After securing a $3.10 winner with our Call of Duty League (CDL) tips for Saturday, ESB returns with another set of betting predictions for Thursday’s games in the second week of CDL Stage 2. Here are our best bets and top odds for Dallas Empire vs Paris Legion and Chicago OpTic vs Minnesota R?KKR.

?Dallas Empire enter Week 2 of CDL 2021 off a very interesting series against Seattle Surge where they held a 2-0 lead but ended up almost losing as $1.14 favourites. Although Seattle deserve a lot of praise for their performance that day, we weren’t too impressed with Dallas, who seemed very sloppy and uncoordinated.

Based on what we have seen from the Empire, it very hard to be overly optimistic about them going forward. They’re arguably still the second-best team in Group B, but there is a world where they finish behind either Seattle or Paris Legion, who enter this match off a 3-0 victory against Minnesota R?KKR and a solid showing in their 1-3 loss to OpTic.

Dallas should win games like this solely because they field better individual talent, but we are not sold on their consistency. Unless they improve and show a bit more in this match, Paris could upset the reigning CDL champions. A modest bet on the Legion to win is worth considering, but we are satisfied with the odds on the +1.5 handicap.

?Minnesota R?KKR are 0-2 with two 0-3 losses against Paris Legion and Florida Mutineers, which is not too convincing when they haven’t faced any of the top teams yet. With all due respect, Minnesota are playing like the worst team in the league, and we don’t see them improving without making roster changes.

One thing going for the R?KKR is that they looked good during Stage 1 when they beat Dallas Empire, Seattle Surge and London Royal Ravens, but even those results get quickly overshadowed by how poorly they’ve performed of late.

OpTic Chicago look set to win Group B, although they still need to overcome Dallas and the giant-killing Florida Mutineers. However, with the way they have been playing, OpTic shouldn’t be too concerned with either of the two matchups. And they definitely shouldn’t be scared of facing Minnesota.