Another great week of esports action coming up around the world, and it kicks off on Monday nigh as we head to the CS:GO Pinnacle Fall Series and the League of Legends World Championship for our best bets of teh night!
Our betting expert Michael Lee posts esports betting tips on Monday and Tuesday every week, so be sure to check out our Esports Tips page for regular updates!
Esports Betting Tips: Monday, October 18th
HAVU vs FunPlus Phoenix
Pinnacle Fall Series #2
HAVU and FunPlus Phoenix will meet on Monday, in the Pinnacle Fall Series #2 quarter-finals, for the first time in a year. These two rosters last met in October 2020, when FunPlus Phoenix core were still playing for GODSENT.
The match ended in a fairly easy 16-6 win for GODSENT, who already won against HAVU a month prior, in September with 2-1. Even though FunPlus Phoenix's core lead the h2h 2-0, times have changed, and both teams have made roster changes.
HAVU ended the group stage with a 3-1 record, with wins against 1WIN (2-1), Nigma Galaxy (2-0) and Team Unique (2-0), and one defeat against mouz NXT. FunPlus Phoenix were not as impressive and managed only a 3-2 record, with wins against Esports Club Kyiv (2-1), Team Unique (2-0), and 1WIN (2-0), and two defeats against Lyngby Vikings (1-2) and SAW (0-2).
Outside of their run through the Pinnacle Fall Series #2, neither team achieved much. HAVU placed top-eight at Funspark ULTI 2021: Europe Season 3 and Elisa Invitational Fall 2021, while FunPlus Phoenix finished second at Fantasyexpo EU Champions Fall 2021 and 17th-20th at Intel Extreme Masters XVI - Fall: Europe.
Form-wise, HAVU are 6-2 ahead of this match, while FunPlus Phoenix are 8-2. However, HAVU had to face tougher opponents, including Gambit Esports and mouz NXT, while FunPlus Phoenix's strongest opponent across their last 10 fixtures was Entropiq (16-12).
I'm leaning more towards HAVU for this match, but I don't see them stomping FunPlus Phoenix. FunPlus Phoenix should be able to pick up at least one map and force a three-map series. Bet on Over 2.5 maps!
Gen.G vs MAD Lions
2021 LoL World Championship
MAD Lions won their first match against Gen.G on Tuesday, but it wasn't a clean victory, nor would I say that MAD Lions deserved to win. It was a complete robbery and an outcome I don't expect to repeat this Monday.
Most of MAD Lions' success on the day was due to them being able to pick up Quiana and Yuumi, who are very strong champions in the current meta. And it didn't help that İrfan Berk "Armut" Tükek was able to get his hands on his comfort pick in Wukong. While Gen.G could have taken their chances better, they were out drafted and struggled to make any meaningful comebacks.
I expect Gen.G to learn from their mistakes and enter this match better prepared and while I anticipate them to pick up a win, I wouldn't underestimate MAD Lions either. While they have been underwhelming in their first match of the 2021 LoL Worlds, MAD Lions are still a talented team that is very hard to beat.
They know how to fight from behind and can be very resilient, making it hard to play against them if you start feeling too comfortable with your leads.
Last game between Gen.G and MAD Lions ended in 49 kills, which isn't that surprising. Gen.G got ahead early but faced though resistance by MAD Lions in the mid-late game. I expect this game to play out similarly, and while Gen.G should be better prepared to ban out meta picks, it likely won't help them secure an easy win. Take over 26.5 total kills!
Team Liquid vs LNG Esports
2021 LoL World Championship
Team Liquid got stomped by LNG Esports last week, and I can't say I'm surprised. LNG Esports won with 15-1 in kills and +11.3k gold lead.
Even though there were other more one-sided matches in this tournament, this one came pretty close to being one of the biggest stomps of 2021 Lol Worlds. After such a performance from LNG, I wouldn't blame anyone who believes the Chinese fourth seed will secure another easy win, and they likely will, purely because they match up well with Liquid.
One thing we could notice from LNG Esports is that they like to play off momentum. They will gain early leads and use those to snowball to victory, which is a strategy that works as long as you allow them to play the way they like.
Team Liquid have enough talented players to put up a fight, but I was not impressed with how they have played so far. Excluding their fluke win against MAD Lions on day one, Liquid have looked very shaky, and until I see a bit more proactive playstyle from them, I will continue to believe they might go 0-3 on the final day of group stage.
LNG Esports have exploitable weaknesses, but they're much better than Liquid and should win with at least a seven-kill margin.
LNG Esports -6.5 Kills
$1.83
