Michael Lee is back to kick off another week with his three best bets of Monday night in the world of esports. Tonight he takes a look at the 2021 MSI and the EPIC CIS League Spring 2021 tournaments to try to find some winners.
DWG KIA vs PSG Talon
2021 MSI
DWG KIA and PSG Talon met on Friday, May 14, when the Korean side came out with what seemed like a convincing win. PSG Talon had an excellent opening to the match and should have arguably finished the game much stronger, but DWG KIA managed to come out ahead, largely due to PSG Talon's mistakes.
Although you have to give DWG KIA some props for being able to take advantage of PSG Talon's poor transition into the mid-game, it wasn't a particularly clean win from the reigning LoL world champions. Had a few skirmishes ended in favour of PSG Talon, they would have arguably won that match.
That game wasn't the first where I felt like DWG KIA aren't playing as well as expected. They're playing not nearly as good as how they did when they won the LoL World Championship and their performances at MSI are much worse than how they were during the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) Spring Split.
They got away with a few wins solely due to the individual quality of their players, and on other occasions due to their opponents making mistakes. But unless DWG KIA finds a way to improve as a team, I would dare to say they won't be listing the trophy in Iceland.
Pound-per-pound PSG Talon are weaker, but unlike DWG KIA, who have been slipping, they're on the rise. This team is looking better with each passing week of play - which was expected as they get used to playing with their substitute ADC - and if they can continue playing this way, PSG Talon just might stun the tournament favourites.
PickeBet offers 4.00 on PSG Talon to beat DWG KIA which seems way too generous considering how these two sides have been playing across the last week. This is still a longshot bet, but a damn good one at these odds.
Pentanet.gg vs Cloud9
2021 MSI
Cloud9 have been struggling this tournament and are well on their way to keep the North American tradition alive and upset their fans. After so many years disappointment, you have to wonder what's happening in the NA LoL scene and why do their teams consistently underperform on the international stage.
Regardless of their poor international showings, C9 at least beat Pentanet.gg on Sunday, May 16, so they have that going for them ahead of the rematch. That said, it wasn't a very convincing win.
Cloud9 won their first bout with Pentanet.gg with 19-6 in kills and 10.6k gold lead. Numbers like that would lead you to believe the game was very one-sided, and perhaps it was, but it was more Cloud9 snowballing their early lead rather than their superior quality.
This was another case of a match that could have been much closer had a few scenarios ended differently, so you can't write off Pentanet.gg for the rematch. Due to the superior quality of Cloud9 players, I don't believe betting on the Oceanic squad is worth a shot (even at 5.50), however, I have faith in the outsiders to keep this one just a little bit closer.
Pentanet.gg +10.5 Kills
$1.83
Team Spirit vs Gambit Esports
EPIC CIS League Spring 2021
Team Spirit and Gambit Esports will clash on Monday, May 17 in the second round of EPIC CIS League Spring 2021. This will be their first meeting since the start of the month, when Gambit beat Spirit (2-1) in the Pinnacle Cup 2021.
Team Spirit have yet to defeat Gambit in their three meetings this year, however, they always made sure to keep their regional rivals on their toes. Two of their clashes in 2021 ended with all three maps played. The only game in which Gambit won 2-0 happened at IEM Katowice, where they beat Spirit with 16-11 on Overpass and 16-13 on Inferno.
Gambit are world no.1 team and there is a good reason for that. They're extremely good and consistently do well against top-tier teams. They're also 18-1 since early March and enter this match on an eight-game winning streak.
Spirit were slightly less successful, winning only one out of their last five bouts. That run includes two losses against G2 (16-19 and 1-2), as well as two 0-2 sweeps against Virtus.pro and forZe.
It might be shocking to see a team like forZe crush Spirit 2-0, but that's nothing unusual in CIS derbies. These regional clashes are very unpredictable and always give off an impression that anyone can defeat anyone, and this is also the main reason why I don't feel confident predicting a 2-0 sweep for Gambit.
PickleBet offers 2.01 on this match going the distance, which is a good price. Gambit are still a better and more in-form team, but Team Spirit won’t go down easily.
