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The International 2018 is entering its Main Event, with almost 25 million dollars on the line and 16 of the initial 18 teams still fighting for a chance to claim the Aegis of Champions.
Numerous Dota 2 betting opportunities await over the next 6 days of competition. This article will give you a better understanding of who the main contenders are, what the teams have done so far and what’s likely to happen next.
Participants
The International 2018 Main Event brings together 16 teams from 5 different regions:
- Europe: Team Liquid, OG, Team Secret.
- North America: Evil Geniuses, VGJ.Storm, OpTic Gaming.
- CIS: Virtus.pro, Winstrike Team.
- Southeast Asia: Fnatic, Mineski, TNC Predator.
- China: PSG.LGD, Team Serenity, Newbee, VGJ.Thunder, Vici Gaming.
Tournament structure
The Main Event of The International 2018 will be played in a double-elimination bracket format with 8 teams starting in the Upper Bracket and the other 8 in the Lower Bracket, based on the Group Stage results.
All of the Upper Bracket matches will be Bo3. The first round of Lower Bracket matches will be Bo1. The rest will be Bo3. The Grand Final will be a Bo5 series.
The 8 Upper Bracket teams are the following:
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Group Stage results
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TI 8 Main Event Betting Predictions
Team Liquid vs. OpTic Gaming
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.15 – 4.75 in favor of the TI 7 champions, Team Liquid, regarding the result as an almost certain victory for them with a more than 90% probability. And while certainly seems to be the case, you can definitely improve those returns by betting on Liquid’s core players to get better GPMs and more kills than OpTic’s core players. The most likely heroes to be picked in this matchup are Necrophos, Tiny, Mirana, Wraith King and Dark Willow.
Team Liquid to win. This will likely be a quick 2 – 0 in its favor, but for safety reasons, a bet on a match victory is definitely lower risk choice.
Virtus.pro vs. PSG.LGD
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.75 – 1.95 in favor of Virtus.pro, although the CIS team looked quite weak during the Group Stage compared to what people had expected. I personally view PSG.LGD as the favorite to win this match with at least a 60% probability.
The safest bet here is to predict that the match will have more than 2.5 maps, as neither of these two teams seems capable of beating the other without dropping a game.
PSG.LGD to win.
VGJ.Storm vs. OG
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.50 – 2.40 in favor of VGJ.Storm and this is perfectly understandable considering the fact that the NA team was by far the strongest in Group B and that OG is a dark horse in this tournament.
The safest bet here is that VGJ.Storm will win at least one map. Overall, the match is very likely to require 3 games in total, so a bet on the total number of maps that will be played also makes a lot of sense.
VGJ.Storm to win.
Evil Geniuses vs. Team Secret
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.45 – 2.55 in favor of Evil Geniuses and this assessment is based strictly on the team’s performance at this event. Overall, Puppey, Team Secret’s captain, has been to a large extent EG’s nemesis over the years, so you might want to be careful with this one.
On paper, based on both team’s recent form, EG should absolutely beat Secret. But there’s much going on behind the scenes that might ultimately lead to a different outcome. Secret’s captain knows a great deal about EG and its players and might prepare something nasty for them.
Overall, this looks like a match that could be won by either team but at these odds, a smaller bet on Team Secret makes a lot more sense.
Team Secret to win (50% chance of an upset).
Fnatic vs. Team Serenity
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.60 – 2.20 in favor of Fnatic but I’m seriously skeptical about their ability to win it. Remember, this is a Bo1 and Team Serenity clearly proved that it’s a tough competitor during the Group Stage. The Chinese squad drew matches against Vici Gaming, Team Secret, Virtus.pro, TNC Predaotr and OpTic Gaming.
Make sure you see the drafting phase before betting on this one because that will determine the result to a very large extent. Expect Fnatic to use some kind of cheesy strat involving a hero that’s overpowered as a 5th pick, such as Meepo. If they manage to outdraft Serenity, definitely go for them. Otherwise be careful.
Fnatic to win (55% chance of winning).
TNC Predator vs. Mineski
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.85 – 1.85 regarding the two teams as being evenly matches. Based on Group Stage results, I definitely see TNC Predator as being much more likely to win here. However, since this is a Bo1, the more experienced team is likely to outdraft the other and walk away with the win. So make sure you watch the draft and go for Mineski if they have a slight advantage after this phase.
Mineski to win in case of a slight outdraft.
Newbee vs. Winstrike Team
Betway puts the odds for this match at 1.50 – 2.40 in favor of Newbee. The TI 7 finalists should completely destroy Winstrike in this match, being much stronger and much more experienced. The Chinese squad came very close to starting the Main Event of The International 2018 in the Upper Bracket, but it lost against Team Secret and OpTic Gaming in the tiebreakers. Overall though, Newbee is more than one class above Winstrike.
Newbee to win.
VGJ.Thunder vs. Vici Gaming
Betway puts the odds for this match at 2.20 – 1.60 in favor of Vici Gaming and this assessment is definitely correct. Vici Gaming already proved its ability to defeat much stronger teams in the Group Stage, when it won against Virtus.pro and Newbee.
Vici Gaming to win.
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