Esports action continues around the globe this Tuesday night with a great slate of matchups in the Chinese DPC Upper Division Season 2 as well as more matches in the DreamLeague Season 15. As usual, our gaming expert Michael Lee is on the case with a full preview and betting tips for his favourite matchups here.
Esports Betting Tips
PSG.LGD vs Royal Never Give Up
Chinese DPC Upper Division Season 2
PSG.LGD and Royal Never Give Up will clash in the penultimate round of Chinese DPC Upper Division Season 2, on Tuesday, May 18.
With only two wins to their name (2-4), this match will put RNG in a do-or-die position, where a loss would see them eliminated from the upper-division. PSG.LGD, on the other side, could be competing for the top spot and a direct bye into the WePlay AniMajor playoffs.
Both teams will have a lot to fight for, so we can expect them to give their all and show what they're capable of. That situation is something that works more in favour of PSG.LGD who have proven to have a much higher ceiling.
RNG and PSG.LGD have yet to meet in 2021, but that doesn't mean much, considering how one-sided these bouts were in 2020. Last year, PSG.LGD clashed with RNG 17 times and won all but five bouts (12-5). That record also includes a six-game streak from July up to December.
Although five months have passed since RNG and PSG.LGD last locked horns, it's not like the balance of power has seen any drastic shifts. PSG.LGD are still the superior team and will remain as such until RNG find their long-lost form.
While I do expect PSG.LGD to win, there is value in siding with RNG to win at least one map. They might not have been too impressive of late, but RNG stole games off Team Aster, Invictus Gaming, and EHOME, which are teams comparable to PSG.LGD. Take the underdogs with a map handicap!
Royal Never Give Up +1.5 maps
$2.13
Team Secret vs Brame
DreamLeague Season 15
Only a couple of months back, Team Secret were one of the strongest team in the world. Now, they're only a shadow of their former selves.
Although Secret still field one of the most stacked rosters in Europe, their performances hardly show that. They're 3-3 at the tournament and haven't looked clean in any of their wins. The only teams Team Secret managed to defeat were Hellbear Smashers (2-1), Tundra Esports (2-1), and Team Liquid (2-1).
Their next opponents, Brame, are a squad that no one expected to achieve much at this level of play. Yet, they managed to hold their own even against some of the best European sides.
In six games played, Brame beat Tundra (2-0), Alliance (2-1) and Hellbear Smashers (2-1). Their three losses came against OG (0-2), Liquid (1-2) and Team Nigma (1-2).
Even in games in which Brame ended up losing, they played very well and even had their chances to upset the top dogs. Brame are a team that can upset a top-tier squad that is struggling, and it just to happens that they'll face one on Tuesday.
Unless Secret find a way to improve overnight, they won't have an easy time against Brame. I am confident in Brame to win at least one map, but I am not excluding the possibility of an upset win.
MAD Lions vs Royal Never Give Up
MSI 2021
Royal Never Give Up were the only undefeated team at the League of Legends Mid-Season invitational before Sunday. They're now 6-2.
You have to give RNG some props for going 6-2 at this level of play, but this side has been showing cracks that some teams were able to take advantage of. One of those teams was Cloud9 on Monday.
Seeing RNG lose to Cloud9 suggests the Chinese squad can lose to anyone, particularly against teams that are much stronger than the North American representatives. MAD Lions are precisely that and more.
The Europeans will enter the final day of the 2021 MSI Rumble Stage off with a 4-4 record. On Sunday, we saw them lose to moth DWG KIA and PSG Talon, to which they added another loss to DWG KIA and a commanding win against Pentanet.gg on Monday.
MAD Lions will enter this match desperate for a win, which would secure them a spot in the next stage of the competition. On the other side, RNG have already locked in a top-four finish, so they essentially have nothing left to fight for.
If MAD Lions can show their full might on Tuesday, I can imagine them winning. And even if MAD don't show their 100%, RNG were too mistake-prone recently for me to consider siding with them over a team that can't settle for anything less than a win.
