?Team Secret are in dire need of wins, having lost their opening three games of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Winter Tour against Team Liquid (0-2), OG (0-2), and Gaimin Gladiators (0-2).

Entity haven’t achieved anything spectacular so far this tour either. Still, they took a map from Gaimin Gladiators (1-2) on Monday and picked up a hard-fought win against Nigma Galaxy (2-1) on Wednesday. So even though Entity still look weaker on paper, they’re at least showing something in their games.

With the talent Team Secret have on the roster, it’s only a matter of time before they bounce back, but we’ve yet to see anything from them that would inspire confidence. Entity to win still sounds like a bold pick, but at $2.10, it’s hard to pass on the bet.

Team Liquid have yet to drop a map this tour, with wins against the struggling Team Secret (2-0) and the reigning champions of The International, Tundra Esports (2-0). Beating the Gladiators and Tundra alone indicates Liquid’s strength, but Micha? “Nisha” Jankowski and co. also pass the eye test.

Liquid are playing extremely well, and it’s exciting to see how quickly and well Nisha fits in with the squad. Although it’s too early to say, Liquid might be one of the best Dota 2 teams in the world besides Team Aster, who are doing serious damage in the Chinese DPC.

Into the Breach would never be considered one of the region’s top four teams, and they’ve yet to prove otherwise. With a loss against Entity (0-2), ITB more or less locked themselves out of a top-four finish, but then they took down Nigma Galaxy (2-0), proving that they can bite.

At $2.75, ITB look like an appealing pick to win at least one map, but Liquid are on another level and should win with plenty to spare.

Nigma Galaxy have yet to find tier footing with Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf as the new no.1, as they enter the second week of the DPC WEU Winter Tour with a 0-2 record and defeats against Tundra Esports (1-2) and Into the Breach (0-2). The latter loss stung quite a bit, as it sets Nigma Galaxy back a lot on their quest to lock in a spot at Lima Major, but this is still a strong squad that can bounce back.

Gaimin Gladiators have found themselves sharing the first spot in league with Team Liquid, having won against Entity (2-1) and Team Secret (2-0), but there’s more to that record than meets the eye. Gaimin Gladiators nearly lost against Entity, and their win against Secret holds little weight due to Secret’s poor form.

On paper, Gaimin Gladiators look like a superior team, but their performances so far don’t warrant the offered Dota 2 betting odds. Nigma Galaxy to win at least one map at $1.61 is an easy choice.

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?Despite winning ESL One Stockholm Dota 2 Major and their opening series of the tour, OG enters this match as $2.00 underdogs. But perhaps that isn’t too shocking, considering they are set to face Tundra Esports, one of the hottest European Dota 2 esports teams.

OG and Tundra Esports have met 14 times since January 2021, each winning seven series. Moreover, each squad picked up three series and six maps apiece from the six meetings this season, so head-to-head results-wise, OG and Tundra are equal.

Even the eye test would confirm that there is little to nothing to separate the two teams, so it’s tough to understand why Tundra are priced as the favourites. You can argue that Tundra have a higher ceiling, but that doesn’t explain their price.

OG would be the right call at plus money, but since we expect another close affair between two European Dota 2 juggernauts, over 2.5 maps makes the most sense.

Team Liquid lost against goonsquad on Saturday, which doesn’t look good on paper, but it’s not a particularly terrible result. Meanwhile, Gaimin Gladiators suffered a shock defeat against Entity last week, putting them in a very rough spot as they cannot afford to drop any more games.

Gaimin Gladiators and Liquid last met at ESL One Stockholm a month ago, when Liquid won 2-0. It marked their third head-to-head victory (3-2), and their second consecutive, following a 2-0 sweep at Gamers Without Borders at the start of May.

But even though Liquid hold Gaimin Gladiators’ number, we’re not sold on them at the offered betting odds. Liquid have not been playing well enough to earn the tag as $1.72 favourites and are in terrible shape – with five consecutive losses.

They might look stronger on paper, but until we see Liquid produce something meaningful, we will continue to fade them.

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?Goonsquad consists from former Alliance and Chicken Fighters players, which explains why they’re the underdogs for this bout. But the esports bookies seem to have overvalued the brand value and failed to consider that goonsquad is a reasonably competitive team.

Moreover, Team Liquid have not achieved anything noteworthy over the last two months. They placed third in the previous DPC tour but were 4-3, just one victory clear of a bottom-four finish. Liquid have since won Gamers Without Borders 2022: Europe & CIS but finished ESL One Stockholm Major in ninth-12th with just three wins (3-1-2).

Liquid have proven they can be good, but we wouldn’t price them anywhere close to $1.40 for this bout. Goonsquad to win at least one map at $1.57 is a solid choice, but we like overs on the map line at $2.10 better.

?We saw a glimpse of how these two teams operate earlier this week, but we can’t say we were impressed. Team Secret lost against OG (0-2), while Alliance got stomped by Tundra Esports (0-2) in less than 60 minutes.

But even though Secret lost quite badly, they had to play the recently crowned Major champions. So instead, the main thing to take away from the teams’ opening games of the tour is how bad Alliance are. Admittedly, they lost against one of the world’s best Dota 2 teams, but they have not shown anything across the two maps.

We didn’t expect much from Alliance, but that defeat further proves that Nikolay “CTOMAHEH1” Kalchev and co. are not good enough to compete against Europe’s top squads. They might fare a bit better against Secret, who are still learning to walk following the recent roster changes, but it’s hard to imagine this match ending in any other way but a 2-0 sweep for Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and his crew.

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?Team Secret were Europe’s most dominant team for the past two seasons, but things took a sudden turn for the worse this year. Secret have achieved little to nothing over the first six months, and they haven’t come even close to winning a single DPC Tour, placing top-five in the first two.

The lack of success led to a significant roster change in May when Team Secret announced the departure of Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan, who got replaced by former Entity carry Remco “Crystallis” Arets. Crystallis looks like a downgrade on paper, but while you could argue that SumaiL is a better player, Secret’s lack of success wasn’t due to an absence of quality but rather a poor synergy.

We don’t know how this new-look lineup will do, but with so much talent in one lineup, it’s fair to say that Team Secret have already hit rock bottom, so things can only go up from here. Up next is a fixture that will put that to a proper test, as Secret take on the Stockholm Major champions, OG; however, OG might be a bit weaker than they were in Sweden without Sébastien “Ceb” Debs.

Considering what these two teams have shown this season, particularly over the last few months, OG look like the clear favourites, but at $3.40, the esports betting sites are not showing enough respect to Team Secret. Therefore, we’re siding with Team Secret to win at least one map at $1.72.

?By beating Brame (2-0) in the tiebreaker match in April, Entity avoided relegation into the second division, but they’ll have to show more if they want to retain their spot in the top league. On the other side, Gaimin Gladiators were one of the top teams in the DPC Spring Tour, and they did not disappoint at the Major, where Gladiators placed fourth, behind OG, TSM, and Tundra Esports.

Gladiators did not make any roster changes since the Stockholm Major, which is fine; however, seeing how most other European teams have made improvements, Gaimin Gladiators – like Entity – will need to step up if they wish to achieve their goals.

But even though we wouldn’t bet our money on Gaimin Gladiators to be as impressive this tour as they were in the first two, they should not be losing against Entity.

Entity are not a weak team, but they’re not good enough to compete with the region’s top teams, especially after the departure of Remco “Crystallis” Arets. On the other hand, Gaimin Gladiators rarely slip against weaker opponents, and we expect that trend to continue on Tuesday.

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Team Liquid woke up from their slumber on Tuesday when they defeated Entity (2-1) and secured their second victory of the Dota Pro Circuit Spring Tour. With that win, they should be safe from relegation, and if Liquid pull off a perfect 3-0 run, they might even find themselves in a race for a top-two finish.

Tundra Esports started the tour with a streak of three wins against Entity (2-1), Team Secret (2-0) and Nigma Galaxy (2-0) before they suffered a devastating loss against OG who beat them 2-1 on Saturday. We can assume Tundra will defeat Brame in the final week, which would get them to four wins, but that likely won’t be enough to claim the title.

However, a win against Team Liquid would almost guarantee Tundra a top-two finish and at least 240 DPC points. There’s a lot on the line for both teams, and even though Tundra have shown much more over the last few weeks, we wouldn’t expect them to stomp Liquid. We anticipate Tundra to win, but Liquid should be good for at least one map.

Nigma Galaxy suffered their fourth defeat of the Spring Tour against Glamin Gladiators (1-2) on Sunday, bringing their record down to 0-4, which puts them in danger of getting eliminated. Nigma Galaxy still need to play against Team Liquid and Team Secret next week, so their best chance to secure at least one win will come on Saturday when Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and his crew clash with Entity.

Entity have found themselves in a similar spot as Nigma Galaxy, having managed only one win this tour (1-3), and even that came against Brame (2-0) two weeks back. Still, Entity have shown many good qualities in their three-map series against Gladiators, Tundra, and Team Liquid, who beat them 2-1 on Tuesday in a very close series.

Entity have looked much better this tour, but we have to acknowledge that Nigma Galaxy need to win to avoid relegation, which should inspire better performance. A bet on Nigma in this spot doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but we’re getting solid odds on over 2.5 maps as a safer alternative.

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?Entity are 1-2 with a 4-4 record, which isn’t surprising for a team from the lower division, but despite their iffy win rate, Entity have had some good moments so far. Their two defeats came against Tundra Esports and Gladiators (both 1-2), which isn’t too concerning, and even in those series, Entity looked very good.

Team Liquid got off to a rough start to the Spring Tour, but they finally picked up the pace and secured their win last week against Brame (2-0). That’s hardly a compelling achievement, but at least Liquid got their name on the board.

Priced as $1.44 favourites with Dota 2 betting sites, Liquid are expected to dominate on Tuesday, which makes sense if you compare the individual talent of these two squads. But there is no denying that Entity have looked much better in their series and have proven that they’re good enough to go toe-to-toe with any other team in the region.

This one could be close, so we’re on Entity to upset Liquid at outsider odds.

?Brame stunned Nigma Galaxy (2-0) this weekend when they picked up their first win of the tour, showing that while they might be one of the weakest teams in the upper division, they’re at least not the worst. Although a huge achievement on paper, beating Nigma Galaxy in the state they’re currently in is hardly something to write home about, so we would take Brame’s win from Saturday with a grain of salt.

Team Secret went 1-1 last week, which is a perfect example of how polarising their tour has been so far. Realistically they have only lost against Tundra and OG, which isn’t terrible, but relative to expectations, Secret have underdelivered.

But despite Secret’s up-and-down showings, they’re still a much better team than Brame, who have won only one series, and even that came against the disorganised Nigma. If Secret shoot themselves in the foot, we could see Brame win one map, but a 2-0 sweep for Team Secret is the most likely outcome.

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?Brame have yet to win a series, and it does not seem like that will change. In their defence, the Western European DPC is very stacked, and even some of the top teams are struggling, but that doesn’t change the fact that Brame are just not cut out to compete at the top level.

Nigma Galaxy are in a very similar spot to Brame, having lost both of their series so far – against OG (0-2) and Tundra Esports (0-2) – but as the latest Dota 2 betting odds suggest, they should do more than fine this weekend.

We’re not very excited about Nigma Galaxy, and their recent showings hardly inspired any confidence. But as bad as Nigma Galaxy have been, Brame are worse, making it very hard to make a case for the outsiders.

?This is not the same OG that dominated the Dota 2 scene in 2018-2019, but the new-look OG can be competitive, and this roster deserves a lot of respect. They’ve won two series so far (2-1) this tour against Team Liquid (2-0) and Nigma Galaxy (2-0), but they weren’t match for Team Secret (1-2) last Saturday.

Tundra Esports are still undefeated (3-0) with an impressive 6-1 map difference, having beaten Entity (2-1), Team Secret (2-0), and Nigma Galaxy (2-0). We’re very high on Tundra, and they’ve yet to show anything that would make us doubt them. Admittedly, Tundra slipped at the end of the last tour, but this is still one of the best – if not the best – European Dota 2 teams.

Tundra should win this match, but they’re not an appealing bet at $1.57, knowing that OG are good enough to put up some resistance. So even though we expect Tundra to win, there is a very good chance we might see all three maps, making over 2.5 at $2.00 a very appealing bet.

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Chichen Fighters are 2-1 ahead of this match, albeit we have to note that they’ve beaten only the bottom two teams of the division in Winter Bear (2-1) and IVY (2-0), so we would take their record with a grain of salt. Moreover, Chicken Fighters were no match for goonsquad (0-2) last week, so we know they’re not one of the top teams; now the question is, how high can Chicken Fighters fly?

You could ask the same questions about Into the Breach, who won lost Alliance (0-2) and CHILLAX (0-2), but won against Team Bald Reborn (2-0) on Saturday. Admittedly, three games aren’t enough to come to any solid conclusions, but we would argue that Into the Breach are better than what they’ve shown.

Chicken Fighters look better on paper, but we have yet to see anything spectacular from them. Beating two lower-table teams and losing against the top dogs doesn’t mean anything, and until they show a bit more, Chicken Fighters are not a good bet at $1.36. The Dota 2 betting sites have priced them out of this one.

?Team Bald Reborn are 1-2, with a win against Winter Bear (2-0) and back-to-back defeats against Alliance (1-2) and Into the Breach (0-2). Even though this is not a very good record, we have to note that Team Bald had chances to claim a W against Alliance as they did in the 120-minute series against Into the Breach this weekend.

CHILLAX have played only three series this tour, including a 0-2 defeat against goonsquad and two dominant 2-0 victories against Winter Bear and Into the Breach, which puts them in a very good spot ahead of Week 3 matches. And there is little to suggest CHILLAX can’t compete for a top-two finish.

Stoyan “lil pleb” Kostov and his crew placed fourth in the second division of Winter Tour, and they’ve recently reached the Dota 2 Champions League Season 8 upper-division semi-finals. Team Bald Reborn are still a solid team for this division, but it’s hard to make a strong case in their favour for this bout.

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?Nigma Galaxy have yet to find any traction this season, and it didn’t help that the whole team caught COVID last week, forcing Nigma to postpone their matches. As a result, Nigma have only one match on the record this tour (0-2 against OG), so it’s tough to say how good they are.

However, we can be sure that the players won’t be at 100% due to the recent illness, which won’t do Nigma any favours on Tuesday. Their next opponents, Tundra Esports, are arguably one of Europe’s top teams, and they have yet to show anything that would make us doubt them.

They had a couple of shaky showings in the previous tour when Tundra flopped when it mattered the most, but the addition of Martin “Saksa” Sazdov has made Tundra significantly better and a more stable team. Unless Nigma Galaxy pulls a rabbit out of their hat, this should be another 2-0 for Tundra.

?Team Liquid had a very disappointing showing against OG (0-2) last week, marking their second defeat of the DPC Spring Tour, following a close 0-2 loss against Team Secret in the opening week. Admittedly, Liquid’s games were close but not quite, so it’s time to start questioning what’s going wrong.

But despite Liquid’s slip-ups, they deserve to be $1.22 favourites to defeat Brame, who might be one of the weakest teams across all DPC upper-divisions. They’re 0-2 with defeats against Gladiators and Entity, and even though Brame had some good moments in game two against Entity, it’s clear that Brame are not at the same level as a lot of the other teams in this division.

Liquid are not playing well, but that’s relative to what we expected. Meanwhile, Brame are objectively playing worse than all other teams in this division, and they gave us nothing that would suggest they can put up a fight against the DPC WEU Tour 1 Regional Finals runners-up.

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?Team Secret won 2-0 against Team Liquid in the opening match of the Spring Tour last Tuesday, marking their third win across the last four outings, albeit only their third across their last eight. But despite their concerning record, Secret played much better last time out, and it seems like moving Micha? “Nisha” Jankowski back to the mid lane was the right call.

Tundra Esports reverse-swept Entity (2-1) last week, and even though they needed three maps to come out ahead, Tundra looked phenomenal in maps two and three. That match was also a perfect representation of Tundra as a team that could easily be one of the top teams in the world if they were a bit more consistent.

Tundra should have a slight edge, but at around $2.10 with most esports betting sites, Team Secret are a bit underrated and are a solid value pick.

?Gladiators (former Team Tickles) won 2-0 against Brame last week and bounced back from back-to-back defeats against Entity (0-2) and HellRaisers (0-2). We don’t have a lot of film on Gladiators, but they looked excellent during the first DPC WEU Regional Finals, which they won with a 3-1 victory against Team Liquid.

Based on those results, Gladiators are technically the top Western European Dota 2 team, but we would tame our expectations since they have only nine official games under their belts (6-3). Moreover, they lost against Entity and HellRaisers, which is concerning.

Their next opponents, Nigma Galaxy, lost against OG (0-2) last Tuesday and have managed only four wins across their last 11 outings (4-7). In their defence, Nigma Galaxy had to face very tough opponents over that stretch, so perhaps they could do better against a team that might be slightly overrated.

Nigma Galaxy can win, but the offered Dota 2 betting odds aren’t good enough for us to pull the trigger. Instead, we like our chances with over 2.5 maps at even money.