The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023: European RMR A is just around the corner and our esports tipster Michael Lee is back with his top picks and predictions for the opening round on Thursday, April 6. Today he looks at Fnatic vs Viperio, Bad News Eagles vs 1WIN, and FaZe Clan vs OG.
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Esports Betting Tips: Thursday, April 6th 2023
Fnatic vs Viperio
Paris Major – EU RMR A
Fnatic and Viperio will meet in the third round of BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023: European RMR A in what should an uncompetitive match. The esports bookmakers have Fnatic priced as 1.12 favourites to win and Viperio as heavy underdogs at 5.50.
Fnatic have recently finished their BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023: European RMR A campaign, where they fell out from the first round with a 1-2 defeat against 9INE, and things haven't looked much better since. A day later, Fnatic attended Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2023: European Qualifier, where they lost against GODSENT (1-2) before beating Team Spirit (2-0) and NiP (2-1).
The win against Spirit was Fnatic's first over the last five games. That stretch includes losses against Let us cook (1-2) and FURIA Esports (0-2), and even though losing against FURIA doesn't look too bad, the defeats against let us cook, and then against 9INE and GODSENT do.
Viperio are a second-tier team that should have no business finishing the European RMR inside the top eight, but they're facing Fnatic, who are in terrible shape, so there are a few things to be said about the odds we're getting on this match.
Fnatic technically shouldn't be losing games like this, yet their recent showings suggest they might be as dominant as the betting odds suggest. Fnatic could wake up, and they might even qualify for the Major as Legends, but in their current state, I'm ready to fade them against most teams attending the RMR – especially in best-of-ones.
Viperio +6.5 rounds
$1.83 (1 Unit)
Bad News Eagles vs 1WIN
Paris Major – EU RMR A
Bad News Eagles are just a few steps away from qualifying for their third CS:GO Major, and based on their performances in Major qualifiers, they just might do it again. But first, BNE need to improve the impression they've left with their recent showings – which isn't that good.
In March, Bad News Eagles attended three CS:GO tournaments and produced mixed results. Following a semi-final run at RES Eastern European Masters: Spring 2023, BNE could only manage a 13th-16th place finish at ESL Challenger League Season 44: Europe and ninth-12th at BetBoom Playlist. Urbanistic.
Over their last five games, Bad News Eagles have won against Eternal Fire (16-12) and HEET (2-1) but also lost against Cloud9 (0-2), SAW (0-2), and forZe (0-2), which is somewhat concerning.
Despite Bad News Eagles' recent poor showings, they shouldn't struggle against 1WIN, who are in an even worse spot, with just one win from their last five outings against HONORIS (2-0). But they were not nearly as successful when facing Astralis (6-16), 9INE (1-2), Monte (1-2), and Team Falcons (1-2).
1WIN have recently lost against teams that are just as strong or weaker than Bad News Eagles, and they've already lost against the Kosovar squad (1-2) in November. And despite all that, we're still getting a very solid offer on Bad Newsa Eagles, which I can't pass on.
Bad News Eagles to win
$1.83 (1 Unit)
FaZe Clan vs OG
Paris Major – EU RMR A
FaZe Clan had a bit of a resurgence in March. After failing to deliver at IEM Katowice 2023 (7th- 8th), FaZe won ESL Pro League Season 17 in a dominant fashion and claimed the Intel Grand Slam title, solidifying themselves as one of the best teams in the world.
On the other side, OG have yet to prove themselves as one of the elite teams, and their early exit from BLAST Premier: Spring European Showdown 2023 doesn't look too good either. However, in OG's defence, they had to play the Spring European Showdown without Abdulkhalik "degster" Gasanov, so perhaps we shouldn't overreact to their loss against Ninjas in Pyjamas (1-2).
Still, OG haven't won much with a full roster this season. They exited ESL Pro League Season 17 in 21st-28thplace, reached top nine at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023 and didn't make it out of the group stage at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2023.
OG have enough talented players to be competitive, but I've not seen that side of them for a while. So as much as this is still a match FaZe can lose, I'm confident that the reigning Intel Grand Slam champions will win with a few rounds to spare.
FaZe Clan -4.5 rounds
$2 (1 Unit)
