?1win and SKADE will clash in the opening match of the European Development Championship Season 3 playoffs. It will mark only their second meeting in history and their first since late March, when SKADE claimed a 2-0 sweep.

SKADE have since played 48 fixtures and won all but nine (39-9), although five of those losses have come in their last six matches. During that stretch, SKADE lost against FunPlus Phoenix, EPG Family (formerly ex-Winstrike), Sprout, K23, and Endpoint.

1win have played 18 games during that time and won 13. They enter this match off two consecutive losses against Trident and 100PingGods.

SKADE might have been more successful throughout April, but due to their recent drop in form, it’s hard to side with them at the offered odds. 1win might seem weaker on paper, but they have at least been winning games, so they should be able to take at least one map from the Bulgarians.

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SINNERS Esports have yet to lose against Anonymo Esports. They’re 2-0 up in the head-to-head with a clean sweep in late March and a 16-12 victory from just under two weeks ago.

Regardless of SINNERS’ success against Anonymo, we wouldn’t write off the Poles just yet. They enter this match with a 2-2 record from their last four, which includes clean sweeps against ENCE and Dignitas, as well as a very impressive performance against Complexity (1-2).

SINNERS have won three of their last four, although they faced much weaker teams in Apeks and Young Ninjas (twice).

We don’t have to complicate things too much. Anonymo have been the better team of late and are a bit underestimated at this price.

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ENCE are not exactly a top-tier team and hardly ever amaze their fans. They had a moment of brilliance in the ESL Pro League a few weeks back when they took down G2 Esports and Team Vitality, but outside of that, the finished Finns haven’t impressed much.

Just this week, ENCE lost to Anonymo, Movistar Riders and Double Poney, which isn’t very inspiring. Sprout haven’t been moving any mountains recently either, producing a mix of solid and some less-convincing results across April.

This match can easily go either way, and it will all come down to which side shows up on Saturday. This makes Sprout the better pick, but at the offered odds, we like our chances with over 2.5 maps better.

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Sangal Esports and Endpoint have met only twice before, way back in February. Endpoint won both fixtures, 2-1 and 2-0, and are expected to do it again on Saturday.

This, however, is no longer the same Endpoint from back then. They now field two new faces in Thomas “Thomas” Utting and William “mezii” Merriman, who are averaging some of the highest marks in the team (1.11 and 1.29 respectively).

Sangal have also made a roster change, signing Efekan “S3NSEY” Topalo?lu. The Austrian CS:GO pro joined the team just over a week ago and has since averaged a 0.97 rating, failing to reach positive marks in his last six maps.

Sangal are capable of causing an upset here, but we wouldn’t count on it. Endpoint are in great form and are playing far too well for us to doubt them.

?Even though Aleksey “El1an” Gusev and co. are no longer under contract with Winstrike Team – due to alleged breaches in contractual obligations from the Russian esports organisation – this is still the same roster that made it into the semi-finals of Snow Sweet Snow #2 last month. So it shouldn’t come as a shock to see them priced as huge favourites against Team Spirit’s academy side.

At the offered odds, Team Spirit Academy’s implied probability to win is less than 10%, which seems extremely low. That doesn’t necessarily mean we believe their chances to win are much greater than that, but we find the price on the round handicap to be slightly overs.

There is also a chance ex-Winstrike won’t take this tournament too seriously, since it’s more of a proving ground for academy teams rather than an important event. Get on the outsiders to cover the round line.

?Sprout are the reigning European Development Championship champions, so it makes sense to see them priced as massive favourites over Young Ninjas. That said, Sprout haven’t been playing too well recently and just might get outclasses by the Swedes unless they lift their game.

Young Ninjas enter this match on a four-game winning streak, whereas Sprout have managed only two wins in their last six, and even those came against ordinary teams in forZe and MAD Lions. Ninjas were priced as high as $2.80 for the win a few days back, and it’s easy to understand why the odds at esports betting sites are dropping.

Although Ninjas might lack individual quality, we are far more concerned with Sprout’s instability and tendency to choke in crucial rounds. Young Ninjas with a +3.5 round handicap is a solid bet, but we are going all-in on the Swedish squad for this match.

European Development Championship Season 3

?Endpoint enter European Development Championship Season 3 straight off a 13th-16th finish at ESL Pro League Season 13, where they failed to make it out of Group D (2-3) but showed something with their performances. Despite being faced with some of the best CS:GO teams in the world, Endpoint still managed to win series against Fnatic (2-0) and Evil Geniuses (2-0), which is quite an achievement for a team of this calibre.

Although it’s not wise to overreact to a couple of solid showings, Endpoint have been playing at a much higher level than 100PingGods, which should benefit the British side. Even before the ESL Pro League, Endpoint made a strong statement with a top-eight finish in the Pinnacle Cup, where they beat Lyngby Vikings, GODSENT, Nemiga Gaming, Copenhagen Flames, and forced BIG to three maps in a 1-2 loss.

Endpoint have been playing teams significantly stronger than 100PingGods of late, so this should be more of a practice match for Max “MiGHTYMAX” Heath and co. rather than a proper challenge.

?These sides last met just a few days back during Snow Sweet Snow 3 when Anonymo Esports won 2-1. Trident Clan took the series lead with 16-6 on Train but were unable to match Anonymo on Overpass (10-16) and Inferno (14-16).

It would be fair to say that Trident might have won that bout had they been a bit more efficient on Inferno’s CT-side, where they held a 13-11 lead but dropped five out of the next six rounds. It’s also important to note that Evgeny “Norwi” Ermolin had an uncharacteristically bad performance that day, posting a disastrous 0.54 rating on the final map (0.81 overall), so there is a strong chance we might see a stronger version of Trident this time out.

Even though Anonymo proved to be the better team last time out, they’re definitely not as strong as the latest CS:GO betting odds suggest. The Poles looked good on Overpass, but they got smacked by Trident on Train and were a bit lucky to steal the win on Inferno. At this price, we will gladly take Trident to avenge their loss.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2021: EU Stage 2 Challengers 1

?Team Heretics enter VALORANT Champions Tour 2021: EU Stage 2 Challengers 1 off a painful performance in the open qualifiers where they beat Entropiq and Rix.GG but lost the final match against Alliance (1-2). Although they did well enough to secure a spot at this tournament, Heretics can’t be too happy about their performances against Enzo “Fearoth” Mestari and his crew, who reverse swept them 13-6 on Icebox and Ascent.

Opportunists attended the same tournament but were far more successful. They won all three of their fixtures against HOMELESS, LASAGNA BEAM, and Guild Esports, which is a great run for a roster that came together less than a week ago.

The latest VALORANT betting odds suggest Heretics should win with ease, but it feels like the price is set mostly on brand value rather than the teams’ form. Heretics might be the second-highest rated team in Europe and going at 31-2 since November 2020, but we don’t believe they will have an easy time against the French squad. Expect a close series that can go either way.

?The question for this match is not so much whether FunPlus Phoenix will win, but rather what can Team Vitality do to prove they’re better than what the betting odds suggest. At $3.85, Vitality’s implied probability to win is only 26%, which is far too low despite FPX’s strong recent form.

FPX enter this match with an 8-2 record, and we should ignore their shaky series with Fnatic and Guild Esports. They also lost against Acend at VALORANT Champions Tour 2021: Europe Stage 1 Masters, but that’s not really a huge concern when facing the no.1 team in Europe.

The only issue we have with Team Vitality is that this is a relatively new team that has only three games on its record since the start of March. That run includes 2-1 wins against G2 Esports and KLATWA, and a 0-2 loss against Acend. We expect FPX to win, but we have seen enough from Vitality to believe they can steal one map and make the series interesting.

?K23 enter the second season of the European Development Championship (EDC) as the reigning champions, having won the first season with a near-perfect 8-1 record. However, it’s important to note that this will be K23’s first official match in over a month.

On the flip side, Izako Boars have been fairly active since the turn of the year. They recently fought their way through the Snow Sweet Snow #1 Regional Group and Regional Swiss Stage with an 8-2 record, dropping games only against ENCE (0-2) and the ex-100 Thieves core playing under EXTREMUM (1-2).

K23 might be a stronger side, but they will enter this match a bit ring rusty. We are backing the in-form Izako Boars to take the win.

Movistar Riders recently parted ways with Sebastian “larsen” Larsen and replaced him with Owen “smooya” Butterfield, who has already played three fixtures with his new team in the ESEA Season 36: Advanced Division. The British AWPer looked fairly solid in those outings, so there should be no concerns about a possible lack of synergy heading into this match.

Sinners enter this match on a four-game winning streak, having beaten Pompa Team (16-8), CULT Esports (2-0), Sangal Esports (2-0) and Lyngby Vikings (2-0) across the last three days. That comes on the heels of a disappointing 1-6 run, so they have found their form at just the right time.

Movistar Riders are the reigning EDC finalists, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re much stronger than Sinners. Even though Movistar have an edge – largely due to the signing of smooya – the CS:GO betting odds on Sinners are big enough for us to take a shot with the outsiders.

European Development Championship Season 1

Natus Vincere Junior have come a long way this year and now look like a proper tier-two CS:GO esports team. Recent achievements include a silver medal from Eden Arena: Malta Vibes – Week 5 and a top-four finish at the CTRL PLAY LEAGUE.

Movistar Riders seemed a bit off in their loss against ESPADA in the group stage and even dropped 22 rounds in their series with BEZ ZP. Regardless, they seem to have improved judging by their 2-0 sweep of ENDPOINT in the quarter-finals.

Both teams are in good form, which makes us believe this match will be a coin-flip. NaVi Jr should be slightly favoured, but with Valerii “B1T” Vakhovskyi out of the team while he helps NaVi’s main roster fight their way through Intel Extreme Masters Season XV – Global Challenge, NaVi Jr seem poised to drop at least one map.

BTS Pro Series Season 4: Southeast Asia

Team Dog fought their way into the BTS Pro Series upper-bracket finals with an impressive reverse-sweep win against T1 (2-1) on Thursday. Similarly, TNC Predator had to work hard to defeat Fnatic (2-1), but it’s fair to say they were the better team on the day.

The odds at esports betting sites heavily favour TNC, and we would argue they might even be a little overpriced due to their 1-1 stalemate with Team Dog on Sunday. Still, we don’t recommend a bet on the head-to-head market in this one.

TNC to win 2-0 might be a better pick, but they’re not nearly consistent enough for us to take a shot on that either. Team Dog to win one map and over the line is a much better pick, in our book.

Huya Dota2 Winter Invitational

Invictus Gaming have yet to lose a single match this tournament, and it seems highly unlikely that will change on Saturday. So far, IG have beaten Team MagMa and Phoenix Gaming, whereas Neon Esports defeated Execration on Tuesday and lost to Phoenix on Thursday.

The last time these two sides met was in October, when Neon forced a 1-1 stalemate, but that does not mean much considering IG were struggling with their form at the time. Anything less than a 2-0 sweep for IG will be a huge disappointment.

These two sides last met in July, when CDEC Gaming locked in their fifth head-to-head win of the year with a 2-0 sweep. It also marked CDEC’s fourth consecutive triumph against Royal Never Give Up, which might suggest the trend will continue on Saturday, but we don’t believe that will be the case.

CDEC are not nearly as strong as they were before the departure of their entire roster in September. While the current squad is somewhat competitive, CDEC only seem to do well in low-tier tournaments.

That is not to say RNG are a far superior team, but they are holding on well in the online era of Dota 2 esports and consistently do well against weaker opponents. RNG should be in for a field day.

Esports multi bet tips for Saturday, December 19

European Development Championship Season 1

?K23 enter this match with an 8-2 record in their last 10 outings. During that stretch, Sanzhar “neaLaN” Iskhakov and co. lost only to Apeks and Wisla Krakow, and they have since defeated Copenhagen Flames (twice), ALTERNATE aTTaX, AVEZ and ENDPOINT in a five-game winning streak.

SKADE hold a 2-3 record in their last five outings, which might not look too good, but their losses came against SJ Gaming, HellRaisers and Gambit Esports, who are all arguably stronger than K23. The Bulgarians have been fairly solid across the last month, so they are worth a shot at odds.

?Saw are billed as heavy favourites against Budapest Five, which seems fair on form. Since last Thursday, the Portuguese have lost only to Virtus.pro (1-3) and had no issues when faced with Movistar Riders, Nemiga Gaming, forZe and most recently ESPADA.

Budapest Five hold a 3-3 record in December. That includes losses against ENDPOINT, MBAPPEEK and Team LDLC and wins against Illuminar Gaming, forZe and semi-pro Hungarian squad Békéscsabai E-Sport Egyesület.

Regardless of sAw’s form, we don’t believe this match will end in a 2-0 sweep. They consistently drop maps in their games, and even when they don’t, the score is usually very tight. Budapest Five to win one map and cover the line is a good bet in our book.

Huya Dota2 Winter Invitational

?These teams last met in October, when Neon Esports took the series lead but were forced into a stalemate after IO’s comeback on the second map. It marked their second meeting of the year after Neon bested IO during the ESL One Thailand 2020 Asian open qualifiers with 1-0 in a 62-minute game.

IO have only one match on their record this month, and even that was against a semi-pro team in Oceanus Gaming. Neon, on the other side, appeared in 10 official games in the past week alone, facing some of the strongest squads from the region.

Neon might not be the most consistent team out there, but they seem ready to secure a clean sweep on Friday.

?Execration are still looking to claim their first win of the tournament after narrow losses against Neon Esports and Team MagMa, but doing so on Friday will be a tall order.

Phoenix lost their opening fixture against Invictus Gaming but have since beaten team void, Team MagMa (twice), Access and Team Sirius to extend their winning streak to five.

While it would be fair to say that Execration are equal to Phoenix quality-wise, we have to side with the form team in a tight betting market.

Perfect World Dota2 League Season 3 – Division A

?After a forfeit win against Galaxy Racer and a 2-0 sweep of Ink Ice on Saturday, Dalanjing Gaming enter this match looking to claim their third victory of the tournament.

Team MagMa, on the other side, lost to Ink Ice (0-2) last Friday, but they were likely a bit fatigued since they had to play one more game that day. That theory was all but confirmed when MagMa swept Galaxy Racer in their next bout.

We are not saying Dalanjing are a bad team, but they should not be priced at such low odds against a squad that is competing in some of the toughest Chinese Dota 2 esports tournaments on the calendar. At this price, siding with MagMa is a no-brainer.

??Esports multi bet tips for Friday, December 18

European Development Championship Season 1

?K23 and Copenhagen Flames will lock horns in the opening match of Group C at the European Development Championship. It will mark their third clash of the year and the first since Flames reverse-swept K23 (2-1) in November.

The Danes have since played 12 games and won six, whereas K23 have played out 10 games and lost only two. However, it’s important to note that five of K23’s wins came against much weaker sides in Project X, Cream Real Betis, Pompa Team and ex-Ethereal (twice).

K23 seem a bit overrated at these odds, which is likely due to their win against Dignitas (2-1) on Tuesday. Regardless of their recent success, we don’t believe they should be priced as such heavy favourites against a team they failed to defeat a month ago.

?Despite Natus Vincere Junior’s solid 4-1 run, we are leaning more towards ALTERNATE aTTaX for our prediction. The latest CS:GO betting odds offered on the German squad are not particularly high, but we expected them to be closer to $1.50.

Robin “ScrunK” R?pke and co. might be 1-2 in their last three outings, but it’s hard to look past their 2-0 sweep of Sprout en route to the Merkur Masters Season 2 grand finals, where they eventually lost to BIG. Esports bookmakers are offering $1.81 on ALTERNATE aTTaX to win the game with at least three rounds to spare, which is too good to pass on.

WCAA Winter Challenge Cup

?IG.Vitality enter this match with a 4-6 record from their last 10 outings, which includes losses against three semi-pro teams in Spade A, FTD.C.Club and team void. Phoenix Gaming hold a 3-5-2 record over the same stretch, but that includes matches against some much tougher teams than iG.V faced.

Even though iG.Vitality seem stronger, there is not a lot to separate the two sides. Phoenix have proven time and time again they can compete with A-Tier teams, so they should have a higher than 40% chance of causing an upset.

?Since the departure of their entire roster in September, CDEC Gaming have plunged into a downward spiral. What’s more, they have not played a single match since they lost to iG.Vitality (0-2) during the second season of the CDA-FDC Pro Championship on November 13.

That result marked IG.Vitality’s first win over CDEC since October 2019, and considering how things are looking for CDEC, there is no reason to believe iG.V can’t do it again. Anything above $1.60 is a good price.

BTS Pro Series Season 4: SEA

?Fnatic and Execration will clash on Friday for the first time since they drew 1-1 during the third season of the BTS Pro Series in September. The only previous fixture between the two teams in 2020 happened in June when Fnatic won 2-0.

Fnatic have only two games on record since September – against TNC Predator (1-2) and Motivate.Trust Gaming (1-1) – which is somewhat worrying since they will be facing a squad with 10 games under their belt in the past week alone. While that won’t do Fnatic any favours, it’s hard to side with Execration when they only seem to do well against much weaker sides.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility for Fnatic to win, but we like our chances with a draw.

Esports multi bet tips for Thursday, December 11