Dota 2 Tournament LOOT.BET Winter Masters » Betting Tips
2019 has started on a positive note for the fans of Dota 2, as the LOOT.BET Winter Masters playoffs have started on January 2. Compared to the big events dedicated to the flagship MOBA by Valve, this is a tournament of smaller magnitude, but nevertheless exciting. It has a guaranteed prize pool of €50,000 and it is hosted by Epulze & joinDOTA, with the winners to be decided on January 5. A total of 12 teams participated and four of them receive direct invitations and were already qualified for the playoffs.
During the group stage, the other eight teams played in a best of one Round Robin format, with the best four to qualify for the playoffs. This phase of the competition was the most straightforward, but once the playoffs have started, the double elimination bracket made things more interesting. Another important detail about the LOOT.BET Winter Masters playoffs is that in the upper bracket, two quarterfinals and the resulting semi final are played on the same date.
Empire Faith are Underdogs against Pavaga Gaming
Pavaga Gaming had to play seven games in the group stage but made the most of them and have qualified for the quarterfinals. Here they will play against Empire Faith who secured a direct invitation and are yet to show their skill in the LOOT.BET Winter Masters. Betway regards the qualifiers as narrow favourites to prevail, as reflected by the odds of 4/5, while Empire Faith get even odds to prevail. The favourites have lost a single match in the group phase, but only after they have secured qualification to the playoffs.
Throughout the decisive stage, all upper bracket games are played in a best-of-three series, while in the losers’ brackets a single match is played. Those who suffer an early defeat can claw their way back into the lower bracket and try to finish on the podium. This is particularly important since only the top three places are paid, with €35,000 for the winner, €10,000 for the runner-up and €5000 for the player in third.
Forward Gaming Retain their Favourite Status
Forward Gaming were the second favourites to win the tournament and nothing has changed after the group stage. Nemiga Gaming had no problem in qualifying to the playoffs after losing just twice, yet they are huge underdogs in the quarterfinals. We only get odds of 1/5 at bet-at-home if we bet on Forward Gaming prevail, while the same bet on the underdogs is priced at 3/1.
As mentioned above, the semi final will be played just a few hours after both quarterfinals have concluded. ArcaneBet is the place to go for the early odds, as the bookmaker will publish them as soon as the names of the semi finalists will be determined. Forward Gaming are expected to reach this stage and will start with the first chance, regardless of who qualifies from the other quarterfinal.
