Esports action continues this Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning as we turn our focus onto the WePlay! Pushka League in DOTA2! See some of our best bets of the night below.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, May 5th
Nigma vs Alliance
DOTA2 WePlay! Pushka League Season 1: Division 1
Alliance have already secured a spot in the playoffs, whereas Nigma are more or less guaranteed to get eliminated. It's interesting to see how poorly Nigma have been playing despite all the talent this roster has and by now it became very clear that the online format does not suit them. The same, however, can't be said for Alliance, who looked very sharp and come off as a serious contender for a very strong finish at Pushka League.
Alliance looked far better throughout the tournament, however, I would not write off Nigma just yet. Nigma might have gained recognition as a very volatile team, however, since this might be their last chance to secure a ticket for the playoffs, we can expect a slightly better performance from them. That is not to say they can derail Alliance's four-game winning streak, but we can’t forget this roster has made it to the finals of The International 2019, so the quality is clearly there. Alliance might still come out ahead, but Nigma should keep this match close enough to force the series to go the distance.
Virtus.pro vs VP.Prodigy
DOTA2 WePlay! Pushka League Season 1: Division 1
While VP.Prodigy are, in fact, an academy team of Virtus.pro, I can't wrap my mind around the odds on this match. VP.Prodigy are clearly playing much better compared to their main roster, yet are still entering this match as the underdogs. Some may argue that VP.Prodigy will play a bit worse to give VP a free win and possibly a pass into the playoffs, but since CyberTRAKTOR recently got punished for throwing matches, the league organisers will surely look at this match very closely, so I don’t expect to see any tomfooleries here.
There is not a lot to be said here - VP.Prodigy are clearly playing better this tournament and since VP.Prodigy players will look to prove their worth to the main roster in a bid to get a spot at VP, I have to side with VP.Prodigy here.
B8 vs FlyToMoon
DOTA2 WePlay! Pushka League Season 1: Division 1
I've trusted B8 to deliver several times but I'm not ready to trust them again here. In terms of their opponents, this might be B8's best chance to win a game at Pushka League, but since the morale in the team is at an all-time low, I can't make myself believe they can defeat FlyToMoon.
So far, FTM defeated VP.Prodigy (2-1), Team Spirit (2-1) and forced NaVi and VP to three maps (1-2), which are all solid results for a team of this calibre. This match will also be a crucial one to win for FTM, who can potentially still enter the playoffs. Although it is true that a lot can happen in an online match, I don't expect FTM will hold back here. B8 is in complete shambles and with all due respect, they don't seem like they're capable of causing too many issues to FTM.
FlyToMoon -1.5 Maps
$1.51
Team Heretics vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
CS:GO ESL One: Road to Rio – Europe
Heretics got their asses whopped against Secret in the LOOT.BET Season 6, which should remind them that they are not as good of a team that their ESL One results might suggest. They started their Road to Rio campaign with three straight wins against Dignitas, ENCE and Complexity, but got quickly put in their place when they lost against Fnatic (1-2) and Astralis (0-2). NIP, on the other hand, have only lost one match in the so far and even that was a very close 1-2 series against the current number one team Astralis. As far as their other matches are concerned, the Swedes won against some formidable opponents such as Vitality and Complexity to which they added a few expected triumphs over lower-ranked teams such as ENCE and Dignitas.
Looking at the tournament results, there is a clear pattern, which shows that underdogs tend to win maps which they would have never won in a LAN environment, which makes me believe Heretics should be capable of stealing one map from NiP. To be fair, Heretics field two amazing young players and the rest of the team are seasoned veterans, which might even give them an advantage in the series over the young NIP roster. But at the end of the day, I would not dare side against NiP, who are looking very sharp. The best way to approach this match from a betting perspective is to go for the correct score with NiP coming out ahead with 2-1.
