Our Esports expert Michael Lee is back for a new week of Esports excitement from around the globe. Today's best bets come from the CS:GO Nine to Five 4 Tournament, so check out his preview and Esports betting tips below.
Winstrike vs Espada – Nine to Five 4
The last time Winstrike and Espada met was about a month ago during Eden Arena Malta Vibes Cup 7 where Espada came out ahead. Winstrike managed to start the series with a fairly dominant 16-5 win on Mirage, but were unable to seal the deal, as it was Espada who turned things around with 16-9 on Dust2 and 16-10 on Overpass.
Abdul "degster" Gasanov and Robert "Patsi" Isyanov were the best-performing players that day with 63 and 59 frags respectively alongside +1.27 HLTV rating. On the side of Winstrike, Aleksey "El1an" Gusev put up 1.19 HLTV rating and 57 frags, while his teammates left a lot to be desired, especially Aidyn "KrizzeN" Turlybekov, who managed only 35 frags and 0.81 HLTV rating.
For Winstrike to succeed here, they will need to see a bit more from KrizzeN. Outside of that, I don't believe there is a lot that would set these two teams apart.
I am surprised to see Espada priced as the favourites here, and while they have won 60% of their games across the past three months, we must note that Winstrike are on a four-game winning streak and have before beaten teams of similar or better quality as Espada.
Espada and Winstrike have four matches between them in 2020 and so far, every single match went the distance, so we should be in for another close affair. Still, it's Winstrike who inspire more confidence, as they are currently on the rise and should be more than capable of snatching a win. Value bet on Winstrike!
Wisla Krakow vs AVEZ – Nine to Five 4
Wisla Krakow and AVEZ last met during the fourth round of Nine to Five 4, where Wisla Krakow produced a reverse sweep and walked away with a 2-1 win. AVEZ opened the series with a close, yet well-deserved win on Nuke, but fell apart on the second and third map where they trailed 4-11 and 2-13 before the half time.
By far the best player on AVEZ that day was Kuba 'Markoś' Markowski with 53 frags and 1.09 HLTV rating, while his teammates all finished with below 1.00 HLTV rating. On Wisla Krakow, we saw strong performances from Olek "hades" Miskiewicz and Wiktor "mynio" Kruk who finished the series with 1.48 and 1.30 HLTV rating respectively.
Out of four meetings between Wisla Krakow and AVEZ in 2020, the former won eight maps and two games, while AVEZ took seven maps and two games. This suggests another close match in on the cards and from the looks of it, we are in for a coin-flip fixture.
Nevertheless, Wisla Krakow won both of the last two meetings with AVEZ, so siding with them is a no-brainer pick. Wisla Krakow to win!
Wisla Krakow to win
$1.88
Secret vs HellRaisers – Nine to Five 4
Team Secret are entering this match on a hot streak of three wins in last five games, where they won against the likes of Nexus, forZe and Nordavind but lost to Winstrike and AVEZ. Secret are your typical "puggy" team that can and will outfrag you on a good day, but will fall apart if things aren't going their way.
HellRaisers lost only one match in their last five against Heretics, but won against SKADE, lvlUP and twice against FATE. Their record is not exactly good since they did not defeat any notable teams, so it's hard to understand why are they the favourites for this match. Anyone who watched HellRaisers play would agree this team is not playing well and while 4-1 record looks good on paper, we should take it with a grain of salt.
HellRaisers and Team Secret last met about four months ago during the Home Sweet Home Cup 5 Closed Qualifier, where Secret won in a very close match. HellRaisers took the series lead with 16-7 on Mirage, but lost on Dust2 with 14-16, and 13-16 on Train.
Secret went through numerous roster chances since that match, so we should not put too much weight on the final result. Based on recent results, this match seems 50/50, so we are going for Secret at 2.03 on PickeBet which is a great value bet to take.
