Another night, another great slate of esports action to look forward to. This Tuesday night, our gaming expert takes a look at some of the key matchups across the FLASHPOINT 2 and the EPIC League Division 2!
ESports Betting Tips: Tuesday, December 1st
Fnatic vs Dignitas
FLASHPOINT 2
The last time Fnatic and Dignitas met was about two weeks ago in the Group A consolation final at FLASHPOINT 2, where Fnatic secured a 2-0 victory with 16-6 on Dust2 and 16-14 on Inferno.
Surprisingly enough, Maikil "Golden" Selim - who is an in-game leader and mechanically the worst player on Fnatic - ended the series with 45 frags and 1.36 HLTV rating which was only slightly higher than the second-best player of the day Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin with 44 frags and 1.35 HLTV rating. On the side of Dignitas, all players apart from Adam "friberg" Friberg (41 frags and 1.12 HLTV rating) underperformed and finished below the 1.00 line.
These Nordic CS:GO derbies are notorious for getting very messy very quickly, so the best way to approach betting on them is by playing the odds. Dignitas are priced as huge underdogs, which I don't find surprising due to their lack of form, but I am not too convinced with Fnatic and their iffy displays online either. I expect Dignitas to keep it close here. Bet on Dignitas +1.50 Maps!
OG vs MIBR
FLASHPOINT 2
After their defeat against Gen.G in the opening round of FLASHPOINT, OG have picked themselves up and put together three consecutive wins against Cloud9, Virtus.pro and in their rematch with Gen.G. Regardless of their three-game winning streak, those victories are nothing special.
Since the disbandment of their old roster, MIBR's new squad played nine games. They have lost only to G2, Astralis and twice against BIG, but have also picked up wins against FURIA, Envy, forZe and FaZe. Acknowledging MIBR are a new team, winning maps against BIG, G2 and Astralis is quite an achievement, especially if we consider that most of their players hail from a lower tier of CS.
OG are a team that is both capable of beating anyone and losing to anyone, which makes me believe we are in for quite an interesting match. If OG enter this game with the same fire they have shown against Evil Geniuses and Natus Vincere, this should be an easy 2-0 for them, but if we see the version of OG which has lost to Fnatic, Ninjas in Pyjamas, FaZe, Gen.G and other weaker sides, there is a real chance MIBR might win.
I expect a scrappy match with mistakes on both sides, which is why I am betting on the series to go the distance. Bet on Over 2.50 Maps!
Team Empire vs Live to Win
EPIC League Division 2
With their win against Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-1), Live to Win secured a top-four finish. Team Empire, on the other side, enter this match in the crossroads, where a win could potentially see them finish in the upper part of the standings, whereas a loss might even see them finish inside the bottom-four. It goes without saying this will be an important one to win for both sides, meaning we can expect a tight contest.
Live To Win have lost only one match this tournament and even that came against the current frontrunners Yellow Submarine. Team Empire, on the other side, won only three games out of seven played, which includes losses against Spider Pigzs (0-2), Nemiga Gaming (0-2), Ninjas in Pyjamas (0-2) and Yellow Submarine (0-2).
Surprisingly enough, Empire lost to some of the worst teams at the tournament but had no issues when facing objectively stronger sides in Gambit Esports (2-0) and Winstrike (2-0). Since both of those victories took place across the last week, it's fair to say Empire have improved and should be better prepared to face Live to Win.
Unlike Empire, who seem to be on the rise, Live to Win, have recently dropped a map against Nemiga and Spider Pigzs, which indicates they have cooled down and come off very vulnerable to lose at least one map. Team Empire might even upset LtW here, but I will settle for a safer bet and place my money on Empire at +1.5 Maps.
Team Empire +1.5 Maps
$2.00
