Fionn’s five best esports bets of the weekend

Every week, I will give you my top five predictions going into a wild weekend of esports betting action across the world. From League of Legends to sometimes even Rocket League, I will put my money where my mouth is to showcase my brilliance (or ineptitude) in esports betting by trying to find some of the best upset specials on tap.

With a full slate of games starting Friday, here are my five predictions for the best esports bets of the coming weekend.

All odds for matches taken from Betway Sports.

LCS (League of Legends): Immortals (1.60) vs. TSM (2.20)

TSM look like a dumpster fire right now with their starting support Wei “Shenyi” Zi-Jie benched, murmurs of coaching changes, and the franchise starting 0-4 for the first time in team history.

While I don’t think they will be hanging any new championship banners anytime soon, I like the odds here for TSM. They’re not good by any means, but Immortals hasn’t been stellar either early on in the season. For the odds TSM are getting, I’m scooping them up as the underdog.

My pick: TSM

LCK (LoL): KT Rolster (3.55) vs. T1 (1.25)

There is nothing special or cute about this pick. T1 have been healthy at a time when multiple teams in South Korea are dealing with COVID-19 substitutions and are locked in to finish with the No. 1 seed. They also have an outside chance of being the first team in LCK history to end the regular season with a perfect match record, which would be another feather in the cap of Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s incomparable career.

My pick: T1

LEC (LoL): Rogue (1.55) vs. MAD Lions (2.30)

I love the value here for the Lions. Rogue have had a fantastic first half of the season, but stumbled against the then-winless Astralis last week. They should (and are) favorites coming into this game, but as with the TSM pick, this game feels more like a toss-up than the scale in clear favor of Rogue.

Both teams had disappointing weekends last week, and I’m hoping that the Lions can find some of that playoff magic to continue Rogue’s slight slump.

My pick: MAD Lions

EMEA Challengers (VALORANT): Guild (3.35) vs. Acend (1.28)

Holy odds, how are Guild, such underdogs? Let me preface this by stating I believe Acend is the best VALORANT team in the world and an excellent team bringing back all their world champion starters, but Guild might very well be the second or third best team (in my opinion) in EMEA right now.

Even if you’re an Acend fan, putting even a tiny bit of money on Guild seems like the clever play with how the odds are currently sitting. Maybe I just like Guild more than most, as they never reached their full potential in 2021, but I don’t think this series is going to be a clear 2-0 like the odds are pointing at this second.

My pick: Guild

NA Challengers (VAL): 100 Thieves (1.30) vs. The Guard (3.20)

Here we have another situation where a well-known team is going against a relative unknown to many viewers who only catch marquee games or international tournaments.

100 Thieves are a good team and have a roster that, in time, could compete with the best in NA, but how are The Guard such hefty underdogs? They’ve been a revelation to watch in the qualifiers for Challengers ever since adding 17-year-old Trent “trent” Cairns to the roster.

I don’t mind if you pick 100T or consider them favorites – they should win this match, especially if they want to make it to masters – but The Guard are being underrated to an extreme degree here. They beat a dangerous Luminosity Gaming team in week one and should give the Thieves more than just a test.

My pick: The Guard