Michael Lee is back with more esports betting previews and predictions for Tuesday, December 14. Today, he looks at four Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fixtures at BLAST Premier World Final 2021 and ESEA Premier Season 39 Europe.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, December 14th
Natus Vincere vs Team Liquid
BLAST Premier World Final 2021
Natus Vincere and Team Liquid last met back in February at IEM Katowice 2021, when Team Liquid won 2-1. The match was incredibly close, with TL taking the first map, 16-14 on Overpass, NaVi striking back with 16-7 on Dust and TL just edging out a win with 22-19 on Inferno.
A lot has changed since then for NaVi. They finally got rid of Egor 'flamie' Vasilyev and replaced him with (then) their stand-in, Valeriy 'B1T' Vakhovskiy, who has been performing admirably. They also won PGL Major Stockholm 2021, earning Aleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev his long-overdo major title.
And on top of that, NaVi became the first team in history to win a Major title without dropping a single map! Just to illustrate how dominant they are.
On the other side, we have Team Liquid, who failed to achieve anything worthwhile of late and with changes already confirmed for 2022, they are basically a dead team, so you have to wonder how motivated they really are to perform here.
Natus Vincere are on a ten-match winning streak, and against a weak and idle-minded Team Liquid, they should make it 11. Bet on NaVi to crush TL 2-0!
Natus Vincere -1.5 Maps
$1.50
Gambit vs Heroic
BLAST Premier World Final 2021
The last time we saw these two teams duel it out was in April during BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2021, when Gambit won 2-1. Gambit opened the series with a dominant 16-6 win on Inferno, Heroic struck back with an equally impressive 16-9 on Vertigo. But in the end, Gambit closed out the series with 16-12 on Train.
Heroic enter this match with a stand-in, Johannes 'b0RUP' Borup, who is playing Instead of Martin 'stavn' Lund. That is not ideal since stavn is Heroic's best performer, and someone b0RUP won't be able to replace easily.
While Heroic's situation with a stand-in is not ideal, it is not like Gambit are without issues. They still don't look very comfortable when playing on LAN, and perhaps this is where Heroic can find their edge.
This match can go either way, so the value should be with Heroic. But for the sake of it, let's go with over 2.50 maps. We should be in for a long one.
Finest vs Sprout
ESEA Premier Season 39 Europe
Finest and Sprout enter this match with an almost identical win rate across the past three months. Team Finest won 60% of their games, while Sprout managed to win 59.5%.
The teams have also been facing the same level of opposition, your typical tier 2, such as DBL Poney, AGO, Sinners, AGF, 777, and Anonymo. So their win rates can be compared to see which team is actually stronger – but in this case, there is no clear winner.
This one looks like a total coin toss. We have two low-ranked teams, with not a lot to separate them quality-wise.
Expect a typical puggy style match that will be decided by individual talent and heroic plays. Value is with Team Finest.
Anonymo vs LDLC
ESEA Premier Season 39 Europe
Both teams are going through some hard times. Anonymo have won only 39.% of their matches since September, while LDLC did a little better, winning 43.8% of their outings over the same stretch.
Anonymo are currently 2-5 in ESEA, with two 2-1 wins against forZe and Sinners, four 1-2 defeats against AGO, Entropiq, Finest, Gamer Legion and a 0-2 loss against their countrymen, Wisla Krakow.
LDLC are in an even worse spot and have managed only one win from seven games (1-6). Their only win was a fluke, against Copenhagen Flames, while they could manage only one map against 1WIN and BLIK, and lost the remaining four against SAW, Nemiga, Sprout and Movistar Riders with 0-2.
There is no previous H2H record between Anonymo and LDLC, and from the looks of it, we're in for another coin-toss fixture between two struggling teams. In a 50/50 scenario, we have to take the outsiders. Value bet on Anonymo!
