Vulkan Fight Series

?SG.Pro enter this contest with a 0-2 record at the tournament. Despite their lack of success, the Russians deserve some respect for their close series with ESPADA and Budapest Five, who both seem stronger than Winstrike Team.

Like SG.Pro, Winstrike are still searching for their first points following two painful defeats against VP.Prodigy and Natus Vincere Junior. With those losses, Winstrike are 1-5 in their last six outings and hold a 33.3% win rate since late September.

Winstrike’s recent results are equally as uninspiring as SG.Pro’s, so they should not be priced at such short odds. Winstrike also field only three players on their active roster, so it makes more sense to side with SG.Pro to win at least one map.

?The latest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive betting odds suggest this should be a close bout. This might be true, but we don’t expect to see any high-level performances from either side.

Lyngby Vikings enter this match on a three-game losing streak, while Project X have managed two wins in their last three outings. However, two of Project X��s wins came against Team Unique and EC Kyiv, which is hardly better than Vikings’ three-map series against Illuminar and LDLC.

This match could go either way, so there might be some value in backing the outsiders, but over 2.5 maps is a safer bet at a good price.

KeSPA Cup 2020

?Nongshim RedForce (formerly Team Dynamics) enter this match as underdogs, which makes some sense given their lacklustre run through the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) 2020 Summer. Even so, they should be better prepared for this season with the addition of jungler Han “Peanut” Wang-ho and support Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu.

On the other side, Afreeca Freecs seem to have downgraded their roster with the signing of Bae “Bang” Jun-sik as a replacement for Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun. They effectively lost their best player and replaced him with someone who has spent the last two years in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS).

Afreeca Freecs don’t seem to have any significant advantages in this matchup. Their best player is support Son “Lehends” Si-woo, who should keep the bottom lane somewhat stable, but we are a bit concerned about how the team will deal with Kellin and Peanut. Nongshim RedForce are overpriced at these odds.

?Outside of replacing Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyun with Lee “Effort” Sang-ho in the support slot, Liiv SANDBOX (previously SANDBOX Gaming) have opted to keep their 2020 roster intact. We don’t see that as an issue since SANDBOX improved towards the end of last season, but a star signing wouldn’t hurt.

DRX endured quite a turbulent off-season and now field a completely new roster. Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu and Ryu “Keria” Min-seok all left the team in November, which forced DRX to rebuild their LoL squad with mostly academy players.

DRX might still do relatively well this season with the help of coach Kim “SSONG” Sang-soo, but until we see a bit more from them, we have to side with Liiv SANDBOX.

?Nongshim RedForce’s best player seems to be their new jungler, Peanut, who should do well against Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon, the only remaining member of DRX’s old roster. Shutting down Pyosik would force DRX to rely on their bottom lane to deliver, and while Son “Becca” Min-woo and Jeong “BAO” Hyeon-woo boast a strong synergy, they’re not experienced enough for us to believe they can carry their team.

This match seems like Nongshim RedForce’s to lose. As long as Peanut and his crew continue playing with the same fire they have up to now, we don’t believe DRX can cause them any major issues.

Esports multi bet tips for Wednesday, December 23

KeSPA Cup 2020

?The second round of KeSPA Cup 2020 will begin with a clash between KT Rolster and Fredit BRION (formerly hyFresh Blade). Given that BRION hail from Challengers Korea (CK), it’s hard to be overly excited about their chances to upset KT Rolster, but it’s not an impossible task.

Outside of acquiring Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon as a replacement for Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho, KT Rolster have not made any significant roster changes ahead of the 2021 season. That is somewhat concerning, especially with the departure of ADC Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram.

KT Rolster have also promoted six academy players to their main squad this month, which suggests they will likely field their B-team for the KeSPA Cup rather than their preferred starting lineup. This should give Fredit BRION a solid chance to win for an upset win at decent odds.

?T1 have confirmed they’re sending their academy squad to the KeSPA Cup, while Hanwha Life Esports are expected to field their starting lineup. Hanwha have also made a few significant roster changes during the offseason, namely the signing of two ex-DRX players in mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon and ADC Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu.

Although T1 field a fairly solid academy team, we shouldn’t expect any surprises. It’s unknown which roster Hanwha Life will use for the KeSPA Cup, but it��s safe to expect a balanced mix of main and academy roster players, which should be enough for a comfortable win.

?Both teams enter this match with their academy roster, and while T1’s squad looks slightly stronger on paper, they��re not worth a bet at these odds. Most of Gen.G’s academy players have previous League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) experience, so they should be very competitive.

The only notable advantage T1 could potentially have comes in the top lane, where they field Kim “Roach” Kang-hee, but we don’t believe he will have a major impact on the fixture from his position. A bet on the outsiders makes more sense to us.

Huya Dota2 Winter Invitational

?Team MagMa will clash with Neon Esports for the third time this year and for the first time since Wednesday, when they bested Neon 2-1 during the Moon Studio Carnival Cup. It marked MagMa’s first head-to-head victory after two 0-2 losses in late November and early December.

It’s not like MagMa made any significant roster changes that helped them defeat Neon last time out, so it’s fair to say that their recent success came down to form. On that note, MagMa enter this match in very questionable shape with a 2-3 record from their last five outings, which includes losses against Dalanjing Gaming, LBZS and Ink Ice.

Regardless, Neon Esports’ form is even worse with only two wins in their last 10. Due to Neon��s uninspiring results, we don’t feel comfortable siding with them, but since both sides seem a bit shaky, a three-map series is likely on the cards.

?The odds on Royal Never Give Up to win this bout seem very generous. Although Team Aster have improved significantly across the last two months, they’re still a bit too inconsistent for us to say they belong amongst the top bracket of Chinese Dota2 esports teams.

What’s more, RNG are 6-1-3 up in the head-to-head stakes this year and have swept Aster in both of their last two meetings. It’s worth noting that RNG announced Su “Flyby” Lei as a stand-in for Sun “Srf” Runfa during the Huya Dota2 Winter Invitational, but that’s hardly a downgrade considering FlyBy has been averaging the highest KDA (4.71) on the team. At these odds, we have to side with RNG to win.

Esports multi bet tips for Tuesday, December 22

The paths the two sides took on their way to the grand finals were drastically different yet equally impressive, as they fought and beat some of the best League of Legends esports teams South Korea has to offer.

Afreeca Freecs started their KeSPA Cup venture in the elimination round, where their superior quality shone through against Rockhead. While Brion Blade looked much sharper in the qualifying round, even they were no match for the LCK-calibre play Afreeca Freecs brought with them.

After making easy work of two CK rosters in the first stage of the tournament, Afreeca Freecs met LCK newcomers Hanwa Life in the playoffs. While Hanwa pushed AF to their limits, they failed to close out the series and threw the game away in the final match of the series after holding a substantial lead.

In the semi-finals, Afreeca Freecs met with DragonX, who are regarded as one of the strongest South Korean esports teams heading into the 2020 LCK Spring Split. The majority of LoL analysts gave Afreeca Freecs close to no chance of winning a single map, let alone winning the whole series, yet Choi “iloveoov” Yeon-sung and his squad came out all guns blazing and booked their spot in the decider with a stunning clean sweep.

SANDBOX Gaming entered the grand finals fresh off a shock 3-1 win against T1 in the semi-finals and were now set to take on Afreeca Freecs in their first-ever KeSPA Cup finals appearance.
It was expected to be a close fixture between two teams that went above and beyond all expectations, yet it was Afreeca who once again proved many people wrong.

As soon as the finals took off, Afreeca took the initiative and rolled over SANDBOX with their aggressive playstyle. The deficit was already 2-0 before SANDBOX even had a chance to respond.

In game three, SANDBOX managed to produce some resistance but failed to react to Afreeca��s aggression and exceptional macro play, which allowed them to control the tempo of the game throughout.
Afreeca won a crucial team fight at the 25-minute mark and secured their fourth dragon, turning the match completely in their favour. Five minutes later, they won another team fight, secured the Baron, took down the Elder drake and made one final push to seal the series at 3-0.

Playing a pivotal role in their success throughout the tournament was Kim ��Kiin�� Gi-in, who earned the MVP award and took home a limited edition Geekstar x KeSPA custom-built PC and ?2,000,000 ($1,715).

The second semi-final of the League Of Legends KeSPA Cup will take place on Saturday 4th january where we will see Afreeca Freecs lock horns with DragonX in a bid to claim a ticket for the grand finals. Here is our betting preview of the fixture with our prediction and betting odds, courtesy of BetOnline.

Afreeca Freecs versus DragonX Betting Preview

• KeSPA Cup Betting: Afreeca Freecs $3.55 | DragonX $1.27
• Where: Korea
• When: Saturday 4th January 2020 15:00 KST
• Watch Live: Youtube

DragonX entered the Korean esports based KeSPA Cup hoping they can showcase the strength of their new roster and they managed to do so with flying colours, considering DragonX (formerly Kingzone DragonX) are entering the semi-finals undefeated in their last three bouts.

DragonX started their KeSpa Cup venture in the elimination round, where they decimated Chungnam (2-0), to which they added another strong display against Spear Gaming in the qualifying round. Following DragonX’s impressive run through the opening stages, they entered the quarter-finals, where they got paired with DAMWON Gaming, however even Kim “Micro” Mok-kyoung and his men proved to be no match for DragonX who swept them in two swift rounds.

There were some worries about DragonX’s strength ahead of 2020 season and rightfully so. They completely revamped their roster earlier in November, when they parted ways with four of their members and replaced them with young talent. Leaving the team were Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee who left for Gen.G, Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan who joined T1, Yoo “Naehyun” Nae-hyun who left for Griffin and Park “TusiN” Jong-ik, who joined up with KT Rolster.

On the other side, DragonX signed Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon and Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon from Griffin and promoted Ryu “Keria” Min-seok and Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon to the main roster.

As we have talked about in our previous KeSPA Cup betting preview, DragonX’s success will come down to the development of Doran, Pyosik and Keria, meanwhile, the team will have to heavily rely on Chovy and Deft to deliver with solid performances.
That being said, it’s safe to say all five members played well so far in KeSPA Cup, some even went above and beyond our expectations and for that reason, we are firm believers DragonX are capable of causing some serious damage in LCK this season.

Ahead of them, however, is their toughest test yet, as they face off against an old enemy Afreeca Freecs who just like DragonX are entering 2020 season with a reconstructed roster. Out of all teams, Afreeca Freecs made some of the most surprising moves during off-season, as they convinced former Team WE ADC Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun to return to South Korea after spending five years in China.

Joining Mystic as a fresh arrival is mid laner Song “Fly” Yong-jun from Gen.G, support Nam “Ben” Dong-hyun from Top Esports and support Son “Jelly” Ho-gyeong. It will all come down to Mystic, who will alongside Kim “Kiin” Gi-in play a pivotal role in the team’s success. Other than that, Lee “Dread” Jin-hyeok will have a lot to prove after his less-than-impressive 2019 season.

Afreeca Freecs do carry a lot of potential, and yet they seem like a team that can either impress or fall flat and finish on the wrong side of the league table. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered and while they have already played three games so far in KeSPA Cup, their performance left us with more questions than answers.

Comparing the two sides, www.fridaynightmadness.com are slightly concerned for Afreeca Freecs, who have made a solid run to the semi-finals, however, failed to look as strong as DragonX. As we see it, Mystic will have a hard time against Deft, who was just phenomenal for DragonX so far this tournament, while Kiin will be put to a tough test against Doran, who has proven to be one of the best top laners in the tournament.

Other than that, Chovy has already proven he is a tough opponent for Fly during last season when they met in the mid lane while playing for their former teams, which leads us to believe DragonX will also enjoy a slight advantage in the mid lane.
All things considered, DragonX are stronger in each lane and should come out of this bout as the winners. Based on everything we have seen, we are confident DragonX are more than capable of producing a clean sweep and punch a ticket for the grand finals.

Afreeca Freecs versus DragonX Betting Picks & Predictions

• Prediction: DragonX -1.5 maps $1.64 at GG Bet

KeSPA Cup 2019 semi-finals are set to kick off this Friday 3rd January 2020 in Korean eSports with an exciting bout between two old enemies T1 and SANDBOX Gaming. www.fridaynightmadness.com take a look at the League Of Legends (LOL) betting preview, where we will look over the teams, and provide our predictions alongside betting odds from top esports betting sites.

SANDBOX Gaming vs T1 Betting Preview

• KeSPA Cup Betting: SANDBOX Gaming $2.42 | T1 $1.52
• Where: Korea
• When: Friday 3rd January 2020 17:00 KST
• Watch Live: Youtube

SANDBOX Gaming ($2.38) are entering KeSPA Cup semi-finals following a commanding quarter-finals performance, where they showcased the strength of their new roster by sweeping the weakened Griffin out of the competition. Looking at SANDBOX’s new line-up for 2020 season, there are many reasons to be optimistic about their chances to have a successful season and contest the top spots in the LCK.

Yoo “Sally” Eui-joon put together a very interesting roster, by keeping ahold of their star top laner Park “Summit” Woo-tae and jungler Kim “OnFleek” Jang-gyeom, while adding quite a few changes elsewhere. One of the most interesting additions to the team is former Brion Blade mid-laner Yoo “FATE” Su-hyeok, who has shown immense talent and is expected to eventually take over as the starting mid-laner in the team.

In the bottom lane, SANDBOX signed support Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyun and two ADCs Moon “Route” Geom-su and Han “Leo” Gyeo-re. While many expected Route to play the starting ADC for the team, it was former T1 member Leo who played alongside GorillA in SANDBOX’s clash with Griffin.

As we see it, the GorillA-Leo tandem will need some time to get in sync, but if their performance last Monday is anything to go by, there is potential for them to become one of the best in the league. Besides the arrival of new players, SANDBOX also signed a new coaching staff Shin “Coco” Jin-yeong, former Starcraft pro Jung “FanTaSy” Myung Hoon and former DAMWON Gaming coach Song “Morning” Chang-geun which should bring a breath of fresh air to the team.

After rebranding from SKT T1 to T1 ($1.54) and adding a handful of fresh talent, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and his squad are set to cause destruction in 2020 season and take another swing at claiming World Championship title later this year. During the off-season, T1 lost some key players in Kim “Clid” Tae-min, who left for Gen.G and Kim “Khan” Dong-ha who opted to join the reigning world champions FunPlus Phoenix over in LPL. Despite the departure of two stars, there is no reason for concern, as T1 managed to keep ahold of their bottom lane tandem Park “Teddy” Jin-seong and Lee “Effort” Sang-ho as well as their superstar Faker, which should keep them among the top LCK teams.

On the other side, T1 signed a promising 20-year-old jungler Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan, who will have huge shoes to fill, however, considering he had an exceptional season with Kingzone DragonX (now DragonX) last year, the loss of Clid might not be as detrimental for T1 as initially expected. That leaves us with the top lane, where T1 will have to replace Khan with either Kim “Canna” Chang-dong or the former Gen.G top laner Kim “Roach” Kang-hui.

In their quarter-finals clash with Gen.G, T1 opted to field Canna instead of Roach, which might suggest Canna will be their preferred top laner this season or maybe the decision to not field Roach came due to T1 playing against his former team.
Either way, T1’s top lane will be their Achilles’ heel as there are only a few LoL players in the world who are capable of replacing Khan and neither Canna nor Roach are one of those players just yet.

Alongside the roster changes, T1 also lost their head coach of seven years Kim ��kkOma�� Jeong-gyun, who left for ViCi Gaming and got replaced by former Invictus Gaming and DAMWON Gaming head coach Kim ��Kim�� Jeong-soo, who in all fairness is a great addition to the team and should play a crucial role in Canna’s and Cuzz’s development.

T1 look set to make waves in 2020 season, however, a lot will come down to the development of their younger players and Faker’s contribution to the team. Fast development of the team will be crucial for their success and winning KeSpa Cup will help them get some much-needed confidence ahead of 2020 LCK Spring Split.

Looking at the teams and their new rosters side-by-side, T1 look to be stronger, in all positions, except at the top lane, where Canna or Roach will have to go face-to-face with Summit. For that reason, we believe SANDBOX are capable of causing some difficulties for T1 and should be more than capable of pushing the three-time world champions to their limits, which is why we will predict SANDBOX to win at least one map.

SANDBOX Gaming vs T1 Betting Picks & Predictions

• Prediction: SANDBOX Gaming +1.5 maps $1.67 at GG Bet

Here are our betting predictions with betting odds, courtesy of BetOnline.

DragonX vs Chungnam

• Thursday, December 26 – 17:00 KST

DragonX will enter 2020 with a new roster and a new name, having renamed themselves from Kingzone DragonX to DragonX earlier in October.

Returning to the team for another season, we have the bot lane tandem Kim “Daft” Hyuk-kyu and Ryu “Keria” Min-seok. Joining them will be a rookie jungler Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon and two former Griffing players – mid-laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, and top laner Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon.

The acquisition of the former two Griffin players is in our books a solid move, yet we have some questions about Pyosik who doesn’t have any experience playing at the top level. In a way, Doran is also a rookie in LCK, seeing how he has joined Griffin’s starting lineup late in May 2019.

In other team news, DragonX head coach and former Griffin head coach Kim ��cvMax�� Dae-ho has been banned from participating in League of Legends professional scene, but got the suspension revoked late in November due to a petition from League of Legends community with over 200,000 signatures. That ultimately means he will be coaching DragonX and play a pivotal role in their development.

Despite having two rookies, we don’t believe DragonX should be underestimated heading into 2020, especially seeing how they have an exceptional coach staff, which should help the youngsters develop. All in all, DragonX are bursting with potential and the mix of young and experienced players should result in a very successful season.

As far as this bout is concerned, there is no going around the fact Chungnam ($12.90) are far inferior to DragonX in each and every way. To see them cause any issues to DragoX, let alone win this fixture would arguably be the biggest upset in the history of esports. We don��t expect to see any miracles here.

Prediction: DragonX -1.5 @ $1.14 @ GG Bet

Jin Air Green Wings vs Spear Gaming

• Thursday, December 26 – 20:00 KST

After an underwhelming season, Jin Air Green Wings ($1.40) will be looking to improve in 2020, but seeing how they have failed to make any massive changes to their team, we have our doubts Green Wings will be able to impress in LCK.

Ahead of 2020 season, Green Wings signed of Cha Ji-hoon as their new head coach, Kwon “Light” Sun-ho as their ADC and Park “Senan” Hee-seok as the team’s new support player. On the other side, Green Wings saw Lee “Bambi” Gyu-bin and Moon “Route” Geom-su both leave the team.

The two arrivals seem very solid, considering Senan previously played for LCK team Afreeca Freecs while Light proved to be one of the best ADC mains in 2019 CK Summer Split. There he averaged 74.2% win rate in and was among the top three in KDA, CSPM and GPM.

Despite some solid additions, yet we have our doubts Green Wings have the needed quality to contest the top spots in LCK. That being said, they are rightfully the favourites to defeat Spear Gaming this Thursday.

Spear Gaming ($2.76) ended last season at the sixth place in CK Summer, which was a solid result, considering it was their first appearance in CK, after they qualified via CK 2019 Summer Promotion under the name BeomSAMA. Now they are entering the new season with high ambitions and a completely new roster, which welcomed four new members to the lineup.?

In December Spear Gaming signed Yoon “Destroy” Jeong-min, Kim “Chasy” Dong-hyeon, Lee “Jaguar” Chae-hwan and Kim “Asper” Tae-gi, while keeping ahold of Kim “Winter” Yo-han, who has been with the team since May 2019.

As we see it, the biggest two additions to the team are Asper and Jaguar, who were previously members of Gen.G and DAMWON Gaming. While neither had a lot of playtime for their teams, being a part of LCK team does make them slightly more valuable due to the experience they gathered.

With Jaguar and Asper as Spear Gaming’s bottom lane, we can expect they will manage to compete with Green Wings’ bottom lane tandem, making this match much closer than what the odds suggest. All things considered, Green Wings should come out ahead, but we believe Spear Gaming should put up a solid fight and chip at least one map off their opponents.

• Prediction: Spear Gaming +1.5 @ $1.58 @ GG Bet

Gen.G vs GC Busan Ascension tips

Wednesday, December 25 – 17:00 KST

While off-season moves are fairly common among League of Legends teams, Gen.G ($1.04) took it to a whole another level, signing four new members and keeping ahold of only their star ADC Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk and support Kim “Life” Jeong-min.

On November 18, Gen.G announced they are parting ways with Kim “Asper” Tae-gi, Lee “Rich” Jae-won, Lee “Kuzan” Seong-hyeok, Song “Fly”Yong-jun, Yoon “SeongHwan” Seong-hwan, Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, Kim “Roach” Kang-hui and Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin.

As their replacements, Gen.G signed Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee, Kim “Clid” Tae-min, Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong and Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu in a bid to start fresh following a disastrous performance in LCK last season, when they finished in seventh and sixth place in the LCK spring and summer splits respectively.

All in all, the team looks fairly strong heading into 2020, considering it has the right mix of veterans in Ruler and Bdd and younger players in Rascal and Life, whose growth will play an important role in Gen.G’s success.

Busan Ascension ($7.82) are a new team, which just recently qualified for CK 2020 Spring via promotion battle and will now make their first appearance in the professional South Korean LoL scene.

The team’s roster consists of players that have never before played on a professional level, which raises some questions about the team’s quality. That being said, there is huge potential for growth in this team and a lot of their success will come down to their coaching staff – Choi “Cookie” Byeong-kook and Kim “LongDary” Se-hyun.

Busan Ascension are without a doubt a team to look out for in the 2020 CK season and above, but as far as this match is concerned, we do not see them as a serious threat. Gen.G are superior teams in all aspects of the game, including experience, coaching staff and overall quality. Don’t expect any surprises here.

Gen G vs GC Busan Ascension Prediction: Gen.G to cover the -1.5 handicap, paying $1.35 with GG Bet.

Team Dynamics vs Asura prediction

Wednesday, December 25 – 20:00 KST

The 2019 CK Summer champions Team Dynamics ($1.25) will enter 2020 with a painful memory of the last season when they came close to securing a ticket to LCK, but fell short in the LCK Spring Promotion back in September, where they lost to Jin Air Green Wings (0-2) and Hanwha Life (1-3).

To get themselves better prepared for challenges ahead, Team Dynamics brought in Lee “Rich” Jae-won and Lee “Kuzan” Seong-hyeok from Gen.G and signed an 18-year-old rookie Byeon “Citrus” Ji-woong.

The two Gen.G arrivals are in our books very solid additions to Dynamics and while they are by no means one of the elite players, both should do some serious damage in the CK, especially considering they have previously played in LCK.

Besides those three arrivals and departures of some underperforming players, Team Dynamics did not make any massive moves, and to be fair, they do not need to change much as they should once again be one of the strongest teams in CK next season.

Asura ($3.42) were not too active during the transfer window, as they only signed two players – former Griffin and LGD Gaming support Kim “Newt” Jin as well as 18-year-old rookie Bae “Gangboong” Si-hyeon, who does not have any experience playing on a professional level. On the other side, Asura parted ways with Gil “Reaver” Hee-chan, Hwang “Witty” Jae-hong and Kim “Carb” Seong-soo.

Changes were needed in Asura, there is no question about that, but we have some doubts whether the arrival of a rookie player and Newt will make much of an impact on the team. Last season Asura were mediocre at best and while they did end up finishing third in CK Summer Playoffs, they were by no means one of the most consistent teams in CK.

Based on the roster moves, we believe Asura lost more than they gained and the fact that Team Dynamics already bested them twice times last season does not help their cause either.

Team Dynamics should come out ahead here, and while clean sweeps at this stage, especially after roster moves, are a rarity, we are predicting Team Dynamics can deliver and end the series in two maps flat.

Team Dynamics v Asura tips: Team Dynamics to cover the -1.5 handicap, which is paying $1.91 with GG Bet.

eSports betting sites with Kespa Cup odds

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Kespa Cup betting

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Demacia Cup

Missing League of Legends at the highest level? It’s hardly surprising, it’s been over a month since we saw the FunPlus Phoenix triumph in the Worlds 2019 final, but don’t worry – we won’t have to wait long for the next matches with the new world champions.

We are not talking about the return of the LoL Pro League, but about the Demacia Cup. This tournament presents an opportunity for the Chinese teams to test out their rosters against the most talented teams of the region.

A total of 20 participants are competing for the championship – all teams from LPL and four from the second league in China – LoL Development League.

The first stage of the Demacia Cup is the group phase which splits 16 teams into four groups. From each group, the two best teams will advance to the next round. Play-offs will start after three days of break and the winner of this year’s edition will be announced on December 30.

On paper, this competition should be dominated by FunPlus Phoenix but prepare yourselves for surprises as the teams will be eager to take a shot at the reigning world champions.

Kespa Cup 2019

One of the most anticipated tournaments of the Christmas/New Year break is taking place in the competitive world of League of Legends. The Kespa Cup 2019 is paving the way for the competitive landscape as it will host the best teams in the Korean region in a battle for pre-season supremacy. The competition is a good opportunity for the roster to showcase their new signings as we head into Season 10.

Tips: Kespa Cup predictions

The top four teams of the LCK Summer 2019, have the privilege of starting directly from the playoffs. Meanwhile, the rest of the sixteen teams are competing in a fight for survival in the single-elimination bracket. All matches of the first bracket are being played in the best-of-three format. At the end out of the sixteen teams, only four will move on to the playoffs.

The first round of the playoffs will be played in the best-of-three format. The semifinals and the finals will be played in the best-of-five format. The competition kicked off on December 23 and will run until the January 1, so rest assured you can enjoy your holidays by watching the best teams from Korea competing for bragging rights.

Obao Elite Challenge

If you were starting to think that you were going to spend holidays watching only League of Legends then you are wrong. Fans of Dota 2 can also rejoice as some of the best teams in China will compete in the Obao Elite Challenge. The competition provides a good opportunity for the sides to prepare for the minor and major DPC tournaments that will take place in January 2020. All matches of the tournament are set to be played in the latest 7.23e patch, so it is fair to say that no team will be fully prepared and will have to learn as the tournament progresses.

Twelve teams will fight for supremacy and lion��s share of ��200,000CNY(? $28,540USD) prize pool. The first phase of the tournament is the group stage, where the 12 candidates have been split into two groups. All the matches will be played in a two-game series.

In the end, only the top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. In the playoffs, the matches will be played in the best-of-three format. While the grand finale will be played in the best-of-five format. The winner of the tournament will take home ��100,000CNY and will be announced on the 30th of December.

LBET Invitational 2

The passionate community of FPS will also be happy to know the CS:GO LBET Invitational 2 also deserve to enjoy some rich competitive action of its beloved eSports title. From December 23-29 some of the talented teams of Counter-Strike will compete in the LBET Invitational 2. Eight teams will attend the tournament and will kick off the competition in the group stage where they will be split into two groups. All the matches of the tournament will be played in the best of three format. Out of the eight candidates, only the top two sides from each group will advance to the playoffs and will compete for the lion��s share of the $ 20,000 prize pool.

Two teams to look out for in the tournament are NaVi Juniors and Invictus Gaming. The former side was recently developed as a second-team to one of the best teams in the world, NaVi. Meanwhile, Invictus has recently competed in WESG 2019 and also managed to participate in one of the biggest tournaments of the year, StarSeries Season 8. It will be exciting to see how these teams will live up to the expectations over the course of the festive season.

A word from the www.fridaynightmadness.com team

Firstly, the editorial team at www.fridaynightmadness.com would like to wish our readers a merry and safe Christmas/New Year period. We hope our wrap has provided something for every fan of the video gaming industry. These esports tournaments will showcase the most talented teams in action during this period in their respective genres. Remember, we have 100s of guides about the various games and aspects of the esports industry. We look forward to continuing to provide market-leading esports betting coverage into 2020 and beyond.

KT Rolster vs Ulsan

Tuesday, December 24 – 17:00 KST

KT Rolster ($1.06) enter the KeSPA Cup hoping to get their wheels spinning ahead of the 2020 season. They have endured a disappointing year, finishing ninth in the LCK Spring Split and eighth in the LCK Summer Split.

It’s fair to say KT Roster are miles from what they used to be. They have rebuilt their roster since the end of the LCK season, but the changes have raised more questions than answers.

We have high hopes for the bottom lane duo Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram and Park “TusiN” Jong-ik, who previously played together at Afreeca Freecs. Even though it has been over a year since they stood at the Summoner’s Rift side-by-side, Aiming and TusiN should have the synergy to make things works.

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While bottom lane looks solid, there are some question marks regarding KT Rolster’s top lane. In December they signed Jeon “Ray” Ji-won and Kim “SoHwan” Jun-yeong to replace Hwang “Kingen” Seong-hoon, who left for Bilibili Gaming.

A lot of the team’s success will come down to Kim “Malrang” Geun-seong, who is a young, talented jungler with loads of unused potential. If Kang “Hirai” Dong-hoon and the rest of the coaching staff manage to activate Malrang and bring out the best of him, KT Rolster will have a successful season; otherwise, it will be an uphill battle for the 2018 LCK Champions.

Despite having a lot of work left to be considered one of the elite LCK teams, KT Rolster will fancy their chances against Ulsan ($6.87), who are regarded as one of the weakest teams at the tournament.

Ulsan qualified for the KeSPA Cup via the KeG Championship, which featured some of the weakest teams in the region. That alone paints a clear picture of how strong this team is. While Ulsan will want to make a statement, we do not believe they can stack up with the superior LCK team here.

Prediction: KT Rolster -1.5 – $1.40 at GG Bet

Hanwha Life vs ESports Connected

Tuesday, December 24 – 20:00 KST

After yet another disastrous season, Hanwha Life ($1.01) opted for another roster rebuild that saw four new members join their ranks. This time, Hanwha decided to keep their mid laners Kim “Lava” Tae-hoon and Kang “Tempt” Myung-gu, who are expected to split time in the starting lineup depending on form and conditions.

This does give them some leeway to manage their mid lane and put up the optimal player for a given fixture. Hanwha Life also made a very solid choice by signing Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin and Kang “Haru” Min-seung, who both previously played for Gen.G.

While Hanwha Life lost their long-time tandem of Kim “key” Han-gi and Gwon “Sangyoon” Sang-yun, they managed to pick up two solid replacements in Jeon “Zenit” Tae-gwon and Son “Lehends” Si-woo from KT Rolster and Griffin respectively. Both players left a lot to be desired last season, but on paper they seem like an upgrade over the previous bottom lane duo.

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While Hanwha Life seem to be the hit-or-miss team of 2020, they are not expected to struggle too much against ESports Connected ($9.91), who finished the Challengers Korea Summer Split in eighth place.

The match will see Kim “Moojin” Moo-jin reunite with Hanwha Life, who let him go in late October. Moojin played only eight games last season before he was benched in favour of Kim “bonO” Gi-beom.

Don’t expect any surprises here. While Hanwha Life were by no means one of the strongest teams in the LCK last season, neither were ESports Connected in the CK. Hanwha should win easily and cover the handicap.

Prediction: Hanwha Life -1.5 – $1.21 at GG Bet

Afreeca Freecs vs Rockhead

• Monday, December 23 – 17:00 KST

During the off-season, Afreeca Freecs ($1.03) were busy with upgrading their roster and will now have a chance to show off their strength at KeSPA Cup. While the team will still heavily rely on their top-laner Kim ��Kiin�� Gi-in, Afreeca Freecs made some much-needed changes in other places to bolster their ranks.

They brought on Song ��Fly�� Yong-jun from Gen.G and LPL duo Jin ��Mystic�� Seong-jun and Nam ��Ben�� Dong-hyun who previously played together at Team WE. As we see it, the whole roster is built to help Kiin snowball and win his team the game, but, we cannot underestimate Mystic and his carry potential for this team either.

The potential for Afreeca Freecs to contest top spots in LCK is there, however, we believe the new roster will need some time to gel together following the departure of Park “Senan” Hee-seok and Son “Ucal” Woo-hyeon.

Their opponents Rockhead ($8.42) earned a spot in the KeSPA Cup by finishing CK 2020 Spring Promotion Qualifiers as one of the top three seeds, which is a solid achievement for the team, but in the greater scheme of things, there is no going around the fact Rockhead are a far inferior team compared to Afreeca Freecs.

In theory, Afreeca Freecs could stumble a bit, seeing how they will need some time to get their members in sync, however even if they slightly underperform it’s hard to expect Rockhead to do any serious damage. Not only do Afreeca Freecs have an exceptional top-laner, but also a completely new bottom lane, who previously dominated in LPL and should do some serious damage against LCK teams, let alone CK teams such as Rockhead.

• Prediction: Afreeca Freecs -1.5
• Odds: 1.28 BetOnline

APK Prince vs Brion Blade

• Monday. December 23 – 20:00 KST

APK Prince ($1.38) will make their debut appearance in the LCK this season after a dominant performance in the Korean Challenger League. While a force to be reckoned with in the lower league, we have some doubts whether APK have the needed quality to stand up against LCK teams.

During the off-season, APK Prince failed to make any huge moves beside the departure of Lee ��KaKAO�� Byung-kwon and arrival of Sung ��Flawless�� Yeon-jun who previously played for JD Gaming in China. The said move is somewhat risky and while Flawless can be very consistent, he will have huge shoes to fill.

As it stands now, we don��t know for sure how strong APK Prince will be next season, however, we will get to see the first glimpse of their strength during KeSPA Cup, starting with their clash with Brion Blade.

Their opponents Brion Blade ($2.73) are no stranger for APK Prince, who have previously met them several times throughout 2019 Challenger Korea season.

Brion Blade will enter the 2020 season with three new players in Kwon “Jiin” Ji-in, Park “Hena” Jeung-hwan and Yang “Minit” Hyeon-min as well as Kim “Kite” Yong-yeon as their new coach.

The biggest concern we have with Brion Blade is the departure of Yoo “FATE” Su-hyeok who moved to SANDBOX Gaming and got replaced by Jiin, who is without a doubt a downgrade.

Last season, APK Prince and Brion Blade met five times, with APK claiming three out of five possible wins against Brion, including a 3-1 win in the CK Summer playoffs, which APK ended up winning.

Based on off-season moves, it seems like Brion Blade have downgraded in quality, which won’t help their cause here. That being said, we would not feel comfortable saying this match will be a completely one-sided bout.

With KaKAO leaving the team, the flow of the APK’s game will change and until they find their rhythm, we believe they are vulnerable to losing at least one map. With that in mind, we will predict Brion Blade have the needed tools to push this series the distance.

• Prediction: Over 2.5
• Odds: 2.10 BetOnline