Esports Betting Tips July 18th – Overwatch League Playoffs and LPL

Joe O'Brien

Every week, we take a look at some of the most exciting esports matches in esports for prospective betters.

We’ve teamed up with Rivalry.gg to provide weekly insight on some of the big matches in esports that might be worth betting on for those looking to add an extra dimension to their viewing experience.

This week’s betting tips look to the best League of Legends team in the world for stability and return to the Overwatch League playoffs for potential upsets.

LPL

Royal Never Give Up TO WIN vs Rogue Warriors

When: Sunday July 22, 11:00 UTC

Odds: 1.35 vs 2.79 – Bet HERE

Right now, Royal Never Give Up has the strongest claim to the title of “best League of Legends team in the world”, perhaps the first time that has truly been the case for a non-Korean team since the country first established its dominance in international LoL.

Having won LPL Spring, Royal represented its league at the 2018 Rift Rivals, and there defeated heavy favorites Kingzone DragonX to claim the title in impressive fashion. Since returning to the LPL the team hasn’t relented, currently on a seven-match win streak after losing their Summer opener against JD Gaming.

Royal has also clashed with Korea’s best once again, and once again emerged victorious. Alongside two other LPL representatives, RNG faced off against the top three teams of the LMS and the LCK from their respective Spring seasons at Rift Rivals.

Royal was instrumental in the LPL’s eventual victory over the LCK in the finals, securing two of the LPL’s wins in a 3-2 series victory, including the deciding match against Afreeca Freecs.

The take-away here is that Royal Never Give Up is a deserving favorite against literally any other team in the world right now. Their opponent here is no push-over – Rogue Warriors too contributed to the LPL’s Rift Rivals win and currently tops the West Region of the LPL with a 6-1 record.

The West Region is undoubtedly the weaker of the two, however, and Royal look utterly indomitable right now. It’s hard to imagine them losing a best-of-three here, and given RW’s status as one of the stronger teams in the LPL these are some of the better odds you’re likely to get on a Royal victory.

Feeling Lucky

Overwatch League Playoffs

London Spitfire TO WIN vs Los Angeles Valiant

When: Thursday July 19, 02:00 UTC

Odds: 2.17 vs 1.56 – Bet HERE

Coming off a victory in the Stage 4 playoffs – over New York Excelsior in the final no less – the Los Angeles Valiant is the playoff team that showed the strongest form at the end of the regular season, making them an undeniable favorite to take the trophy.

The Valiant has never been the flashiest team in the Overwatch League. Even as they were on their way to a 9-1 finish in Stage 4, many analysts held reservations. They don’t have the super-star names of other elite squads, and they weren’t passing the “eye test” for a world-beating squad.

That didn’t stop them from claiming the Stage 4 title, however, and ahead of their first match of the season playoffs they now look like a legitimate title contender here.

London Spitfire is in some ways the antithesis of the LA Gladiators. This is a squad that screams “champion”, but after an impressive first stage has failed to deliver and been in gradual decline for the final two stages of the season. They ended on their worst result of the season, a ninth-place finish in Stage 4 that barely allowed them to hold onto a playoff spot.

Despite their inconsistencies, London Spitfire has on paper arguably the most stacked team in the league. Their starting duos in all three roles could make a case for being among the strongest in the league, and consequently this team’s theoretical peak is higher than perhaps any other team.

London has spent most of the season struggling to hit that peak, but in their most recent outing they finally offered a glimpse of it once more. On the last day of their quarter-final match against the LA Gladiators – a team the Spitfire had never beaten before – they dominated in consecutive 3-0 sweeps to secure victory.

It seems things might finally have fallen into place for this squad, and if that version of London Spitfire shows up, they’re capable of beating any team in the league.

Wildcard

Overwatch League Playoffs

Philadelphia Fusion TO WIN vs New York Excelsior

When: Thursday July 19, 00:00 UTC

Odds: 3.94 vs 1.18 – Bet HERE

New York Excelsior has been the dominant team for the vast majority of the Overwatch League. Between the start of the season and the point at which they were guaranteed the number one playoff seed, the team lost a mere three regular season matches.

The Excelsior has also appeared in all four stage playoff finals, and claimed victory in both Stage 2 and Stage 3. Across the season, no other team comes remotely close on achievement or consistency, and few teams have at any point hit the same peaks of play that the Excelsior has demonstrated.

The one point of the season that New York really looked vulnerable, however, was at the very end. In Stage 4, the Excelsior suffered a further three defeats, as many as in the rest of the regular season combined, and failed to win the stage playoffs.

With this being after they had already secured the top spot in the regular season, the prevailing theory was that New York had eased off, allowing their players to relax a little from the intensity of the rest of the season and mitigate the burnout that so many teams were experiencing as the relentless season approached its end.

While that seems likely, it’s also possible that New York might have had some genuine struggles in adapting to the new meta – an idea that seems corroborated by the LA Gladiators’ universal prediction, in the wake of their quarter-final loss, that it will not be the Excelsior but instead the LA Valiant who will lift the trophy. Several even backed Philadelphia to take this very match.

Philadelphia Fusion is a team with an immense peak capacity, a squad with huge depth of talent that at its peak has proven capable of defeating any opponent, New York included. What Philadelphia lacks at times is consistency, but there’s no doubt they can hit hard enough when things click.

The New York Excelsior will be coming into this match cold, having not seen live competition for a month and had very little to play for even before then for most of Stage 4. The Fusion, meanwhile, had to fight every inch of the way to their playoff spot and is now coming off of a big quarter-final victory.

These factors, in conjunction with Excelsior’s mortality at the end of the season and an apparent lack of faith in them from fellow pro players, seem to make this the best opportunity for a big upset in the playoffs. If the Fusion come out swinging it’s very feasible they could emerge victorious.



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