Our esports expert Michael Lee is back to begin the week with another round of esports betting tips. Today he focuses in on the 2021 Call of Duty League, the ESL One CIS and the League of Legends Pro League with all odds coming courtesy of PickleBet.
Esports Betting Tips: Monday, February 22nd
Florida Mutineers vs Los Angeles Guerrillas
2021 Call of Duty League
The 2021 Call of Duty League will kick off with a bang, as Florida Mutineers take on Los Angeles Guerrillas in the opening round of the CDL Super Week. Both teams have been performing well so far, which might not be very obvious considering they both lost games during the opening week, but there is more to that record than meets the eye.
Los Angeles Guerrillas lost their opening match of the season against Atlanta FaZe, but did not disappoint with a 3-2 win against Paris Legion a day later. Mutineers, on the other side, had to admit defeat to Toronto Ultra which was a disappointing loss, however, there are some positives to take from that match.
I was most impressed with Mutineers' determination to fight back even when behind and I would even argue Mutineers could have easily won that match had they been a bit luckier in the Search& Destroy (4-6). It's also worth noting that one loss alone doesn't mean much and hardly shows how strong Mutineers are in the long run, so we should wait a bit more before we can definitely say whether Mutineers are really as weak as their sole result suggests.
The betting odds suggest Florida should win this match with ease, which is debatable. In my eyes, Los Angeles Guerrillas are severely underrated at 4.60 and while this match can easily end both ways, it’s not hard to figure out what my prediction is.
Winstrike vs B8
ESL One CIS Online Lower Division
B8 have had a few flashes of greatness, but this is not a good team. They have recently won one map against HellRaisers, but they've also previously lost to Imperial Pro Gaming (0-2) and VP.Prodigy (0-2), which makes it hard to trust them for this match.
B8's next opponents, Winstrike, enter this match with a solid 5-1 record, which sits them tied-first with PuckChamp at the top of the league standings. A win here will guarantee them promotion to the Upper Division for the next season, whereas a loss would put them in danger of getting passed by HellRaisers.
Similarly, this match holds a lot of importance for B8, who must win to avoid elimination, however, based on their recent showings, it seems highly unlikely they will manage that feat. Even though B8 stole one map off HellRaisers, I wouldn't praise B8 too much for it since HR had to play with a stand-in Aleksandr "Nix" Levin instead of Nikita "young G" Bochko.
Winstrike need a 2-0 win here and I don't see how B8 will manage to stop them. Bet on Winstrike to win without dropping a map!
Winstrike -1.5 Maps
$1.63
Suning vs JD Gaming
League of Legends Pro League 2021 Spring
Suning return to the Rift after a two-week-long break, which might be exactly what they needed to pull themselves together and bounce back from their disappointing 0-2 loss against EDward Gaming. To say Suning played out that series poorly would be an understatement, however, I don't believe that performance alone is any indication of this team's long-term strength.
It's also important to consider EDG played extremely well, so it wouldn't be fair to bash on Suning too much - even though I expected a bit more proactive approach from them.
JD Gaming secured a big win two weeks ago when they swept Team WE 2-0 with what was one of the cleanest gameplays I have seen from them this season. With that win, JDG are now tied-fifth in the league with a 4-3 record, which is a bit underwhelming, however, there is no denying they have been performing much better recently.
If Suning step up and show what they're capable of, I could imagine them secure an upset win, but as it stands now, you simply have to favour JDG over the 2020 LoL World Championship finalists. JDG have been showing gradual improvement over the last couple of weeks and even though they're still far from their optimal form, they have shown enough for me to say JDG can win 2-0.
JD Gaming -1.5 Maps
$2.60
