Whilst the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive calendar has been jam-packed with top class action, the Dota 2 scene has been fairly quiet. Teams have been competing for places at huge upcoming tournaments and we’re edging ever closer to the Dota 2 Asia Championships 2017 (“DAC”) taking place in Shanghai.
In this week’s Gambling Report, we have a look at the ante-post market for DAC ahead of the tournament and try to highlight potential value for anyone wishing to have a bet. 
| B365 | Betway | Ladbrokes | Skybet | |
| Liquid | 5/2 | 51/20 | 13/5 | 5/2 |
| Evil Geniuses | 3/1 | 14/5 | 10/3 | 3/1 |
| OG | 10/3 | 13/4 | 10/3 | 7/2 |
| Newbee | 8/1 | 8/1 | 9/1 | 8/1 |
| Vici | 9/1 | 10/1 | 10/1 | 10/1 |
| Wings | 10/1 | 10/1 | 11/1 | 12/1 |
| IG | 16/1 | 15/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 |
| Faceless | 22/1 | 16/1 | 25/1 | 16/1 |
| NP | 25/1 | 24/1 | 33/1 | 25/1 |
| LGD.Fy | 33/1 | 30/1 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| IG.V | 40/1 | 24/1 | 50/1 | 33/1 |
| Empire | 66/1 | 60/1 | 80/1 | 66/1 |
Having scoured the market for the bookmakers offering ante-post odds on DAC, we found Bet365, Betway, Ladbrokes and Skybet all offering odds. Here’s how they compared:
Best Priced – Ladbrokes:
They haven’t been considered one of the big players in esports, but with standalone best priced on 7 out of 12 it’s a mightily impressive offering. Of the five remaining teams, they are joint best priced on three out of five therefore making Ladbrokes best priced on 10 out of 12 teams for DAC.
Worst Priced – Betway:
It’s the opposite for NiP sponsor Betway who are priced standalone worst on 8 out of 12 teams. Of the remaining four, they are joint worst on three out of four therefore making Betway worst priced on 11 out of 12 teams for DAC.
Tournament breakdown:
Favourites: Liquid, Evil Geniuses OG
From the odds the bookies are making three Western challengers the big favourites for this tournament. All three of the teams received a direct invitation to the Kiev Major in April and on paper you can see why. Each and every roster is jam-packed with some of the best Dota 2 talent and should they all turn up and play their best Dota 2 they’re in with a very good shout.
Verdict: For the ante-post prices on each of these teams we personally wouldn’t touch them. There’s a lot of Dota 2 to be played and it’s on Chinese soil (think of that what you will). Although they’re three very talented Western teams the prices put us off here.
The chasing pack: Vici, Wings, Newbee
Considering the last time we saw a lot of these teams at an offline event Vici were the team to knock out OG, the 10/1 price is a whole lot more appealing than the short price on OG. Similarly, Newbee are considered the Team Liquid of China – having a roster filled with talent and at 9s they’re a seemingly big price.
Ultimately, we feel Newbee and Vici.J should probably be banded in with the other three as their form is not too different. Wings are still yet to rediscover the form that saw them win The International back in August so their price is probably fair.
The best of the rest: Faceless
We can’t see any of the remaining teams mounting a serious challenge. Team NP failed to qualify for the Kiev Major and on that form they surely can’t compete with the calibre of teams heading out to Shanghai. Faceless represent an interesting proposition as they’re clearly the best team in the SEA region. They’ve yet to prove it on an international stage, but at 25/1 they represent better value than most other teams.
Overall verdict: At an initial glance, considering just how much Dota there is to be played we don’t think there’s fabulous value anywhere. Any team at below 3/1 to win a whole tournament is far too short for our liking but Newbee, Vici and Faceless probably represent the best value in amongst the rest of the field.