Entropiq (World rank: #19) vs. Dignitas (World rank: #28) - 10:00 A.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: Entropiq (-165) | Dignitas (+135)
Map Handicap: Entropiq -1.5 (+175) | Dignitas +1.5 (-220)
Map Total: Over 2.5 (+110) | Under 2.5 (-135)
- This is a best-of-three series for the play-in upper bracket of REPUBLEAGUE TIPOS Season 2
- Entropiq - stats at event: El1an 1.62 | Forester 1.46 | Krad 1.28 | Lack1 1.18 | NickelBack 1.15
- Entropiq - stats past three months: El1an 1.13 | Forester 1.08 | Krad 1.08 | NickelBack 1.05 | Lack1 0.98
- Dignitas - stats at event: hallzerk 1.31 | f0rest 1.09 | HEAP 1.01 | Lekr0 0.95 | friberg 0.83
- Dignitas - stats past three months: hallzerk 1.16 | f0rest 1.13 | Lekr0 1.10 | HEAP 1.03 | friberg 0.84
H2H Data:
- These rosters last faced each other in June at the Funspark ULTI 2021 Europe Playoffs. Entropiq swept that series 2-0 (19-15 Nuke / 16-4 Mirage) and El1an led the way with 57 kills and a 1.74 Rating across two maps.
Prediction/Narrative: Entropiq wins 2-0.
The only thing that maybe concerns me about Entropiq here is that they have the Major starting soon with their first match on Tuesday. However, these smaller tournaments can still be very important to tier two teams like Entropiq, and they are the highest rated team at the event with a 1.34 Rating across four maps, with El1an & Forester as the two highest rated players. Entropiq were projected as a potential winner of REPUBLEAGUE TIPOS S2, and I believe that will be focused on winning here despite the impending Major. Dignitas technically got eliminated from the event during group stage, but then EXTREMUM disbanded, so Dignitas ended up as the replacement team.
Inferno is the permaban for Entropiq, while Dignitas should continue to remove Dust2. Overpass has been Entropiq’s most played map in the past three months, though I expect them to pick Mirage where they have had their highest win rate with a 7-2 W/L record during that time. Nuke would be the clear choice for Dignitas as that has been their most played map by far in recent months. Entropiq have lost four in a row on Nuke, but Dignitas have lost four of their last five, and Entropiq did edge them out on that map in overtime last time. I’d expect to see Entropiq remove Vertigo with their next ban, which means they should have an advantage on the decider map, assuming it is Overpass or Ancient. Thus, I give an edge to Entropiq for the map pool, especially if we see a repeat of the maps from last time, when they swept 2-0.
My favorite play on Draftkings would be a three stack from Entropiq. El1an typically dominates in these types of match-ups, and he is a must play for me at $9,200. I like Forester slightly more than Krad based on pricing, but both look like great options here, and Krad has been excellent on Nuke with a 1.17 Rating in the past three months which is definitely something to consider. I prefer NickelBack over Lack1 based on the map pool, though both look like fine value plays. Dignitas is not the focus for me in this spot, but my favorite option on that side would be f0rest at $7,600.
Fiend (World rank: #17) vs. Eternal Fire (World rank: #69) - 1:00 P.M. ET
Moneyline Odds: Fiend (-385) | Eternal Fire (+260)
- This is a best-of-three series for the play-in upper bracket of REPUBLEAGUE TIPOS Season 2
- Fiend - stats at event: REDSTAR 1.27 | h4rn 1.26 | v1c7oR 1.19 | dream3r 1.10 | bubble 1.04
- Fiend - stats past three months: h4rn 1.15 | REDSTAR 1.10 | v1c7oR 1.08 | dream3r 1.07 | bubble 0.98
- Eternal Fire - stats at event: XANTARES 1.34 | imoRR 1.07 | woxic 1.01 | Calyx 0.96 | xfl0ud N/A
- Eternal Fire - stats past three months: XANTARES 1.27 | woxic 1.07 | imoRR 1.03 | xfl0ud 0.96 | Calyx 0.94
H2H Data:
- These rosters have never faced each other. The teams did play a best-of-one in September on Dust2 that Fiend won 16-13, but ISSAA was still on Eternal Fire instead of xfl0ud. ImoRR led the way with 24 kills and a 1.27 Rating despite his team losing.
Prediction/Narrative: Fiend wins 2-1.
These teams have similar playstyles since they are both stacked full of incredible aimers. Fiend should be the better team on paper, but this was a close match-up when the teams last met, and I expect more of the same. Eternal Fire just added xfl0ud to their roster last week, and so far it has not been smooth sailing as they have lost five of their six maps played with this roster. Still, there are positives to take away, especially since they faced solid competition: Fnatic, forZe and Wisla Krakow. Eternal Fire kept things close against forZe & Wisla Krakow, and they even managed to win on Overpass against Fnatic. As for the Bulgarians, they are now up to #17 in the world rankings, which is the highest peak that they have reached all year.
We can expect to see Eternal Fire remove Ancient while Fiend will likely ban Vertigo. Eternal Fire’s best map has been Dust2, but Fiend have a 14-1 W/L record on that map in the past three months, so Eternal Fire may consider picking another map like Nuke, where Fiend have only a 6-12 W/L record during that time. Fiend should pick their most played map, Mirage, where they have dominated with a 17-6 W/L record in the past three months, compared to a measly1-7 W/L record for Eternal Fire in that time period. On paper, this should be an easy series for Fiend, but I do think that the action on the server will be a lot closer than these odds show. Still, I have to give a huge edge to Fiend in terms of the map pool.
On Draftkings, I would look to stack three from Fiend, but I also don’t mind mixing in a one-off from Eternal Fire, such as XANTARES, woxic, or maybe even imoRR. My main priority will be the Bulgarian side though, and dream3r looks like a no brainer at only $6,800, although he has cooled off in recent months. H4rn should crush in this spot, though his $9,800 price tag makes him a bit difficult to get to. Still, he is my second favorite choice on Fiend. I like REDSTAR over v1c7oR, though neither one is a ‘must-play’ for me at these prices. Bubble can be inconsistent at times, but his $5,600 price tag seems worth the risk if you need to save some salary.