ESI Esports Gambling Report: Volume 10

The Kiev Major is well and truly underway. The Swiss format group stage is done and dusted and has sorted the seeding for the main event. The main event is a straight knockout tournament. There’s no second chances; lose one best of three and a team is sent packing with no further involvement. Fan-favourites Mousesports were the first to be eliminated, and another four will be sent home as the action continues tomorrow. We previewed the tournament here and had a look at the first four match-ups here

Now it’s time to put the other four round of sixteen matches under the microscope and give a few tips on the best bet. 

TnC versus Team Facelesss

It’s an all SEA battle in this match, with TnC surprising many thus far at the tournament. Coach Kipspul seems to have rubbed off on the young Filipino squad as they’re torn apart teams and achieved a seeding that many wouldn’t have expected.

Faceless on the other hand have looked fairly poor. They haven’t really garnered any real momentum and many would look at this and straight up say TnC. The issue is that Faceless what Allardyce’s Bolton were to Wenger’s Arsenal – a bogey team. Since the turn of the year Faceless have a 6-2 record over their SEA neighbours so this suddenly becomes a tough match to predict. 

With the introduction of a coach to the fray, I still think TnC will have too much and will get the one up on their nemesis here. TnC are 3/5 with Betway. 

OG versus Team Random

The International 6 winners have left the Wings Gaming organisation and still don’t look anywhere near back to their best. They’ve struggled for results since their mammoth win back in August. OG on the other hand have broken records. They have won 3 of the 4 Valve Majors and still remain the outright favourites to win the whole thing. 

They also beat Random in the group stages, so with their experience on the Major stage and more consistent and accomplished playstyle one would expect them to overcome the challenge of Random. OG to win at 8/25 with Betway are the second team in our accumulator. 

Thunderbirds versus Evil Geniuses

Thunderbirds are no strangers to the Dota 2 scene. They recently left their organisation Digital Chaos which left them playing under the Thunderbirds tag for this tournament. They looked pretty decent in the group stages and certainly proved they can challenge any team. Evil Geniuses have shown glimpses of their undoubted brilliance yet also indications of their mental fragility and lack of consistency.

We’re going to go for an upset in this. Danish captain Andreas ‘Cr1t-‘ Nielsen is liable for a dodgy draft and Artour ‘Arteezy’ Babaev is often targeted heavily by enemy teams. With Thunderbirds at 13/10 on Betway they complete our treble. 

Secret versus SG

Simply put, there’s no way Secret lose this game. Secret are around 1/5 to win 2-0 and that’s the best value you’ll find. The top seeded team looked unbeatable in the groups whilst SG could only pick up one map in their three matches. 

If you’re going to have a bet, back anything with Secret in it.

Thunderbirds, TnC and OG treble: 3.85/1 with Betway