Michael Lee is back with his esports betting previews for three League of Legends matches in LoL Pro League (LPL) and LoL Circuit Oceania (LCO). Today he looks at ThunderTalk Gaming vs Royal Never Give Up, Bilibili Gaming vs Team WE, and ORDER vs Kanga Esports.
Esports Betting Tips: Monday, 8th August
ThunderTalk Gaming vs Royal Never Give Up
LPL 2022 Summer
ThunderTalk Gaming enter the final week of LPL 2022 Summer regular season with six wins (6-7), which sits them right at the edge of the cutoff line. With FunPlus Phoenix (6-9) and Bilibili Gaming (6-9), ThuinderTalk Gaming can't afford to slip if they wish to reach the playoffs, but they have three chances to grab the decisive win, so they might not feel the pressure just yet.
I wouldn't say that ThudnerTalk Gaming are one of the title contenders, but I like this team and what they've shown this season. Although not the most consistent team, ThunderTalk seem to thrive in the current meta and are very effective in stacking dragons, which has helped them pick up some big wins.
Royal Never Give Up are already locked in for a top-four finish, and they might even finish top two. However, not only will RNG need to win their last two matches of the season, but they must also hope that Top Esports don't win a single series this week – which is highly unlikely.
Still, Royal Never Give Up are in good form, having won eight straight games ahead of this clash, and this is also a stacked roster, so 1.12 offered on them to defeat ThunderTalk Gaming seems justifiable. But I would argue that ThunderTalk are a bit underrated.
LPL is known for producing unpredictable results in the final weeks of the regular season, and even though I wouldn't dare to predict RNG will lose on Monday, they've dropped maps against weaker teams across the last month. Take ThunderTalk Gaming with a map handicap.
ThunderTalk Gaming +1.5 Maps
$2.25 (1 Unit)
Bilibili Gaming vs Team WE
LPL 2022 Summer
Bilibili Gaming can technically still reach the playoffs, but with a 6-9 record and just one more game left to be played, it's highly unlikely that will happen unless FunPlus Phoenix and ThunderTalk Gaming lose all of their series.
Still, I wouldn't expect Bilibili Gaming to give up, and I definitely don't expect them to lose against Team WE, who are by far the worst team in the league. Their record speaks for itself – with zero wins and a 19% map win rate (6-26), Team We have achieved nothing throughout the entire season, and I don't see that changing in the final week. Perhaps the "I don't care" approach could catch Bilibili Gaming by surprise, but Team WE have been playing like that for weeks, and we've yet to see them succeed.
Besides the fact that WE are terrible, Bilibili Gaming are actually a very good team with great players. But they were unable to translate that to the Rift with their poor macro play and terrible decision-making. Perhaps they would have achieved more with a better coach, but that's something the organisation needs to figure out ahead of the next season.
Bilibili Gaming are the superior team here, and despite their iffy decision-making, this is a match they should stomp. A bet on Bilibili Gaming to win with at least nine kills to spare at 1.90 is more than justifiable.
Bilibili Gaming -8.5 kills (Map 1)
$1.90 (1 Unit)
ORDER vs Kanga Esports
LCO 2022 Split 2
ORDER and Kanga Esports are already through to the playoffs, but the two squads are still competing for a top-three finish and a favourable seed. Kanga Esports are 10-9, two wins from ORDER, who hold a 12-7 record and need just one more win to guarantee a top-three finish.
This clash will determine the fate of both teams, so expect ORDER and Kanga to be hungry for the win. However, having proven themselves as the better team this split while also holding a 2-0 H2H record, ORDER are priced as 1.36 favourites, suggesting this is their game to lose. While I can't argue with this logic, pricing Kanga at 3.00 seems a bit disrespectful.
Kanga Esports have been playing well recently and are on a four-game winning streak with wins against PEACE, Dire Wolves, Gravitas, and MAMMOTH. ORDER, on the other hand won their last two games but also lost both of their LCO 2022 Split 2 Week 8 matches against Chiefs Esports Club and Pentanet.GG.
Two losses in Week 8 don't mean that ORDER are weak, but it shows that they can crack, and that's enough for me to believe that they won't have an easy time on Monday. I wouldn't be surprised if Kanga surprise ORDER, but I prefer to be on the underdogs with a 7.5 kill handicap.
Kanga Esports +7.5 Kills
$1.83 (1 Unit)
