Michael Lee is back with esports betting pick and predictions for Tuesday, January 18. Today he takes a look at two Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches in Funspark ULTI 2021 and a Chinese Dota 2 clash in the penultimate round of China Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Tour 1 Division I.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, January 18th
Entropiq vs ECSTATIC
Funspark ULTI 2021
The current no.9 team, Entropiq, will begin their quest for the Funspark ULTI 2021 title against world no.20, ECSTATIC, who are priced as 2.10 underdogs. But regardless of what the team’s current rankings show, I don’t believe that ECSTATIC are good enough to walk away with a win.
Entropiq have been one of the standout teams of 2021, thanks to their rapid progress up the CS:GO global ladder towards the end of the year. Even though the CIS roster hasn’t won any big tournaments, they have produced a couple of impressive performances.
That includes a runner-up finish in the V4 Future Sports Festival - Budapest 2021 and a reasonably solid performance at the PGL Major Stockholm. In Sweden, Entropiq made it through the New Challengers Stage with wins against Astralis, Movistar Riders, and Heroic, and even picked up wins against Team Liquid and Gambit Esports in the New Challengers Stage.
Unfortunately, they ended up crashing out of the Major in ninth-12th place, but their only three losses came against Team Vitality, FURIA Esports, and the Major finalists, G2 Esports.
As for ECSTATIC, they have achieved some decent results towards the end of 2021, but their success was limited to second-tier tournaments such as Funspark ULTI 2021: Europe Season 4 (2nd), Malta Vibes Knockout Series #4 (2nd), and Pinnacle Fall Series #3 (1st).
Since Entropiq will be a bit rusty due to the long break from competing, ECSTATIC might look better than expected, but these two teams are not at the same level. Therefore, I have no reason to doubt Entropiq for this match.
Astralis vs K23
Funspark ULTI 2021
The former world no.1 team, Astralis, will clash with K23 in the opening round of Funspark ULTI 2021, marking their first official match since BLAST Premier: World Final 2021.
The Danes enter the 2022 season after a somewhat disappointing season in which their only notable success came at the end of November when Astralis finished third at BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2021. Outside of that, Astralis haven’t produced anything worth celebrating.
Like Astralis, K23 have been out of action for nearly a month. Their last official match happened on December 19, when they successfully made it through the Funspark ULTI 2021 European Playoffs to secure a spot at this tournament.
Unlike Astralis, K23 have been showing excellent form in December, winning ten straight games before the New Year break. But we shouldn’t care too much about the form the teams were showing last month like I don’t mind that K23’s success mainly came against second-tier teams.
Astralis are still one of the top-10 teams in the world, but they enter the 2022 season with an overhauled roster, which makes you question whether they had enough time to form a strong synergy. Although Astralis still field world-class players, I don’t expect them to look as strong as many expect.
I don’t believe we will see an upset win, but I also wouldn’t count on a 2-0 sweep. Take over 2.5 maps at 2.10.
Invictus Gaming vs Team Aster
China DPC Tour 1 Division I
Invictus Gaming have found themselves on the verge of elimination following their 0-2 defeat against LBZS on Sunday. With that, Invictus Gaming are 1-4, meaning that the only way for them to have a shot at keeping their seat in the top division is to defeat Team Aster and PSG.LGD, which I don’t count on happening.
To say that IG have been underwhelming would be an understatement at this point, and it’s very evident that something isn’t clicking in the team. Even their star player Zhou “Emo” Yi has never looked so underwhelming, but he is far from the only problem IG have on their hands.
On the other side, Team Aster should be feeling happy with their performances so far. They’re 4-1 and are the only team in the division to take a map away from the TI10 finalists, PSG.LGD. Team Aster are everything IG wish they could be and more, and I must say that I am very impressed with Aster’s late game, which could present a problem for the disjointed IG.
Even though being a late-game-oriented team has its flaws, Team Aster have shown repeatedly that they can fight back from losing situations. So even if you stop them early, Aster will find a way to claw their way back into the game.
PickleBet has Team Aster priced as 1.45 favourites, which is more than fair considering how poorly Invictus Gaming has been playing this season. I have no problem backing the favourites with a -1.5 map handicap.
Team Aster -1.5 Maps
$2.40
