Our esports tipster Michael Lee is back with his Dota 2 betting predictions for the opening three matches of Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western Europe Tour 1: Division I on Monday, January 9. Today he looks at OG vs Tundra Esports, Team Liquid vs Team Secret, and Gaimin Gladiators vs Entity.
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Esports Betting Tips: Monday January 9
OG vs Tundra
DPC WEU Tour 1: Div I
After winning The International 2022, Tundra Esports enter 2023 DPC season as the main favourites to win the Western European trophy, and I can't argue with that logic. Admittedly, Tundra Esports weren't the most dominant team of WEU DPC last term, but their success at TI speaks volumes.
Tundra are also one of the few teams that didn't make any roster changes ahead of the 2023 season, so we can safely assume that they will look better early on, in contrast to teams with new players, who'll need a couple of weeks to find the needed synergy.
On that topic, OG have made one roster change, signing Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin who replaced Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf. While some might consider this a downgrade, DM has looked good in 2022 and should serve as an excellent replacement for ATF.
His playstyle is a bit different, as DM is not as aggressive as ATF, but he can carry his weight and should help OG retain their tag as one of the top European teams.
Tundra Esports are expected to win, and I wouldn't be shocked if they do. However, OG have a solid history with Tundra, so we're likely in for a closer match. I'll take over 2.5 maps at 2.20.
Over 2.5 maps
$2.20 (1 Unit)
Team Liquid vs Team Secret
DPC WEU Tour 1: Div I
Team Liquid enter the 2023 season without Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen, who retired from pro Dota 2. In his place, Liquid added Michał "Nisha" Jankowski, who joined Liquid after spending four years with Team Secret.
With Nisha, Liquid look as dangerous, if not stronger, than they were in 2022, which is exciting to hear, considering how good Liquid were last year. They placed top three across all DPC events, won Tour 1: Division I, and finished the Regional Finals and the final tour in second place.
Even at The International, Liquid didn't fail to impress, reaching the semi-finals, where they got eliminated by their next opponents, Team Secret.
Team Secret had to find a replacement for Nisha, and decided to add Miroslav "BOOM" Bičan, who had a very good run with Gaimin Gladiators last season. It's hard to tell how Secret will do without Nisha for the first time since 2018, but I fully expect Team Secret to compete for top spots in DPC WEU this season.
Liquid are priced as 1.53 favourites for this match, while we can back Team Secret at 2.37. The offered odds seem fair to me since we don't know how well BOOM will do in his new team. Still, I don't expect Team Liquid to stomp Team Secret. This should be another close match, so we're again taking over 2.5 maps.
Over 2.5 maps
$2 (1 Unit)
Gaimin Gladiators vs Entity
DPC WEU Tour 1: Div I
Gaimin Gladiators and Entity will play their seventh meeting on Monday, having met six times in 2022. From those six meetings, Gaimin Gladiators have won just two with a 37.5% map win rate (6-10), but they are 1.40 favourites.
Entity have made just one roster move ahead of the 2023 season by adding Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov as a replacement for Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko. Likewise, Gaimin Gladiators had to find a replacement for BOOM and ended up settling for Quinn "Quinn" Callahan, who previously played for paiN X.
Purely based on how the rosters look, I wouldn't say that Gaimin Gladiators are much stronger. Their core achieved marginally more in 2022, with a ninth-12th at The International and a title from BetBoom Xmas Show, where Entity placed top six.
This is a winnable match for Entity, who have more than enough talent to defeat the Gladiators. They did it four times in 2022, so there's no reason to believe they can't do it again. So even though Gamiin Gladiators have a higher ceiling and will likely go further this season, I have to take Entity at 2.75.
Entity to win
$2.75 (1 Unit)
