Dota 2 Kiev Major Betting Tips: Two accumulators for punters to get stuck into

We’re now heading full-steam for the Kiev Major event. The production will be immense, the atmosphere deafening and the Dota 2 scintillating. We’ve previewed the overall tournament, but now it’s time to put the first four individual match-ups under the microscope.

Invictus Gaming v mousesports

Greek squad mousesports provided the story of the Boston Major recently. They were the underdog backer’s dream as they ploughed through the tournament to finish eventual runner-up to Dota juggernaut OG. Invictus Gaming shoulder the weight of Chinese expectation as an emphatic win at the Dota 2 Asia Championships leaves them among tournament favourites in Kiev.

There is absolutely no value in backing iG. At 1/9 they aren’t even worth considering in an accumulator. Mousesports have only played against Chinese teams thus far in Kiev and although they lost 2-0 to iG in their very first match in the group stages, expect them to learn and better prepare for Burning & co.

At a whopping 5/1 there’s the underdog lover in me that fancies a small stake on the Greek squad to replicate their run at the last Major and trump the leading Eastern hope.

Team Liquid v Newbee

This match-up is arguably the tale of two perennial under-performers. Going into the Major both were talked up as being among the best at the tournament but shaky performances from Liquid and Newbee suggest that they may not quite have what it takes. Both teams finished 2-2 in the group stages and the odds of 8/11 and 1/1 reflect the similar standing well.

It may be my bias to Western teams but despite looking poor at times, I think Liquid are simply the better team in this match-up. Newbee have deviated from enabling their star player Sccc and thus I think Liquid may have too much in the locker overall. Liquid at 8/11 is one to stick in an accumulator.

Digital Chaos v Vici.J

rOtk is considered a god in the Dota 2 world. The Chinese captain and offlaner for Vici.J has been there and done it all in Dota and there’s a large contingent hoping to see him go well here. They face a stern test in what has been one of the tournament’s surprise packages: Digital Chaos. DC have served up some fantastic performances thus far and don’t look daunted by their apparent underdog label.

I think this will be a tight encounter and thus will opt for Over 2.5 Maps at 5/6 on Bet365 as the best bet here.

Virtus Pro v Invictus Gaming.Vitality

The final game of the first day sees leading CIS hope Virtus Pro face up against iG.V. Whilst VP secured a top seed for the main event, they won’t have been delighted to see iG.V as their main opponent. The Chinese squad finished an impressive fourth at DAC and have managed to replicate their abysmal group stage showing by not winning a single game in Kiev.

The quality in their squad, however, is unquestionable. The issue is that they face a nigh-on unstoppable looking Virtus Pro who have dropped just one game thus far. The CIS squad will be cheered on by a raucous home crowd and with the array of heroes they’ve picked thus far, could definitely be one to watch.

By playing Faceless, TnC and Team Random, they have yet to be seriously tested. Whilst iG.V have shown little to nothing just yet, we know the quality is there. There’s absolutely nothing that makes me want to touch Virtus Pro at 1/9, and I don’t think I’m bold enough to back iG.V at 5/1. I quite like the look of Over 2.5 Maps at 13/8 for an accumulator, though.

As a couple of outside shouts, both mousesports and ig.V look a tad overpriced to win and could well surprise a few onlookers. At a huge 35/1, it’s worth having a nibble at the pair as a double.

Read Ollie’s overall tournament preview/tips here.