Our gaming expert Michael Lee returns with another slate of best bets for the esports action around the globe this Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Today he focuses in on the LPL 2021 Spring and the DPC 2021 China Upper Division.
Royal Never Give Up vs Victory Five
LPL 2021 Spring
Looking at the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) 2021 Spring standings, it seems like we have travelled back in time to 2017 when EDward Gaming, Team WE and Royal Never Give Up were terrorizing their domestic competition. This, however, is only a byproduct of the early-season chaos and it's only a matter of time before things return back to normal.
Royal Never Give Up enter this match with a perfect 3-0 record, having bested the likes of Oh My God, Suning and ThunderTalk Gaming. Although it's hard to criticise a team with a perfect record, I wouldn't give them much praise either, since they had to face two weak teams and Suning, who are clearly struggling with their identity. In short, RNG are not as strong as their record would suggest.
Victory Five hold a slightly worse 3-1 record, although I like them far better than most of the teams at this stage of play. V5 tend to drop maps here and there, but it's hard not to be impressed with their high-tempo style of play which causes their opponents to make mistakes.
V5 are by no means a perfect team and can easily fall apart, but they should not be priced at 2.35. At these odds, I'm siding with V5 to win.
LNG Esports vs Bilibili Gaming
LPL 2021 Spring
LNG Esports got off to a strong start of the 2021 campaign and even looked fairly solid in their bout against Team WE on Sunday, however, I'm not ready to believe they are more than a mid-table team. In their bout with Team WE, LNG managed to secure early leads, but never really got anything out of that, which shows this team is fundamentally not as solid as they're portrayed to be.
That said, I'm not too high on Bilibili Gaming either and would even go so far to say that Bilibili are currently slightly weaker than LNG. On a more positive note, they had some flashes of greatness, which includes a close 1-2 series against Victory Five and a 2-0 sweep of Rare Atom.
It's hard to say for sure which side will sit higher up the standings at the end of the split, largely because it's hard to make sense of what's happening in these early stages of the season. This match seems like it can go both ways, which is why I am taking the underdogs. BIlibili to win their third game of the season!
Elephant vs Team Aster
DPC 2021 China Upper Division
Team Aster started their 2021 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season with a 2-1 win against PSG.LGD on Sunday which should serve as a huge morale boost ahead of their bout with Elephant on Tuesday. That just might be what Aster need to step up and claim their third head-to-head victory against Elephant.
Aster met with Elephant six times in 2020 and managed to win only two series with 2-1 in November. The remaining four all ended in Elephant's favour, which includes both of their last two meetings in late November and early December.
Team Aster enter this match with a phenomenal 9-1 record in their last 10 outings, however, it's important to note that they have played only one game across the last 16 days. Elephant managed an equally impressive 8-2 record in their last 10 outings, but like it's the case with Aster, they have played only one game across the last month.
Despite their superior head-to-head record, Elephant should not be priced as the favourites here since they have recently lost against Invictus Gaming (1-2), whereas Aster took down PSG.LGD. Even though one game after a month-long hiatus doesn't mean much in the greater picture there is no reason to have Aster priced above 2.00.
