2-1 for our esports expert Michael Lee on Monday for yet another proitable day! He'll be hunting more winners as he provides his three best bets across the world of esports for Tuesday, the 9th of March. Today he focuses in on the ESL Pro League Season 13, the Pinnacle Cup 2021 and the LoL Pro League.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, March 9th
FunPlus Phoenix vs Renegades
ESL Pro League Season 13
Both sides have lost their opening match of the tournament; FunPlus Phoenix 0-2 against Complexity and Renegades 0-2 against Heroic. Even though neither side came close to winning their bouts, I was far more impressed with what Renegades have shown.
FunPlus Phoenix might have done better against their opponents if we look at the number of rounds won, but they seemed a bit disorganised on the battlefield. That, however, doesn't surprise me, considering FPX have lost their IGL and haven't had enough time to properly prepare themselves for this tournament.
FPX are priced as massive favourites for this match (1.29 at PickleBet), which definitely overrates them a bit. They haven't shown anything noteworthy against Complexity and I don't expect them to suddenly look better against the Australians.
The value should be with Renegades here, since they are not playing without any pressure, knowing no one expects them to advance, on top of the fact that they looked better than FPX in their tournament opener. Renegades should at least keep it close. You might also want to bet on Renegades to make it interesting.
Renegades +1.5 Maps
$1.75
EXTREMUM vs sAw
Pinnacle Cup 2021
EXTREMUM are a team assembled from the ex-100 Thieves core and so far they haven't achieved anything noteworthy. Since forming the team, EXTREMUM have played only six matches and won only half against Wisla Krakow, Izako Boars and HONORIS, but struggled against the likes of Winstrike, forZe and GODSENT.
Those results don't make much sense to me since EXTREMUM field far more talented players than any team they lost to. I'm not sure what's happening inside the team, but perhaps EXTREMUM just need a bit more time before they wake up.
While EXTREMUM are not in an ideal spot, sAw are in an even worse situation, with only one win in their last five. That run includes a 2-0 win against Apeks and four losses against Anonymo, Nemiga, HAVU and Winstrike.
I'm not sure what's going on with the odds on this match, but there is no excuse for EXTREMUM to be priced at 1.50 or over. Sure, they might not have looked too sharp of late, but they are still individually much stronger than sAw. I don't expect to see a complete stomp, but I also can't imagine a world where EXTREMUM lose.
Top Esports vs Bilibili Gaming
LoL Pro League
After a poor start of the season, Top Esports picked up the pace and won four in a row, which now sits them in seventh place with a 7-3 record. This puts them one win behind JD Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix, Rare Atom and Team WE, which essentially means they're one win short of breaking into top-three. With high expectation put on this squad, anything less than a top-four finish will be deemed a massive disappointment which should show in Tuesday's bout with Bilibili Gaming.
Bilibili Gaming are one of the weirdest teams in the league. They can look very good one day, only to disappoint the next and their inconsistency has earned them a 5-6 record, which puts them in 11th place, only a win short of breaking it into the top-10.
Both teams won't settle with a loss here, however, when it comes to high-stakes games like this one, you have to trust the more experienced team with a higher ceiling, which in this case are Top Esports. Even though Bilibili can defeat much stronger teams - which they have proven with wins against RNG and Rare Atom – I just don't believe they have what it takes to derail Top.
Top Esports -1.5 Maps
$1.54
