Esports Betting Tips – CWL Championship 2018, Day Two
The biggest event of the Call of Duty calendar is upon us.
The CWL Championship kicks off on Wednesday August 15, with 32 teams facing off for the most prestigious trophy the game has to offer. It’s the final showdown of the WWII season.
With day one in the books, the second half of the group stage remains. By the end of the second day, half of the teams in attendance will have been eliminated from the tournament.
We’ve teamed up with Rivalry.gg to provide daily insight into the CWL Championship for prospective betters. If you’re looking to complement your viewing experience by adding some stakes of your own, we’ll be highlighting worthy favorites and underdogs for every day of the competition.
Play It Safe
OpTic Gaming TO WIN vs Evil Geniuses
When: Thursday August 16, 23:30 UTC
Odds: 1.39 vs 2.62
Despite coming in as the defending world champions, this is perhaps the first time in several years that OpTic Gaming isn’t a heavy favorite for the CWL Championship. If they fail to defend their title here, it will be the first time in the organization’s history that they haven’t won a championship across an entire season.
Despite struggling to live up to their former glory this season, OpTic Gaming is still an incredibly dangerous team. Search and Destroy seems a clear weak spot for the team, but they still boast some of the most formidable slayers in the game and as such are a fearsome opponent for any team in respawn games.
Their first notable challenge of the event will be taking down Evil Geniuses, the other Pro League team in the group and the toughest obstacle between OpTic and a top seed heading into the playoffs.
This Evil Geniuses had an impressive debut with a second-place at CWL Seattle, but since then hasn’t managed to quite replicate those heights. While not a squad to be taken lightly, they should be very beatable for an OpTic that still packs one of the hardest punches on the circuit.
Feeling Lucky
Mindfreak TO WIN vs Ghost Gaming
When: Thursday August 16, 20:30 UTC
Odds: 2.07 vs 1.62
On paper, both Mindfreak and Ghost Gaming are difficult to separate. While the Australian side featured in both stages of the CWL Pro League and Ghost Gaming didn’t, when it comes to open events both seem to average out around the top-12 region.
At the CWL Championship so far their records are identical. Both teams took down Zone with comfortable 3-0 sweeps, and both lost to Red Reserve, one of the tournament favorites, 1-3. Unfortunately, these matches offer little insight into their form, with all producing the expected results in quite clear-cut games.
You could very much make a case for this match going either way, but Mindfreak’s underdog odds make them a more favorable candidate to back here. They also had the stronger showing at the most recent event, CWL Anaheim, where they were responsible for eliminating Ghost and took some big scalps along the way.
Wildcard
Splyce TO WIN vs eUnited
When: Thursday August 16, 20:30 UTC
Odds: 2.79 vs 1.35 – Bet
In Group D, at least one of the top-two seeded teams will be going out in the group stage, as eUnited and Splyce face off in a head-to-head battle for a playoff spot. Both teams fell to Lightning Pandas on day one, meaning one of them is guaranteed an early exit.
eUnited’s curse this season has been inconsistency. At their peak, this seems to be a team that could go the distance, perhaps even secure a trophy. Unfortunately, for every match that they look like world-beaters, there also seems to be a match in which they capitulate with less resistance than might have been expected of them.
Despite such shortcomings keeping them off the podium for the most part, this is still a team that has consistently been able to reach the top-six of major tournaments, and rightly favored in this match.
Splyce has had a largely underwhelming season, with only a couple of bright spots that seem increasingly distant. However, the quality on this team can never be ignored. Featuring some of the most talented and successful players that Europe has ever produced, Splyce can never be dismissed entirely, and particularly when facing a team that has been known to have slow games they’re a worthy wildcard pick.
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