Michael Lee is back with esports betting previews and predictions for three games on Monday, January 24. Today he takes a look at a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fixture between GamerLegion and K23 at Pinnacle Winter Series #1 and a pair of League of Legends Pro League (LPL) 2022 Spring matches in LGD Gaming vs Oh My God and Rare Atom vs Bilibili Gaming.
Esports Betting Tips: Monday, January 24th
GamerLegion vs K23
Pinnacle Winter Series #1
GamerLegion and K23 will meet on Monday, January 24, in the first round of Pinnacle Winter Series #1 Main Swiss Stage. It will be their first meeting since August 2021, when the two CS:GO squads played two series during Pinnacle Fall Series 1 and split one win apiece.
K23 have since made two roster changes, signing Bogdan "xsepower" Chernikov and Daniil "X5G7V" Maryshev, who replaced Rüstem "mou" Telepov and Däuren "AdreN" Qystaubaev. Although K23 haven't achieved much with the new arrivals early, the Russian squad showed some life in December, when they won Funspark ULTI 2021: Europe Season 4 and Funspark ULTI 2021: European Playoffs #2.
Although decent results, K23 hasn't played a single match since then, meaning they've been out of action for over a month. And situations like that usually result in ring rust, which I expect we will see on the side of K23 on Monday.
Gamer Legion have recorded five games across the last week and won three of them. That includes wins against Apeks, ENTERPRISE, and Esports Club Kyiv, and two defeats against Savage and Team Unique.
If we go by the teams' results in 2021, K23 should easily win this match, but we don't know how well they'll perform after such a long break. I expect K23 to win, but GamerLegion should be able to force the third map.
LGD Gaming vs Oh My God
LPL 2022 Spring
Oh My God are 3-2 with wins against ThunderTalk Gaming, Anyone's Legend, and Invictus Gaming, which is good but not great. Of course, a win is still a win, but you can't praise OMG too much for beating three of the weakest teams in the league.
It wasn't until last week when OMG got properly tested against Bilibili Gaming and EDward Gaming, and they did not impress anyone. OMG lost both matches and only managed one map against Bilibili Gaming.
LGD Gaming are still without a win after four matches against Anyone's Legend, FunPlus Phoenix, JD Gaming, and Ultra Prime. Obviously, LGD's start to the season is as bad as it can get, but I expect LGD to bounce back and compete for a mid-table finish.
If we compare these two rosters, the only real advantage OMG have over LGD is in the mid lane. Lin "Creme" Jian has been playing extremely well so far this season and is undeniably a better mid laner than Ji "YeG" Xin-Yu. But outside of the mid lane matchup, I wouldn't say OMG have any clear advantages.
You could even argue that LGD Gaming's Zhiqiang "shad0w" Zhao is a better jungler. But he has been somewhat inconsistent this season, so I wouldn't count on him carrying his team on Monday.
Oh My God have achieved more so far this split and deserve to be viewed as the favourites for this match. However, I find the offered odds on them (1.17) a bit too extreme, and there is much more value betting on LGD Gaming with a +1.5 map handicap at 2.10.
LGD Gaming +1.5 Maps
$2.10
Rare Atom vs Bilibili Gaming
LPL 2022 Spring
Bilibili Gaming have yet to lose a match this season (2-0) but did not impress me with their performance against Oh My God and Weibo Gaming. Rare Atom, meanwhile, have managed a 1-2 record with a win against Top Esports and two losses against LNG Esports and Victory Five.
While Bilibili Gaming are in a better spot record-wise, Rare Atom had to face tougher opponents, so I don't believe it's fair for the sportsbooks to price Bilibili Gaming as 1.50 favourites. Even though Bilibili Gaming has more talent, particularly in the bottom lane, Rare Atom can make Bilibili’s life a bit tougher.
That is mainly because of Rare Atom's playstyle, which allows them to play close games against stronger teams, as seen in their meeting with LNG Esports. However, for Rare Atom to succeed on Monday, they will have to hope Lu "Leyan" Jue can deliver and show the same form from two years back.
Rare Atom have a legitimate chance to defeat Bilibili Gaming, and I wouldn't be surprised if they do it in two maps. But there are some questions, mainly how will Leyan do and whether Rare Atom's bottom lane can hold its own against Chiu "Doggo" Tzu-Chuan and Liu "Crisp" Qing-Sog. A bet on Rare Atom at 2.40 is not a bad choice, but I prefer over 2.5 maps at 1.92.
