Michael Lee returns with three Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports betting previews for Monday, May 23. Today, he checks out a match between Apeks and hellslayerz in the REPUBLEAGUE Season 3 qualifiers and two Elisa Invitational Spring 2022 Main Stage matches in Sprout vs Tricked and ECSTATIC vs MASONIC.
Esports Betting Tips: Monday, May 23rd
Apeks vs hellslayerz
REPUBLEAGUE Season 3: Closed Qualifier
Apeks and hellslayerz will meet in the first round of REPUBLEAGUE Season 3: Closed Qualifier on Monday, May 23. The two CS:GO squads have never met before, promising an exciting affair that has no clear favourite.
But I don’t find it shocking to see PickleBet pricing Apeks as 1.45 favourites, which isn’t necessarily because Apeks are a very strong team because hellslayerz are in terrible shape. Flusha’s squad are 2-3 across their last five matches, and enter the qualifiers on a streak of three straight defeats.
They lost against 777 Esports (1-2), Into the Breach (1-2), and even KOVA (1-2). I usually don’t’ overreach to a few losses, but all these teams are weaker than Apeks, so it’s fair to feel concerned about hellslayerz’ chances to cause an upset.
And even had hellslayerz won the three matches, I would still prefer Apeks for this match. As good as hellsayerz may seem on paper, this is a squad assembled from former world-class players who are way past their prime, and the team’s results would confirm that.
I must also mention that hellslayerz’ last official match happened five weeks ago. That does make their losses less important, but it also indicates that the Sweded will be ring rusty.
I don’t believe hellslayerz can win, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this match end in two maps. Apeks to win 2-0 at 2.40 is a solid bet at excellent odds.
Sprout vs Tricked Esports
Elisa Invitational Spring 2022: Main Stage
Sprout have recently found their stride and enter this match on a four-game winning streak, with wins against cowana (2-0), Anonymo (16-11), AGO (16-7), and Atlantic (2-1). Considering the quality of the teams Sprout have won against, I wouldn’t be overly excited about the Germans, but they are winning against teams of similar quality to Tricked, and that’s all that matters.
Tricked Esports are the complete opposite form-wise. They’ve won just one of their last five matches and even that came against 00Prospects (2-1). In the remaining four, they’ve lost – against MASONIC (0-2), Astralis Talent (1-2), PACT (1-2), and Savage (0-2).
To be honest, their record across the last five shows 3-2 with wins against Z10 (16-7), Lins (16-14), and Nenka (25-23), but I focused on the matches against actual teams and not some semi-pro squads. But had I also included these games, Tricked Esports suddenly look much worse, considering they’ve struggled against teams that are ranked outside of the world’s top-150.
Sprout are possibly one of the strongest teams at the tournament, and even though I can see most of the squads attending the event upsetting the Germans, I don’t believe Tricked Esports are a team to do it.
ECSTATIC vs MASONIC
Elisa Invitational Spring 2022: Main Stage
Another match between two relatively weak teams and another example of a game between a team that has been doing well and a squad that has not impressed lately. ECSTATIC are 3-2 in their last five with defeats against SINNERS (1-2, 0-2) and three wins against ECLOT, Finest, and their next opponents, MASONIC.
Seeing how ECSTATIC won against MASONIC just two weeks back, it makes perfect sense for PickleBet to price them as 1.65 favourites, but can ECSTATIC repeat that performance and come out ahead again?
MASONIC are 4-1 with only one defeat against INDE IRAE (13-16) and wins against Tricked, Fjerritslev, DREAM, and X-Gamer. But even though MASONIC have won all but one of their matches since the defeat against ECSTATIC, most games were against weak teams, so it’s hard to say whether MASONIC have improved.
They’ve gained some momentum, which is positive, and they don’t necessarily need to improve since they could have won against ECSTATIC last time. Unfortunately, things did not play out as hoped for them, but I still rank these two teams as equals, and I see this match as a 50/50.
I don’t like ECSTATIC at 1.66, and I don’t believe they can win without losing a map. So the only reasonable choice is a bet on MASONIC at 2.10!
