solid 7-3 record in their last 10 outings and 3-2 in their last five. That includes wins against Wizards Esports Club (2-0), Giants Gaming (16-14) and North (2-0), as well as losses against Movistar Riders (1-2) and ESPADA (1-2).

KOVA have gone 2-3 in their last five. Their only wins in that run came against semi-pro teams Esimed Esports (16-14) and Team Blink (19-17), while they could not get the better of 9INE (1-2), Nemiga (0-2) and Illuminar Gaming (0-2).

Not only are X6tence objectively stronger, but they are also in much better shape than KOVA, who only seem to do well against weak teams. We don’t expect any surprises here.

EPIC League Division 1

Natus Vincere enter the final week of EPIC League Division 1 on the heels of three consecutive defeats against Virtus.pro (1-2), Team Nigma (1-2) and OG (0-2). It’s a similar story for mudgolems, who have lost all of their last four outings against OG (0-2), Alliance (1-2), Virtus.pro (0-2) and Vikin.gg (1-2).

Even though there is a world where mudgolems steal one map off NaVi, they have yet to show anything that would convince us they can upset the ESL One Germany 2020 finalists.

Vikin.gg sit atop of EPIC League standings with a 6-1 record and 12-6 map differential. Team Nigma, on the other side, enter this match with a 4-3 record and 9-8 map differential, which is not terrible but still far from what we expected to see from The International 2019 finalists.

Vikin.gg have yet to defeat Nigma this year (0-1-3). Even though this might be their best chance to change that, their tendency to drop maps makes it hard to consider the -1.5 handicap. Vikin.gg have lost at least one map in all but two of their games at EPIC League, including all of the last three, and we don’t expect that trend to end here.

OGA Dota PIT Season 4: China

These teams last met during the China Dota2 Pro Cup two weeks ago when Elephant claimed a reverse-sweep win to improve their head-to-head record to 2-0. The only previous meeting happened at the end of October when Elephant won 2-1.

IG are clearly not as strong as they were in 2019, but that does not mean they don’t stand a chance against Elephant. At $4.22, esports bookmakers are implying that IG have only a 23.7% chance of winning this game. That makes no sense when they have forced Elephant to three maps twice and defeated ViCi Gaming (2-1) en route to a fourth-place finish at the CDA-FDC Professional Championship last week.

With that in mind, the odds on Invictus to win a map are way too good to pass up.

Esports multi bet tips for Thursday, December 3

FLASHPOINT Season 2

?Fnatic and Dignitas last met just under two weeks ago when Adam “friberg” Friberg and his crew won with 16-6 on Dust II and 16-14 on Inferno. Dignitas have not played a single match since then, whereas Fnatic outlasted MAD Lions (2-0) in the next round of the competition.

While it makes sense to see Fnatic priced as the favourites, they are notoriously inconsistent in online fixtures. Considering Dignitas came very close to forcing a three-map series last time out, they should not be priced above $2.00 to win one map.

?Even though we are not ready to believe the new MiBR are a top-tier team, they made quite a statement with their 2-0 sweep of FaZe Clan at the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown, as well as with their three-map series against BIG (twice) and G2 Esports earlier this month. OG, meanwhile, have managed a 3-2 record in their last five outings, defeating Cloud9 (2-0), Gen.G (2-0) and Virtus.pro (2-1) but losing to Gen.G (0-2) and Team Spirit (0-2).

While these teams have similar form lines, MiBR have had to play against much stronger sides and look severely overpriced at $2.63 in the match betting.

DreamHack Masters Winter 2020: Europe

?G2 Esports and Sprout have both lost only two games in their last five. While G2 had to play tougher opponents, they also dropped maps against mousesports (2-1), North (2-1) and Ninjas in Pyjamas (1-2) – all arguably at the same level as Sprout.

G2 might field one of the most stacked rosters in Europe, but they are not nearly as consistent as they should be. Due to their frequent slip-ups, we believe this match could be much closer than what the latest CS:GO betting odds suggest.

EPIC League Division 2

?Despite numerous roster changes, Cyberium have yet to find their footing and only seem to do well against teams that are either weak, out of form, or dealing with internal issues. Gambit Esports produced far more consistent results early in the tournament but have since cooled down, dropping the ball against Team Empire (0-2) last Friday.

The biggest issue with Gambit is their tendency to drop maps. They have lost at least one map in all but one of their last nine fixtures, including a 2-1 win against Cyberium at the EPIC League qualifiers. While they’re the most likely victors, we can’t trust Gambit to walk away with a clean sweep.

?Yellow Submarine enter the final two rounds of the EPIC League with no defeats and a 14-1 map differential, whereas Spider Pigzs have managed only three wins and a 10-7 map differential.

Spider Pigzs have also lost three out of their last four fixtures, going down to Gambit Esports (1-2), Live to Win (1-2) and Ninjas in Pyjamas (0-2). They beat Cyberium (2-1) on Saturday, but that means little when Cyberium were already certain to finish outside the top six.

Esports bookmakers have Yellow Submarine as the favourites for good reason, but it still feels like the odds for the -1.5 handicap are a bit too generous.

Esports multi bet tips for Friday, December 1

ASUS ROG Online 2020

Clément “Clem” Desplanches enters ASUS ROG Online 2020 as one of the favourites to hoist the trophy, but it’s fair to ask some questions about his TvP and TvT. Statistically, Clem wins 64.46% games against Protoss and 62.69% against Terran, but those high marks rarely show in global tournaments.

Nevertheless, Clem has improved drastically this year to become one of the best StarCraft II esports players in the world. We expect Clem to take this one, but considering Kang “Solar” Min Soo usually does well against Terran (63.91%), it seems likely the Korean can force a three-map series.

Cho “Maru” Seong Ju has not been looking like his old self of late. He enters this tournament with three consecutive losses to his name, although those defeats all came against star players in Park “Armani” Jin Hyuk (1-2), Jun “TY” Tae Yang (2-4) and Clem (0-2).

Maru is undeniably the better player here, but we think the odds about Kevin “Harstem” de Koning should be around half of what they are. Maru has shown some cracks against weaker opponents before, and since this is the opening match of the tournament, it’s not entirely unlikely he will slip again.

Lee “INnoVation” Shin Hyung has faced Tobias “ShoWTimE” Sieber four times this year and won three series. However, ShoWTimE’s efforts in those matchups have improved over time, from losing 0-3 in February to winning their most recent meeting 3-1.

Protoss are INnoVation’s worst matchup (64.90% win rate), while Terran are ShoWTimE’s toughest race to play against (62.06%). Nevertheless, ShoWTimE is massively overpriced, which is why we will gladly take our chances with the German SCII pro for this one.

BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Showdown

Cloud9 enter the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Showdown last eight following an upset win against Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-0), which marked their first victory since the roster rebuild. Complexity, meanwhile, crushed Sprout with 16-4 on both Nuke and Mirage to extend their run to 4-1 in the last five.

The only team Complexity have failed to defeat this month was Team Vitality at the Intel Extreme Masters XV Beijing Online: Europe semi-finals, but they had no real issues facing other top-tier teams in Fnatic (2-0), Natus Vincere (2-1) and BIG (2-0).

There is a world where C9 force a three-map series, but it’s equally likely Complexity take a clean sweep. With $2.13 offered on -1.5 handicap, the choice is obvious.

EPIC League Division 2

Spider Pigzs have won only two games out of five at EPIC League Division 2, beating Winstrike Team and Team Empire but losing against Live To Win, Gambit Esports and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Cyberium have seen far less success, with only one win against Nemiga Gaming and losses against Yellow Submarine, NiP, Winstrike and Empire.

Even though Pigzs have not shown anything spectacular, they still field a stacked roster that consistently does well against weaker teams, so we have confidence they can sweep Cyberium.

EPIC League Division 1

Just Error enter the second stage of the EPIC League group stage with a poor 1-6 record and a 5-10 map differential, which puts them in a very rough spot approaching the playoffs. The only team Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan and co. have managed to defeat thus far is Team Liquid (2-0), but since Liquid are not in a great shape either (1-4), it’s hard to be overly excited about that result.

Vikin.gg are the polar opposite. In the past three weeks, they have beaten OG, mudgolems, Team Liquid, Live to Win and even Team Secret. The only team they failed to defeat in that run was Alliance (0-2), but they did not field a complete roster in that clash, so it’s not fair to criticise them too much for it.

Even though Just Error field a very strong roster, they’re in terrible form. Viking.gg should take this one with ease.

Team Liquid have struggled so far this tournament, but we can’t agree with the esports bookmakers pricing them so high. Liquid have won at least one map in four out of five games and looked quite decent in their 2-0 win over Alliance on Sunday.

Even though Virtus.pro look stronger, they have won only two out of seven meetings with Liquid this year. While VP’s roster has changed drastically, the playstyle of the two teams has stayed mostly the same, so the balance of power should remain similar as well.

We are not confident that Liquid can win in their current form, but they should continue the trend and force a three-map series.

Team Nigma enter this week’s matches with a 3-2 record which includes losses against mudgolems and Virtus.pro but also victories against OG, Alliance and Just Error. NaVi, meanwhile, are 3-1 with one loss against OG and wins against Team Liquid, Just Error and Alliance.

Not only are Nigma notoriously inconsistent, but both sides have produced similar results, which makes it hard to predict how this game will go. NaVi might be slightly favourited, but we are not convinced they can manage a clean sweep.

BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Showdown

FURIA did not impress us with their performance against Isurus on Tuesday, even though they ended up winning the series. Virtus.pro, on the other side, played out their game against Team Spirit on Sunday the way we predicted, but that does not necessarily mean we view them as the stronger team.

Despite FURIA’s slip up against Isurus, they’re still the reigning IEM New York champions and should be equally as capable of winning this match as Virtus.pro. Since this is a complete coin-flip, we will play the odds and go for the outsiders.

Cyber.Bet Golden League

SJ Gaming and SKADE met during the Cyber.Bet Golden League group stage at the end of October when Teodor “SPELLAN” Nikolov and co. reverse-swept the Finnish squad, to which they added a 2-0 sweep last week. SKADE have put together a 4-2 run since then, whereas SJ have played only two games, losing to MBAPPEEK (1-2) and beating AGF (2-0).

Even though SJ stole one map off SKADE in October, we have to place more value on the result from their most recent match. SJ also struggled against a semi-pro team in MBAPPEEK, so we can’t trust them to keep this match close.

BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Showdown

MAD Lions have not been performing too well of late, winning only three of seven matches across the last three weeks. The only two teams they have managed to defeat in that run are Dignitas and Fnatic (twice), while they struggled to see the same success against Wisla Krakow, Natus Vincere, Team Vitality, and in their rematch with Fnatic on Friday.

Team Liquid enter this match as the higher-rated team and with a better win rate on five out of seven maps, but they haven’t faced any strong teams for well over a month. What’s more, Liquid recently lost against Triumph (1-2), which suggests they might not have it all their own way against MAD Lions.

A close match is likely on the cards, which is why we are going for overs.

Endpoint enter this match on a four-game winning streak, but that does not mean much since they have faced only B-Tier teams.

Heroic, meanwhile, are 3-2 in their last five, which includes wins against Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-1), North (2-0), Apeks (2-0), and a close 1-2 series with the reigning IEM Beijing champions, Team Vitality.

With all due respect to Endpoint, Heroic should win this match without any real issues.

EPIC League Division 1

We expected to see a bit more from Alliance this tournament, but the same can be said about mudgolems, who have yet to show any form of stability. Alliance’s only win so far came on Saturday, when they swept Vikin.gg, but we would not put too much weight on that result since Vikin.gg had to play with Jason Connor “TANNER” Weedon as a replacement for Miroslav “BOOM” Bi?an.

Similarly, mudgolems did not impress with their 0-2 loss against Virtus.pro, but they stole one map off Vikin.gg (with their full roster) on Thursday. Before that, they beat Nigma (2-1) and won one map against Team Secret (1-2).

Despite the shorter odds, mudgolems are the better pick here.

Since Virtus.pro promoted their academy roster, their results have been nothing short of spectacular. VP have won each of their last four matches, beating OG (2-0), Just Error (2-1), mudgolems (2-0) and Team Nigma (2-0).

Vikin.gg deserve some praise for their accomplishments this month as well. They defeated Team Secret (2-0), mudgolems (2-1) and OG (2-0) before their 0-2 loss to Alliance.

With BOOM expected to return to Vikin.gg’s roster, we don’t see why VP should be as such big favourites. While they are still the most likely victors, betting on a three-map series makes more sense to us.

On paper, OG and Team Secret are two of the strongest Dota2 teams in the world, but their form this tournament hardly shows that. Nevertheless, both sides have looked much better in their most recent fixtures, with Secret sweeping Just Error and OG doing the same against against Natus Vincere.

The Dota 2 betting odds imply Secret should win this match with ease, which is not wrong. Even though OG swept NaVi, they still looked a bit iffy, while they have not beaten Secret since ESL One Los Angeles in April.

Given the 8-1 head-to-head record this year, siding with Secret to win 2-0 is the obvious choice.