Esports action continues around the globe this Tuesday night with a great slate of matchups in the Funspark ULTI 2020 as well as more matches in the DreamLeague Season 15. As usual, our gaming expert Michael Lee is on the case with a full preview and betting tips for his favourite matchups here.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, April 20th
BIG vs Extra Salt
Funspark ULTI 2020
Extra Salt have yet to impress during their trip to Europe, however, they've only played one game so far. Their sole bout in the region took place last week, when Extra Salt lost to Team Spirit 0-2 at BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown 2021.
I can't take much from that result, and their previous wins against NA and LATAM squads don't really show anything of note. So for the sake of this prediction; Extra Salt are a mediocre team.
Their next opponents BIG are quite an enigma. They can play like a no.1 team one day, and then go on to lose against the likes of Renegades and FunPlus Phoenix the next. With this team, you never know what you're going to get, making them very hard to rank.
If BIG find their stride on Tuesday, they could easily 2-0 Extra Salt, but I wouldn't count on that happening. The Germans are 2-5 since they crashed out of Intel Extreme Masters XV - World Championship, which is obviously not good.
One of those wins includes a 2-0 sweep of Complexity, but also losses to Renegades, FPX, and HAVU. I'm taking a shot with Extra Salt to win at least one map here.
Extra Salt +1.5 Maps
$1.62
Evil Geniuses vs Dignitas
Funspark ULTI 2020
Dignitas haven't seen much success in 2021 outside of a few deep B-Tier tournaments runs. But it's not fair to criticise them too much for that since they haven't really gotten a chance to compete in any big tournaments.
That changed last week when Dignitas attended BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown 2021, where they shook the world with a 2-0 sweep of Team Liquid. They were, unfortunately, no match for Team Spirit in the second round, but you have to give them some props for putting up a solid fight and winning one map (1-2).
Two good results won't make me an instant fan of Dignitas, but I don't really need to be one to bet on them. This prediction is more about me not trusting Evil Geniuses.
EG, while a solid team, have not long ago made a roster change. They replaced Tarik "tarik" Celik with Michał "MICHU" Müller, which might prove to be a good roster change - but as with any roster change, there will be some growing pains.
Needing to integrate a new player into the team takes some time, and usually, teams struggle with stability during that period. I don't expect EG to be an exception to that rule. And let's not forget EG have already made a roster change last month, and they haven't found any stability since.
Dignitas can win this match, but you have to show some respect to EG's stacked roster. Expect a tight series with all three maps played.
Alliance vs OG
DreamLeague Season 15
After hitting a 2.09 winner with our Dota 2 betting tips for the CIS league, we turn our focus on the European Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) bout between two juggernauts in Alliance and OG.
These two teams have a rich history between them, having played 30 series since their first meeting in 2015. OG proved to be the dominant side across the last five years, however, the tables have turned in 2020, when Alliance picked up six out of 10 head-to-head series. They improved that record by adding another H2H victory in January when they swept OG 2-0.
Alliance have not made a single roster change since then, whereas OG welcomed back their former member and two-time TI champion Anathan "ana" Phan, who has replaced Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng.
Since re-signing ana, OG have yet to lose a match, however, they've also played only one - against Brame in the DreamLeague opener. Although a promising result for a team that has been struggling throughout 2020 and early into this year, I won't believe OG are the same powerhouse they once were before they prove it with consistent performances.
OG might look stronger on paper, but as we have come to realise, that doesn't mean they will be stronger in the arena. Alliance are way overpriced at 2.65 and should be considered as a good bet. At the very least they should win one map, so perhaps you might want to take the +1.5 map handicap bet with PickleBet at 1.52.
