The CS:GO DreamHack Masters and DOTA2 PIT League continue this Wednesday night and into Thursday morning and we have a full preview and betting tips for the key esports matchups of the night here!
Esports Betting Tips: Wednesday, May 20th
HellRaisers vs Alliance
OGA DOTA2 PIT 2020 Online: Europe/CIS
HellRaisers are one of the biggest disappointments of the tournament and not particularly because I expected great things from them, but because they somehow managed to look like the worst team in their group. What makes this even more shocking is that HellRaisers actually looked decent at WePlay! Pushka League S1: Division 1, although they did drop the ball in the playoffs and lost to Ninjas in Pyjamas (0-2) and Virtus.pro (0-2). Alliance on the other side experienced something similar at the Pushka League, where they looked nearly unstoppable in the group stage, but failed to overcome Liquid in the second round of the lower bracket, albeit Liquid were playing very well at the time so perhaps it's fair to give Alliance some slack for their 1-2 loss.
The last time Alliance met with HellRaisers was way back in April 2015, meaning this will be their first meeting in over half a decade. HellRaisers won the said match, but they're not nearly prepared enough to do it again here. Alliance looked much stronger throughout the tournament and while HellRaisers were decent in the early stages of WePlay! Pushka League S1: Division 1, their overall displays over the last couple of months are far from good. Side with Alliance to win and earn themselves a favourable spot in the playoffs and defeat HellRaisers 2-0.
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Team Secret
OGA DOTA2 PIT 2020 Online: Europe/CIS
If HellRaisers are the biggest disappointment of the tournament, then NiP are the biggest positive surprise of OGA Dota PIT. The recently acquired Chicken Fighters roster have made some serious noise throughout the group stage, winning all of their fixtures against Liquid (2-1), Virtus.pro (2-0) and Team Spirit (2-1). The game that stands out here is their narrow win against Spirit. While dropping a map against the likes of Spirit is not something no one expected to see, it was nothing more than a complete fluke and I would not think of it as NiP's lack of quality.
Team Secret have been and remain one of the strongest Dota2 teams in the scene, however, even they are not unbeatable as seen in April, where they lost to OG, Vikin.gg and Liquid. Having said that, Secret are on an 11-game winning streak, during which they dropped only one map. Secret already defeated NiP last Friday at Gamers Without Borders 2020 and have done so earlier in the month during WePlay! Pushka League S1: Division 1.
All things point towards another 2-0 win for Secret, but I'm not ready to give up on NiP just yet. Team Secret struggled mightily against Team Liquid on Monday and even had some difficulties in the second match against Virtus.pro, while NiP looked very solid and consistent throughout the tournament, besides their 2-1 win over Spirit. A lot will have to go right for NiP to win here, however, if they can use the momentum they have gained so far and fix the mistakes they have shown against Spirit, the ex-Chicken Fighters roster should be capable of stealing one map against Secret.
Ninjas in Pyjamas +1.5 Maps
$2.22
MIBR vs FURIA
CS:GO DreamHack Masters Spring 2020
We are in for another Brazilian derby between the surging FURIA and the struggling MiBR, who seem to have found themselves in a downwards spiral. Although MiBR managed to reach the finals of FLASHPOINT and even came close to winning the whole thing (1-2 against MAD Lions), I don't rank their accomplishment too highly, as FLASHPOINT was a tournament that had precisely zero top-10 teams in attendance. After their solid run through FLASHPOINT, MiBR put up a humiliating display at ESL One: Road to Rio - North America, where they won only three games against much weaker teams (Yeah, Bad News Bears and Envy), but lost to Team Liquid and FURIA. Unlike MiBR, who are only a shadow of their former selves, FURIA had a terrific run through RtR, where they defeated Envy, BNN, Yeah, Team Liquid, MiBR and reached the finals, although they ended up losing to another team on the rise - Gen.G.
MiBR and FURIA met three times throughout 2020 and all three matches ended in FURIA's favour. FURIA also lost only one map out of seven played against MiBR. There is no need to say it, but FURIA are the stronger Brazilian side, as evident from their last match that was played during the ESL One: Road to Rio - North America, where FURIA won 16-14 on Inferno and 16-10 on Vertigo.
FURIA seem to be stronger with each passing week, while I can't say the same for MiBR, who have approaching roster changes, which doesn't help the team's morale one bit. Low morale and poor form is a great recipe for another 0-2 loss and that is exactly what I expect to see this Wednesday. Bet on FURIA to continue their historic trend against MiBR and defeat their regional rivals for the fourth time in 2020.
