Four esports best bets coming this Monday night from our gaming expert Michael Lee! He takes a look at some of the key matchups from the EPIC League Division 2, the Reams Collide event and the DreamHack Masters Winter.
ESports Betting Tips: Monday, November 30th
Gambit Esports vs Yellow Submarine
EPIC League Division 2
The penultimate day of EPIC League Division 2 will kick off with a clash between Gambit Esports and Yellow Submarine who will lock horns for the first time in their history. Yellow Submarine enter the bout as the team to beat after they have already secured a perfect 7-0 record and 14-1 map differential.
The only team at the tournament who caused Yellow Submarine minor problems were Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-1) last week, but even they had to admit defeat to Vitaliy "so bad" Oshmankevich and his crew.
Gambit Esports were not nearly as successful as Yellow Submarine in their journey through the EPIC League and managed a 5-2 record with 10-7 map differential. Across the last week, Gambit have defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-1), Spider Pigzs (2-1) and Nemiga Gaming (2-0), but fell short against Live to Win (0-2) and Team Empire (0-2) on Friday.
Gambit have shown some promise this competition, but I don't see them as a team that can upset Yellow Submarine, largely due to their loss against Team Empire. So bad and co. have not shown any signs of stopping and since a win here would secure them the title, I expect YeS to enter this match in their best form. Bet on Yellow Submarine to win 2-0!
Yellow Submarine -1.5 Maps
$1.98
4Zoomers vs Thunder Predator
Realms Collide: The Burning Darkness
4Zoomers looked quite decent throughout the first eight rounds of the tournament and have managed a solid 4-3-1 record. That said, they have not won a single match in their last four, which includes stalemates against 4Fun, Infamous, Team Brasil and a loss against beastcoast.
Thunder Predator put together a slightly worse 4-3-3 record in 10 games played, and are 2-2-1 in their last five. That run includes wins against beastcoast and Infinity Esports, stalemates against Team Brasil and Ego Boys and a loss against Infamous.
Both teams have shown similar form in the last five, which is why I don't believe Thunder Predator should be priced at such high odds. Even though they have lost against 4Zoomers at the end of October during the DOTA Summit 13: AM, TP made a couple of solid roster changes since then and should enter this match better prepared to compete with their regional rivals.
Value: Thunder Predator Win ($5.60)
Thunder Predator +1.5 Maps
$1.52
Omega Gaming vs Midas Club
Realms Collide: The Burning Darkness
Omega Gaming and Midas Club are objectively two of the weakest teams at the tournament, however, there is still a clear gap between them. Unlike Midas Club who did not win a single match in the opening seven rounds (0-5-2), Omega Gaming locked in three (3-4-1) against Infinity Esports, Thunder Predator and Quincy Crew.
Midas Club met with Omega Gaming three times this year and have yet to claim a W. Two clashes ended in a stalemate while one saw Omega claim a win in a BO1 series. Midas and Omega last met at the end of July where Omega claimed the series lead but dropped the ball and allowed Midas to claim a draw.
All the previous results, however, don't mean much here since Midas Club made quite a few roster changes. After their old core left to play for Havan Liberty, only Leonardo "RdO" Fernandes, Diego "Sexyfat" Barini Santamaria and Heitor "Duster" Pereira decided to return and are now playing with two stand-ins Leonardo "Mandy" Viana and AMIN.
Midas Club have retained some solid pieces from their old core, but overall, they are much weaker than how they were a couple of months ago. I must give them some praise for their stalemate against Quincy Crew on the seventh day of the tournament, but outside of that, they have not convinced me. Bet on Omega Gaming to win 2-0!
Omega Gaming -1.5 Maps
$1.78
Cloud9 vs Gambit
DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 Europe
Cloud9's new roster has played only four matches thus far. They have lost to OG (0-2) and Virtus.pro (0-2) at FLASHPOINT 2 league, but also mustered up two quite impressive wins against Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-0) and Complexity (2-1) at the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Showdown. I must say I was quite impressed with how C9 have played in their last two victories but it still seems like they need a bit more time before all five pieces fully get together.
Gambit, on the other hand, are in exceptional form. They have won 86.7% of their games across the last three months and will enter this match on a 16-game winning streak. Their run includes wins against Endpoint, forZe, Virtus.pro, Espada, Illuminar and other solid tier-two teams.
Much of Gambit's success is due to phenomenal performances of Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov and Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov, who have yet to show any signs of stopping. With Ax1Le and sh1ro playing at such a high level, I don't understand why are we getting such high odds on Gambit and it all feels like these odds are based more on the brand value rather than the teams' strength.
When the odds first came online, Gambit were priced at around 2.00 and it's not shocking the odds have dropped down to around 1.80. Even though we are a bit late to the party, this is still a great value bet to take. Bet on Gambit to win!
Value: Gambit -1.5 Maps ($3.20)
