VP.Prodigy and FlyToMoon will clash for the second time ever this Wednesday on day seven of Division 1 matches in the WePlay! Pushka League.
Launched at the start of April, VP.Prodigy are Virtus.pro’s new Dota2 academy team. The current lineup consists of ex-HellRaisers player Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin, ex-Singularity support Albert “eine” Garaev, two former VP players in carry Egor “epileptick1d” Grigorenko and Vitalie “Save-” Melnic, with Rostislav “fn” Lozovoi standing in at no.2.
The team have enjoyed a reasonable amount of success in their early endeavours. They picked up titles at Gaming World and the StayHome Challenge, to which they added successful runs through Parimatch League Season 2 Relegation and the WePlay! Pushka League Season 1: CIS Qualifier.
Most recently, VP.Prodigy were seen competing at Epic Prime League Season 1, where they are currently sitting at the third place with a 2-1 record. Their only loss of the tournament so far came against the main Virtus.pro roster, while Save- and co. picked up two commanding wins over Winstrike Team and Team Spirit.
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While it is early days, the VP.Prodigy project appears to be paying dividends. Indeed, they already have the wood over FlyToMoon, who have been all over the place this year.
We saw some of the best of FTM at Parimatch League Season 2. Although they lost in round one of the playoffs, they bounced back with a clean sweep against Winstrike and a revenge win over HellRaisers before rallying from 0-2 down to beat Virtus.pro in the grand finals.
On the flip side, FlyToMoon showed nothing of note at the StayHome Challenge. Two 0-2 losses against Vikin.gg and VP.Prodigy meant Andrey “ALWAYSWANNAFLY” Bondarenko and his team had to settle for the bronze medal, which was decidedly underwhelming for a team that had already won two minor titles in 2020.
FTM are also participating at Epic Prime League Season 1, where they have claimed 2-0 wins over B8 and Winstrike but suffered a 1-2 loss against Cyber Legacy. On Sunday they copped a 1-2 defeat against the Virtus.pro first team in the Pushka League, although FlyToMoon’s performance in that clash should give them confidence as they prepare to face VP’s academy side.
VP.Prodigy enter this match as heavy favourites, but perhaps esports bookmakers have put too much emphasis on the teams’ recent meeting at the StayHome Challenge. That match was much closer than the final result would suggest, as the two sides secured 22 kills apiece in the first game and FTM blew a substantial lead in the second.
The difference between these teams is not nearly as huge as the odds would imply, which makes siding with FlyToMoon at $2.35 a great value bet. You could take the safer option and back FTM with a +1.5 map handicap, but the $1.43 odds are nowhere near as attractive as those on offer for the outright win.