?Ex-Winstrike Team will clash with AVE (formerly Hard Legion Esports) in the quarter-finals of Dell Gaming League Russia Season 2. Alexey “NickelBack” Trofimov and co. enter this match as huge betting favourites, which isn’t too shocking.

Ex-Winstrike won the European Premier Division of ESEA Season 36 on Sunday, dropping only one game en route to the title. AVE, on the other side, haven’t achieved any notable success since way back in May 2020, when they claimed bronze at ESL One: Road to Rio – CIS.

These CIS derbies are often unpredictable and can easily go either way, but we don’t believe that will be the case here. Ex-Winstrike are clearly the superior team and shouldn’t have any issues against the shaky AVE.

?The esports bookmakers have Nemiga priced as $1.22 favourites over 100PingGods, which seems a bit low in our book. Although the Russians boast the more established team, their form isn’t good enough for us to back them at that price.

Nemiga enter this match with a 1-3 record in their last four, which includes losses to Nordavind, ex-Winstrike, and Wisla Krakow. It’s hard to compare those results to that of 100PG, who have faced mostly semi-pro teams, but at least the Kazakhstani side has looked somewhat consistent.

Nemiga should be viewed as the favourites, but this seems more like a 70/30 game rather than the 82/18 implied by the latest CS:GO betting odds. There is decent value on 100PG, but we will settle for a safer bet and take the underdogs with a map handicap.

?Even though Aleksey “El1an” Gusev and co. are no longer under contract with Winstrike Team – due to alleged breaches in contractual obligations from the Russian esports organisation – this is still the same roster that made it into the semi-finals of Snow Sweet Snow #2 last month. So it shouldn’t come as a shock to see them priced as huge favourites against Team Spirit’s academy side.

At the offered odds, Team Spirit Academy’s implied probability to win is less than 10%, which seems extremely low. That doesn’t necessarily mean we believe their chances to win are much greater than that, but we find the price on the round handicap to be slightly overs.

There is also a chance ex-Winstrike won’t take this tournament too seriously, since it’s more of a proving ground for academy teams rather than an important event. Get on the outsiders to cover the round line.

?Sprout are the reigning European Development Championship champions, so it makes sense to see them priced as massive favourites over Young Ninjas. That said, Sprout haven’t been playing too well recently and just might get outclasses by the Swedes unless they lift their game.

Young Ninjas enter this match on a four-game winning streak, whereas Sprout have managed only two wins in their last six, and even those came against ordinary teams in forZe and MAD Lions. Ninjas were priced as high as $2.80 for the win a few days back, and it’s easy to understand why the odds at esports betting sites are dropping.

Although Ninjas might lack individual quality, we are far more concerned with Sprout’s instability and tendency to choke in crucial rounds. Young Ninjas with a +3.5 round handicap is a solid bet, but we are going all-in on the Swedish squad for this match.