Esports action for Tuesday, March 30th takes us all around the globe as Michael Lee previews matches from Funspark ULTI 2021: Europe and ESEA Season 36: Advanced Division – Europe. Check out Michael Lee's best Esports betting tips for the day here!
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, March 30th
Sprout vs MAD Lions
Funspark ULTI 2021: Europe
Sprout and MAD Lions will meet in the opening match of Funspark ULTI Group B, which will mark their first meeting in their history. MAD Lions have recently rebuilt their roster by signing four unknown names in Kristers "keen" Dārznieks, Justinas "jL" Lekavicius, Pere "sausol" Solsona Saumell, and Volodymyr "Woro2k" Veletniuk who joined forces with Filip "tudsoN" Tudev and Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk.
As stated by MAD Lions' new coach Jakub "kuben" Gurczyński, the Danish team is looking to build a new CS:GO roster from scratch and have instead of spending big on players, instead opted to acquire talented coaching staff. Although this approach could prove beneficial in the long run, I don't believe MAD Lions will see much success early on.
Since the roster rebuild, MAD Lions have played only three games together, twice against ENCE (16-7 and 19-22), and once against Dignitas (12-16). Although decent results for a team of this calibre, I don't believe that will be enough for MAD to overcome Sprout.
Sprout have recently signed Can "kyuubii" Kamber as the sixth member of their roster, which doesn't change the quality of this team too much. Their only notable departure since the turn of the year was Paweł "dycha" Dycha, who left for ENCE, but outside of that, this is still the same Sprout that have won European Development Championship Season 2.
MAD should grow and improve as time goes on, but they've yet to show anything that would make me believe they can defeat Sprout. This should be an easy 2-0 for the German squad!
AGO vs Team Dignitas
Funspark ULTI 2021: Europe
Dignitas are priced as favourites for this match, which does not surprise me. Even though this squad has not impressed with their performances in 2021, they're still facing AGO, who are not exactly a strong team.
Dignitas have not won a single tournament since Elisa Invitational Spring 2020 in March 2020, and have since come close to claiming a title only twice - at Eden Arena: Malta Vibes - Week 6 and Week 7, where they finished second and third-fourth respectively. Since the turn of the year, Dignitas have not finished better than fifth-eighth (in Vulkan Fight Series) and have most recently managed a rather poor 16th-18th finish in the Pinnacle Cup.
AGO were slightly more successful in their competitive endeavours, having finished second at Snow Sweet Snow #2 a couple of weeks back, however, that's also their only notable tournament run since August 2020 when they won ESEA Season 33: Premier Division - Europe Finals.
Both teams are in terrible shape, so this should be a 50/50 match. Although Dignitas should have an advantage due to fielding more experienced players, I don't believe they are good enough to win with a clean sweep. AGO should be winning at least one map or perhaps even produce an upset.
Izako Boars vs Movistar Riders
ESEA Season 36: Advanced Division – Europe
Movistar Riders made it to the third round of ESEA Season 36: Advanced Division - Europe playoffs with two convincing 2-0 sweeps of M1 EDEN and Esports Club Kyiv, which are teams not nearly as strong as Izako Boars, but looking at the results Movistar Riders have produced, it's clear they were a class above their opponents.
Movistar won those games with 16-7, 16-8 and 16-12, 16-6 respectively, meaning they've dropped only 33 rounds across four maps (8.25 average). Their recent success relied heavily on the performances of Alejandro "mopoz" Fernández-Quejo Cano and most of all Owen "smooya" Butterfield, who is also the main reason why Movistar Riders can be a dangerous team to face.
The British AWPer is one of the best players in his position that has proven time and time again he can carry any team he is in, and Movistar Riders should be no exception. Although it's usually enough for Movistar's opponents to stop smooya to win, that likely won't be enough for this match, since all players are in great form.
Izako Boars will be in for a tough match on Tuesday when they will need to show their best performance of the tournament if they want to stand a chance. In two games played at the tournament, Izako Boars swept Lyngby Vikings (2-0) and FROND (2-0), however, we must note that they came very close to dropping a map against Vikings, who forced overtime on Inferno (16-19).
This is an important match to win for both sides, as it will earn them a ticket for the upper bracket finals. For that reason, I expect them both to play to the best of their ability, in which case, you simply have to favour Movistar. If smooya can show what he did against Esports Club Kyiv (1.67 HLTV rating), this should be an easy 2-0 for his squad.
Movistar Riders -1.5 Maps
$2.44
