Intel Extreme Masters XV Beijing Online: North America

?Since their 0-2 loss against Evil Geniuses at ESL Pro League Season 12: North America in September, Chaos Esports Club have enjoyed a solid 7-2 run which includes wins against Cloud9 (2-0), FURIA (2-1) and 100 Thieves (2-0). During that time, Evil Geniuses have put together only nine wins in 15 games, failing to beat any top-tier team since they took down Team Liquid in the final match of the ESL Pro League group stage.

Despite EG’s lack of consistency, they should still win this match since they usually do well against Chaos. But unless they step up their game, we don’t see how Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz and co. will manage a clean sweep.

National Electronic Sports Tournament 2020

?After topping their group ahead of Royal Never Give Up and Invictus Gaming, Vici Gaming enter the quarter-finals as heavy favourites to stop Suning from repeating their success from 2018 and reaching a top-four finish at NEST.

Vici’s success this tournament hardly means anything in the greater picture given that they are – unlike most other teams – fielding almost a complete starting roster. However, that does not take away from the fact that they’re one of the favourites to hoist the trophy on Sunday.

CDA-FDC Professional Championship Season 2

?Sparking Arrow Gaming have clashed with iG.Vitality five times in 2020 and won on each occasion, dropping only two maps out of 13. Both of the last two series – including their most recent clash last Thursday – went the distance, which suggests the gap is slowly closing.

Since their 2-1 win against iG.V last week, SAG have won only three out of nine matches. They enter this clash on a six-game losing streak, although each of those losses came against some of the strongest teams in the region.

Due to SAG’s poor form, there is a chance iG.Vitality will steal a map, but there is more value in taking the favourites the cover the -1.5 handicap.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 2

?Vici Gaming are in a very good position to win this match. Not only have they won all of their last four outings at the tournament, but they are also 10-3 up in head-to-head matches with RNG in 2020.

Vici have defeated RNG in all of their last six meetings, with a near-perfect 12-1 map differential. Even though most of those games took place over a month ago, Vici proved on Wednesday they’re still the better team when they swept RNG 2-0 at the CDA-FDC Pro Championship, so there is no reason to believe they can’t sweep their regional rivals again.

?Elephant enter this match with a 3-2 record which includes losses against Vici Gaming (1-2) and EHOME (0-2), and wins against Team Aster (2-1), Sparking Arrow Gaming (2-0) and Invictus Gaming (1-2). PSG.LGD, meanwhile, took down Royal Never Give Up (2-1), EHOME (2-0) and Invictus Gaming (2-0), to which they added two losses against Vici (1-2) and Team Aster (0-2).

Both sides have produced volatile results this tournament, so it’s hard to say what to expect on Saturday. PSG.LGD are still the better team, but after seeing them lose to Aster, we find the over 2.5 maps a far safer bet than the -1.5 handicap.

EPIC League Division 2

These teams met twice during the EPIC League qualifiers, where Nemiga Gaming won the opening series with 2-1 but lost the rematch with 0-2. The only other meeting between Nemiga and Team Empire in 2020 happened in July during Arena of Blood S2, with Empire winning 2-1.

Since their most recent clash, Nemiga have played five games and lost all but one, including four consecutive defeats. Empire have played only two games in that time, losing to Tempo Esports (0-2) and beating Cyberium (2-1).

Empire’s lack of playtime makes it hard to believe they can win, but we are equally sceptical about Nemiga’s chances due to their poor form. This match seems like it can go either way, but we don’t expect to see a clean sweep.

The only previous meeting between these teams took place at the EPIC League qualifiers, where Live to Win won 2-0. The match was very one-sided, and since it was played just over a week ago, it’s hard to believe 5men can turn things around on Wednesday.

5men are still a fairly solid team on paper, but until they show some sort of improvement, we don’t see how they can win one map against Live to Win, let alone the whole series.

Yellow Submarine have already beaten Ninjas in Pyjamas twice this year, which includes a 2-0 sweep during the EPIC League qualifiers two weekends ago. Yellow Submarine have played seven games since then and lost only three, going down to mudgolems (0-2 and 1-3) and Just Error (1-3), but they’ve also won both of their last two against Cyberium and Nemiga Gaming.

The online format has made NiP a very inconsistent team, which won’t do them any favours against the in-form Yellow Submarine. There is a world where YeS secure another 2-0 sweep, but we will play it safe and settle for an outright bet.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 2

The esports bookmakers have PSG.LGD priced as heavy favourites for this fixture. They are 10-6 up in the head-to-head matches with ViCi Gaming, and 4-1 in the last five. However, it was ViCi who came out victorious (3-2) the last time they met with PSG.LGD, back in October.

Since that loss, PSG.LGD have gone on a nine-game winning streak while losing only three maps out of 24 played. ViCi, meanwhile, have played only three games but won all of them, dropping only one map in the process.

Despite ViCi’s lack of playtime, they’re still in great form. They took at least one map off PSG.LGD in two of the last three meetings, and there is no reason to believe they can’t do it again.

ESEA Season 35 Premier Division: North America

Team oNe and the New England Whalers last met in the ESEA upper-bracket finals, where the Brazilian side won 2-0 with 22-19 on Train and 16-9 on Inferno. The Whalers have 4-4 since then, but they’ve only beaten semi-pro teams such as Secret Club, Horny Homies and Michigan Tech Huskies.

Even though these online low-tier CS:GO matches are often a coin-toss, we have serious doubts about the Whalers. They enter this match off a 2-16 loss to a semi-pro team in Big Chillin, which is a huge red flag and the main reason why we are siding with oNe to win the finals 3-0.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 2 Qualifier

Sparking Arrow Gaming beat Aster.Aries in a pair of clean sweeps just over two weeks ago during the CDA-FDC Pro Championship qualifiers. With those results, SAG extended their head-to-head record to a perfect 5-0 with a 10-0 map differential.

The Dota 2 betting odds suggest SAG are a much stronger side, and we can’t argue with that. Even though they’re not nearly as strong as they were before the exodus of their key players from July to September, SAG are still a class above an Aster.Aries outfit who only perform well against weaker teams.

Team MagMa and iG.Vitality have met only twice before. The first clash happened at the start of October, when iG.V celebrated a 2-0 victory, while the second bout two weeks later saw MagMa reverse sweep iG.V to win 2-1.

MagMa enter this bout without a single W in their last six (0-2-4) and only one win in their last nine games. IG.Vitality are in a similar position with only one win in the last seven, but they have also not played an official match in over two weeks.

Both teams are struggling with their form, which suggests this game can go either way. There is some value in backing Team MagMa, but we will play it safe and go for overs.

CDEC Gaming have met with Team Sirius six times in their history and won all but one fixture. But that strong head-to-head record does not hold much weight for our prediction, largely because CDEC are not the same team they once were.

Once regarded as one of the strongest Chinese Dota2 teams, CDEC are now only a shadow of their former selves – and even that is an understatement. They lost all five of their key players in September and now field a bunch of unknowns who have lost to DeMonster, Matador and other semi-professional teams.

CDEC’s lack of success makes it hard to believe they can win here. There is a world where Sirius produce a clean sweep, but we won’t push our luck.

National Electronic Sports Tournament 2020

It may be shocking to see the 2020 LoL World Championship finalists priced as underdogs against Bilibili Gaming, but Suning have entered NEST 2020 with their secondary lineup rather than the five-man roster that made such a big splash on the international stage.

While it’s hard to say how well Suning’s substitutes will perform, it’s also difficult to justify the large gap in the LoL betting odds. Bilibili Gaming were one of the worst teams in the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) 2020 Summer season, while they lost to Rogue Warriors 0-2 on Monday.

Bilibili might still come out victorious, but after their shaky performance against RW, we don’t see how they will manage a clean sweep.

FunPlus Phoenix have not impressed in the 2020 season, but they’re still a very strong team who have had to make do with an unfavourable meta. Meanwhile, eStar had a breakthrough split in the LPL 2020 Spring when they finished fifth, but they severely underperformed in the LPL 2020 Summer as they fell to 16th place with a 3-13 record.

FPX are firm favourites for good reason, but the odds could be even shorter. People tend to forget just how stacked FPX’s roster is and rather focus on eStar’s one-off run in the spring.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1

?PSG.LGD have met with ViCi Gaming three times in the past three months, winning two series (2-1 and 2-0) and losing one (0-2). The head-to-head record since March shows a similar picture with PSG.LGD winning six out of 10 meetings, but that does not justify the surprisingly high odds offered on Xiong “Pyw”‘ Jiahan’s squad.

ViCi have stolen at least one map off PSG.LGD in all but one of the last five meetings. They are also 8-5 up in map differential against PSG.LGD since May, which suggests we are in for another close affair.

Moon Studio Mid-Autumn League

?Aster.Aries are struggling with their form and have won only one of their last seven games. They have played only two games in the last 30 days, which is slightly concerning since they are facing a team who have done plenty of warming up.

Team MagMa don’t look too good on paper, but they recently defeated Invictus Gaming 2-1 in China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1 and forced a stalemate with Phoenix Gaming at OGA Dota PIT S3 China.

MagMa have played against some of the best teams in the world in past two weeks, which should make Aster.Aries seem like an easy proposition by comparison.

?IG Vitality have lost to Team Black twice before (2-1 and 2-0), but they seem to be better prepared this time out. Not only have iG.V acquired two new players in ex-Team Sirius carry Lin “doodle”‘ Zikai and former For The Team support Cui “QYQX” Chenyang, we must also consider that Black have not been too active in recent weeks.

Team Black played their last game at the start of August, meaning this bout will mark only their second official match in almost two months. This suggests they will be a bit ring rusty, making iG.V a great longshot pick.

R6S Oceanic Nationals 2020

?Okami enter the sixth round of the R6S Oceanic Nationals following an impressive 7-3 win against Noble esports on Wednesday. It marked Okami’s second consecutive triumph after they defeated LFO 7-4 last Friday, and their third overall including a 7-3 win over Rhythm in round one.

Pittsburgh Knights got off to a strong start to the season but saw their perfect 4-0 record snapped on Wednesday when they lost 2-7 to Wildcard Gaming. Even though that loss is not too shocking on paper, it was a poor performance that doesn’t bode well for this bout. Okami are far from tournament favourites, but they look much more stable than the Knights.

We tipped against Elevate in our daily esports betting predictions for September 30, but they proved us wrong with a very convincing 7-2 victory over Team Ferox. Elevate are now 3-2, which sits them in a three-way tie with Okami and Noble in third place.

LFO will look to win their first game of the tournament, but that is easier said than done. The form coming into this is worrying, as they went down 4-7 to Rhythm on Wednesday in what was a poor display from the losers rather than a strong performances from the winners.

Unless LFO come up with something outstanding, this game is Elevate’s to lose. We expected odds on Elevate to sit around $1.50, making them a great value bet at $1.64.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1

?These teams last met on Tuesday, when we saw Phoenix Gaming surprise Royal Never Give Up by taking the series lead. They failed to keep up the pace, however, which allowed RNG to come out triumphant thanks to a phenomenal reverse-sweep.

Since then, RNG have played two games against PSG.LGD (0-2) and EHOME (2-0). Phoenix have played five games in that time and produced a few impressive results, most notably a 2-1 win over ViCi Gaming as well as clean sweeps against Aster and Invictus Gaming.

Even though RNG are the better-known team, we shouldn’t undervalue Phoenix and their results across the last week. Phoenix have pushed RNG to their limits before, and there is no reason to believe they can’t do it again.

?EHOME stumbled a bit throughout the group stage and narrowly made it out alive with a 2-2 record, although that includes an impressive 2-1 win over ViCi Gaming.

LBZS looked much better in the first stage of the competition and trumped their group with a perfect 4-0 run. However, Zhuang “xiaofu” Yongfu failed to extend their momentum into the playoffs, where they lost 0-2 to ViCi to drop into the lower bracket.

The odds at Dota 2 betting sites for this match are hard to understand. While EHOME are a far more successful team, we can’t ignore just how dominant LBZS have been throughout the tournament. They defeated Invictus Gaming and Sparking Arrow Gaming and swept PSG.LGD, who beat EHOME 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs.

The $2.09 offered on LBZS seems far too high considering what they have shown, which is why we have no problems siding with the underdogs.

Moon Studio Mid-Autumn League

?Neon Esports have met with Execration eight times since July, winning three games, drawing two and losing the remaining three. Execration won two of the last three meetings, although they lost 0-2 to Neon just over a week ago during BTS Pro Series Season 3 Southeast Asia.

The odds heavily favour Neon, but there is a strong possibility we could see an upset. Execration recently signed Karl “Karl” Jayme, who has settled in well at his new team and could make a big impact on Thursday’s clash.

496 Gaming enter the Moon Studio Mid-Autumn League after finishing in seventh-eighth place at BTS Pro Series Season 3 Southeast Asia. Cignal Ultra haven’t seen any notable success since late August, when they finished fifth-sixth at the LUMO Cup.

Cignal have met with 496 five times in 2020 and won three series, although they lost the last two at the Moon Studio Asian League Southeast Asia Qualifier and OMEGA League Asia Divine Division. While there are some concerns with Cignal’s form, their previous meetings with 496 were very close. Since the favourites have won only one match in their last six, there is great value in siding with the underdogs.

R6S Brasileir?o 2020

MiBR head into this match with a 2-1-0 record and +4 map differential, whereas INTZ are 1-2-1 with the same differential. This will mark the first meeting between these two Brazilian Rainbow Six Siege squads since mid-July, when INTZ defeated MiBR with a 6-6 tie on Oregon and a convincing 7-3 win on Villa.

Even though MiBR seem stronger – largely due to their results against Santos (2-0) and Ninjas in Pyjamas (1-1) last weekend – we have to remember INTZ consistently push them to their limits. As with any strong rivalry, this one can go either way, which makes the outsiders a much better bet.

All set for CS:GO DreamHack Masters Winter qualifiers

The DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 season begins this week, with North America as the opening region. From October 2 to October 3, contestants can participate in the open qualifier. The top four will proceed to the closed qualifier on October 4, and the top two from there will progress to the main event.

Four teams are invited to the closed qualifier, with CS:GO betting sites favoring Team Liquid to take the winning position. However, the odds can change as we learn about who’ll make it through qualifying and who the remaining invitees are.

Asia esports news

China Dota2 Pro Cup playoffs continue

Esports fans in China are eagerly awaiting the Dota2 Pro Cup grand finals, which are scheduled for October 3. Before then, we’ll get to enjoy the lower-bracket battles between Royal Never Give Up, Phoenix Gaming, LBZS, and EHOME.

Royal Never Give Up are the favorites at Dota 2 sportsbooks as they’ve delivered consistent performances through their last few matches. Phoenix Gaming have had a good run but lost to a couple of opponents that RNG dominated. RNG were also victorious in their previous encounter with Phoenix Gaming.

In the second battle of the first round, EHOME are the sportsbooks’ favorites. After they reshuffled their roster, we’ve seen improved performances. EHOME’s strategies are fresh, leaving their opponents unable to analyze what’s coming.

Africa esports news

FIFA 21 For Charity

Two of Goliath Gaming’s top FIFA esports players will participate in an exhibition match where the winnings will go towards a charity of their choosing. Thabo “Yvng Savage” Moloi and Julio “Beast” Bianchi, who’ve won numerous local competitions and participated in global tournaments, will play on October 10.

Whoever wins will donate their R10,000 to a charity of their choice, and the runner-up will receive R5,000 for their cause. The best-of-three clash will be an intense one as the two know each other’s strategies well and are among the top players in the country.

South African sportsbooks have the odds in Yvng Savage’s favor. According to last season’s standings, he ranks first on PS4 in South Africa and 73rd globally. He’s got a bright future in the game and was Red Bull’s first African esports athlete.

Europe esports news

Astralis on fire in CS:GO ESL Pro League

Astralis are looking to continue their winning streak as they face Heroic in their upcoming ESL Pro League clash. They’ve dominated this matchup on several occasions, with Heroic’s last victory coming in February 2018. Astralis have become an unstoppable force lately, and it’s clear to see they’re Heroic’s kryptonite.

It’s unlikely Heroic will defeat Astralis for a spot in the upper-bracket semi-finals on October 1. Esports betting sites are backing Astralis in this encounter.

South America esports news

Key battles in round four of Tribo To Major

Round four of the Tribo To Major is upon us with three battles taking place. BOOM Esports and Sharks Esports are on equal standings at the top of the table, and both are favorites to win their upcoming matches. Both sides have won all three of their games so far and will only face each other in round five later in the week.

Of the three matches taking place, the battle between Keyd Stars and Isurus will be the closest. Both teams are on equal footing and match up well. Isurus are still adjusting to their recent roster change; however, they’ve won one of their battles so far, whereas Keyd are yet to prevail.

Oceania esports news

Top two set to clash in Oceanic Esports League

It’s a battle between the two on the top of the ladder as Adio Chula and cuteanimegirls face off in week nine. It’s going to be a tough match for Adio Chula as they look to take the number one position from cuteanimegirls, but they might not have what it takes.

Australian sportsbooks favor cuteanimegirls, who’ve dominated the tournament so far. Adio Chula are fair competitors, however, and the last match between these sides in a draw.

ESL Pro League Season 12 North America

?FURIA enter the final week of the ESL Pro League regular season as the strongest team in the field. The Brazilian squad have swept every opponent they’ve faced since their narrow 2-1 win against Cloud9 in the opening week, which includes 2-0 triumphs against Team Liquid, Gen.G and even Evil Geniuses.

FURIA and Chaos last met in August during ESL One Cologne 2020 Online North America, where Chaos achieved an upset 2-0 win. Based on what Anthony “vanily” Malaspina and co. have shown in recent weeks, however, they will struggle to come even close to repeating that success this Tuesday, mainly due to the departure of in-game leader Joshua “steel” Nissan.

ESL Pro League Season 12 Oceania

Avant Gaming and ORDER will clash in the opening round of ESL Pro League Season 12 Oceania, which will also mark their fifth meeting since the start of August. Each side have won two of their last four series, which suggests we are in for another close affair.

The Oceanic CS:GO esports fixtures are frequently a coin-toss because these teams face each other often – especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic – and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. There is not a lot to separate Avant from ORDER quality-wise, which is why we are predicting a three-map series.

ESL Pro League Season 12 Asia

ViCi Gaming won each of their last four meetings with Invictus Gaming with a combined 8-2 map differential. Their most recent bout took place last weekend during Perfect World Asia League Fall 2020, when ViCi claimed a clean sweep with 16-10 on Mirage and 19-15 on Nuke.

Much of ViCi’s success comes down to Yi “JamYoung” Yang, who has been playing exceptionally well of late. JamYoung has finished below a 1.00 rating only three times in his last 21 outings, while he averages a 1.31 rating against IG in that span.

Unless IG pull out a rabbit out of the hat, ViCi should claim a comfortable 2-0 win.

BTS Pro Series Season 3 Europe/CIS

Ninjas in Pyjamas and HellRaisers both showed up in the BTS Pro Series group stage and enter the final week of the Dota 2 esports tournament with the same 3-2-1 record and 8-4 map differential.

HellRaisers looked in good form last week, but they dropped the ball against Team Unique on Saturday, which raises some flags. Ninjas in Pyjamas claimed a convincing 2-0 win over Unique and a stalemate against Vikin.gg, but they fell apart against mudgolems on Wednesday.

These teams met twice four months ago when NiP pocketed two 2-0 sweeps. Siding with HellRaisers at higher odds might not seem like a bad bet, but after seeing them lose to Unique, we have to trust NiP to extend their head-to-head record to 3-0.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1

?Phoenix began their journey through the China Pro Cup with a shock 2-0 win against EHOME. While they dropped the ball against Team MagMa (1-2) over the weekend, Phoenix still looked quite solid. The main thing to take away from Phoenix’s games is their aggression, which is often an effective playstyle for semi-amateur squads when facing stronger sides.

While it’s difficult to imagine Phoenix can upset Royal Never Give Up, we have to note that RNG are 3-7 in their last 10 and have played only two matches since late July. Phoenix have nothing to lose, so it’s fair to expect the series to begin fast and bloody with a lot of kills on the board.

ESL Pro League Season 12 Europe

?Team Spirit dropped their opening three games against Fnatic (1-2), Team Vitality (1-2) and Complexity Gaming (1-2), but they have since found their rhythm with back-to-back wins against Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-1) and FaZe Clan (2-1).

In contrast, mousesports won their first two matches but then lost two of their next three. While they can have their moments, as seen this Wednesday when they swept Complexity, mouz don’t even look all that convincing on the maps they manage to win.

On form, this should be an easy win for Spirit. While a 2-0 is a realistic possibility, we will play it safe and settle for a moneyline bet on the Russians.

There are not a lot of positive things to say about FaZe Clan, who have yet to win a single match and hold a poor 1-10 map differential. They forced Spirit to three maps on Tuesday, but that’s hardly an achievement since they managed only 18 rounds across the last two maps.

Ninjas in Pyjamas are in a similar situation, as they are 1-4 and already eliminated from the competition. Their only win came a week ago when NiP defeated mousesports (2-1), but they have since lost to Spirit (1-2) and Astralis (0-2).

The odds suggest NiP should win, which is more than fair given FaZe are in shambles. Even though NiP have had their own struggles, there is definitely value in backing the Swedes to cover the map line.

Astralis enter this match as favourites, which is nothing unusual. While the Danes had their iffy moments early in the tournament, they are looking like serious title contenders right now.

Fnatic desperately need a win to avoid an early elimination. That might inspire a stronger effort from the Swedes, but their 0-2 loss against Team Vitality on Tuesday does not give us much confidence.

Since Fnatic managed only 21 rounds against Vitality, we can assume they will struggle even more against Astralis. Back the favourites for a clean sweep.

ESL Pro League Season 12 North America

Even though Cloud9 are not a terrible squad, their upcoming roster rebuild – which will see the entire playing list let go after this tournament – surely isn’t helping the team’s morale.

We are not too confident about Team Liquid either. They were shaky in their 2-1 wins against Chaos Esports Club and 100 Thieves, and they were downright humiliated in the 0-2 loss to FURIA on Sunday with two of their players averaging below 0.80 in the match ratings.

Liquid are still the most likely victors, but we have a hard time believing they will manage a clean sweep.

BTS Pro Series Season 3 Southeast Asia

?On paper, Fnatic are a far superior team to Execration. Since they already defeated Ryan “Bimbo” Jay Qui and co. in June during BTS Pro Series S2 SEA, it may seem fair to assume they can do it again.

The reality, however, is that Fnatic are playing extremely poorly and will struggle to repeat that success. They lost to New Esports (0-2), 496 Gaming (0-2) and TNC Predator (0-2), whereas Execration managed two (1-1) draws against 032 and Motivate.Trust Gaming but lost to NEW Esports (0-2) on Tuesday.

Even though Fnatic are still the better team, we like our chances with Execration to win one map and force a draw.

?Motivate.Trust Gaming are a much better team than many give them credit for. However, they’re still a level below BOOM Esports, who have emerged as one of the best SEA Dota2 teams with their runner-up finish at ESL One Thailand 2020 Asia at the start of the month.

Alfi “Khezcute” Nelphyana and co. carried over some of that momentum into the BTS Pro Series, where they have already defeated Neon Esports and 032. They also produced a solid 1-1 stalemate with TNC Predator.

BOOM Esports look set for another podium finish, and we don’t see how Motivate.Trust Gaming can stop them. Take advantage of the generous odds and side with the favourites.

BTS Pro Series Season 3 Europe/CIS

Vikin.gg have gone from eternal underdogs to a team everyone fears to face. During the OMEGA League, they defeated FlyToMoon (2-1), NiP (2-1) and Team Liquid (2-1), and they even forced OG to three maps (1-2). That form has continued at BTS, where Vikin.gg have swept Unique, B8 and 5men alongside a draw with HellRaisers.

NiP usually have no issues defeating lower-ranked teams, but they tend to struggle against tough opponents. We don’t expect that to change here, and at $2.29, we don’t need to think twice before siding with Vikin.gg.

Khan have met with Team Unique six times this year and won four series, including a 2-0 sweep at the end of August during the OMEGA League. Even though the head-to-head record favours Khan, we have to note Unique have won seven out of their 15 games.

Neither side look like serious title contenders, as they both lack individual quality and tend to struggle closing out their games. Team Unique have shown a bit more, so they’re rightfully priced as the favourites, but they’re not consistent enough for us to believe they can avoid dropping a map.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1

ViCi Gaming have won six of the last nine meetings between these teams, including both of the last two at BEYOND EPIC (2-0) in June and DPL-CDA League S2 (2-1) in July.

These meetings, however, are rarely as one-sided as the H2H record would suggest. Royal Never Give Up have won nine out of 22 maps and forced a three-map series four times, including all but one of their last five clashes.

Since this will be the first official game for ViCi and RNG in over two months, we can expect a very open affair, so there are arguments to be made in favour of the underdogs.

ESL Pro League Season 12 Europe

AGO are already eliminated from the ESL Pro League after losing four of their five games so far, whereas G2 Esports are 2-3 and still in contention for a playoffs spot.

G2 struggled last week when they lost to Heroic (1-2), ENCE (0-2) and BIG (1-2), while AGO dropped the ball against Natus Vincere (0-2) and ENCE (1-2). If we look at the results alone, it may seem like there is not a lot to set G2 apart from AGO; however, the quality gap is still fairly large.

G2 tend to underperform against weaker sides, but since this is a must-win match for them, we will trust the French squad to secure a perfect 2-0.

As the esports betting odds would suggest, we are in for a close and exciting affair. Both sides have shown similar form, but we are leaning more towards the Danish roster.

Even though Heroic have had some iffy moments, including a 1-2 loss to AGO and three-map series against BIG (2-1) and GODSENT (2-1) last week, NaVi are in a far worse situation, and their narrow win against OG (2-1) on Sunday does not inspire much confidence.

Heroic are on the rise, while NaVi are losing momentum. We expect this trend to continue on Thursday.

Complexity Gaming are looking better and better with each passing day. While they dropped maps against Team Spirit (2-1) and Fnatic (2-1) last week, they are 4-0 and headed to the ESL Pro League playoffs.

While Team Vitality are not performing at the level many expected them to, they have their flashes of greatness from time to time. Those may be rare, but this team can be a deadly when everything falls into place.

We are not ready to believe Vitality can stop Complexity, but it’s highly likely they can force a three-map series.

ESL Pro League Season 12 North America

Even though Gen.G won 27 rounds against Evil Geniuses on Saturday, their overall showings at the ESL Pro League have been mediocre at best – as shown in their 0-2 loss to Chaos Esports Club last week.

100 Thieves started their ESL Pro League campaign with losses to EG (0-2) and Team Liquid (1-2) but proved they’re the real deal with a commanding win over Chaos (2-0) last Thursday, restricting their opponents to only eight points in total.

These teams last met in mid-August during ESL One Cologne, where 100T won 2-1. We expect more of the same this Thursday, but with a much more one-sided scoreline.

BTS Pro Series Season 3 Southeast Asia

496 Gaming started their BTS Pro Series journey with a stalemate against Neon Esports (1-1) and a commanding win over Fnatic (2-0), but they slipped on Monday when they lost to Motivate.Trust Gaming (0-2). TNC Predator have seen far more success, producing a 3-1-0 record with a draw against BOOM Esports (1-1) and wins against NEW Esports (2-0), Fnatic (2-0) and Neon Esports (2-0).

TNC Predator have met with 496 Gaming six times and won each series, with a combined 12-3 map differential. Even though these two sides have not yet clashed in 2020, we like TNC better due to their recent resurgence in form. A draw is still a possibility, but the odds on the favourites are hard to ignore.

Motivade.Trust Gaming have picked up a few solid results this tournament, including a stalemate against Execration (1-1) and a convincing win over 496 Gaming (2-0). Even though they lost to Among Us (0-2) on Tuesday, Motivade.Trust held on surprisingly well against a stack assembled from some of the best players in the region.

Neon Esports have managed only one win from their four outings in the BTS Pro Series. That came against NEW Esports (2-0), while they failed to see the same success against 496 Gaming (1-1), BOOM Esports (0-2) and TNC Predator (0-2).

Due to Neon’s lack of consistency, it’s very difficult to understand why Motivade.Trust are priced at such high odds. Even though Neon defeated Motivade in each of their last four meetings, the underdogs are in much better form and look set to claim a revenge win.

BTS Pro Series Season 3 Europe/CIS

Usually, we would side with Team Empire for this matchup since they swept Team Unique just under a month ago during the OMEGA League. However, after seeing Empire’s performance against B8 (1-1), it’s difficult to view them as the favourites – even though we do not rank their next opponents very highly.

Unique are not a team we expect much from. Their form looks solid on paper, but they have played only three games across the last two weeks and are still somewhat shaky in execution. Both teams look a bit off, which is why we expect to see a 1-1 draw.

5men lost both of their opening fixtures at BTS Pro Series against two tough opponents in mudgolem and Vikin.gg, but now Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard and co. can look for a few wins as they take on some weaker teams.

While we don’t expect 5men to go all the way at the BTS Pro Series due to their obvious lack of cohesion, they still field a very talented roster comprised of ex-Cloud9 and OG.Seed players.

5men have already defeated Alliance (2-1), Natus Vincere (2-0) and FlyToMoon (2-0) since forming only a month ago. While consistency is still a problem, they look solid enough to defeat Khan without any issues.

China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1

PSG.LGD and Team Aster will clash in the opening match of China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 1, and it should be a much more one-sided fixture than the betting odds would lead us to believe.

PSG.LGD won four of their last five meetings between these two side. While Aster claimed a 2-0 win in their most recent bout at the start of July during DPL-CDA League S2, it’s hard to imagine we will see the same result here.

Both teams have been inactive for two months, so some ring rust is expected. Nevertheless, the odds offered on PSG.LGD are well worth taking.