Our Esports betting guru Michael Lee is back for his best bets from around the Esports world for Thursday, December 3rd. Today, we head to the EPIC League Division 1, as well as the OGA Dota PIT Season 4: China.
Esports Betting Tips: Thursday, December 3rd
Natus Vincere vs Mudgolems
EPIC League Division 1
I was quite impressed with mudgolems early after the team was formed, but they have let a lot to be desired with their performances this tournament. Outside of their narrow wins against Team Nigma (2-1) and Just Error (2-1) at the start of November, mudgolems did not impress and enter this match on a four-game losing streak.
Across the last couple of weeks, they have lost to Virtus.pro (0-2), Alliance (1-2) and OG (0-2) and while neither of these teams is particularly bad, that is hardly an excuse for mudgolem’s poor run. Similarly to mudgolems, NaVi did not look too sharp as of late and have already lost to Virtus.pro (1-2), OG (0-2) and Team Nigma (1-2) in games leading up to this one.
Besides their win against Nigma, mudgolems have not beaten any top-tier team since October when they bested Secret (2-0) and while that is a rather huge accomplishment, mudgolems are not looking nearly as strong as they were back then. NaVi to win!
Value: NaVi -1.5 Maps ($2.60)
Team Secret vs Virtus.pro
EPIC League Division 1
Team Secret entered EPIC League Division 1 as the strongest team in Europe and while I still firmly believe they are one of the best Dota 2 teams in the world, their recent performances were rather lacklustre.
Team Secret have won five out of seven games thus far which is not too terrible, but they have also lost six out of 16 maps played. On Saturday, Secret struggled against Alliance and came extremely close to getting swept 0-2, but somehow produced a comeback and came out ahead with 2-1.
That was just one of many iffy showings we have seen from Secret, which makes me very sceptical about their chances to defeat Virtus.pro who have been on the rise as of late. Even though Virtus.pro managed only two wins in last four games, they did not disappoint with their three-map series against Vikin.gg and Team Liquid. Even before that, Virtus.pro crushed mudgolems (2-0), Nigma (2-0), and OG (2-0), which is nothing to sneeze at, considering Secret struggled against the same teams in mudgolems (2-1) and OG (0-2).
Virtus.pro have yet to defeat Secret this year, but that does not mean much if we consider Secret were in a much better shape a couple of months ago. This will be a perfect chance for Virtus.pro to cause an upset and there is no reason to believe they can't. Bet on Virtus.pro to win!
PSG.LGD vs Team Aster
OGA Dota PIT Season 4: China
Like many other top-tier Dota2 teams who have been dominant throughout the year, PSG.LGD have cooled down and don't seem to be in the best shape ahead of this bout. Even though they're still 4-1 in their last five games, PSG.LGD have already lost against Team Aster (1-2) about two weeks ago and have last week dropped the ball against Elephant (1-2).
Team Aster, meanwhile, seem to be on the rise. They're 7-3 in the last 10 games and have managed a handful of impressive results across the last two months as well. In October Aster claimed a bronze medal from OGA Dota PIT S3: China, to which they added another third-place finish at CDA-FDC Professional Championship Season 2 and most recently a silver medal from China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 2.
PSG.LGD met with Aster 13 times this year and won eight series. However, it was Aster who won two of the last three meetings with 2-0 and 2-1. I expect a close match with a real possibility of seeing all three maps played, however, if I had to pick a side, Team Aster are a better option.
