It’s been an incredible showing of Dota 2 talents at the Huya Dota2 Invitational. However, with one last day to go, things are looking blurry about which candidate will win.
Southeast Asia representative, OB.Neon surprised everybody with unexpected victories over the Chinese rivals. Notably, they defeated team Royal Never Give Up and the famed Invictus Gaming to secure their position as grand finalists.
On the contrary, OB.Neon is at the brim of elimination in the Dota Pro Circuit 2021-22 (DPC2021-22) SEA region. Hence, we were reasonably baffled by OB.Neon’s unexpectedly great run at the Huya Dota2 Invitational 2021.
Invictus Gaming vs Royal Never Give Up (Lower Bracket Final)
With OB.Neon’s newfound victory over IG, the fans are divided even further on which Chinese powerhouse to side. On one hand, IG is the Singapore Major champ and maintained a dominating form even in the International 10 (TI10). There’s no denying that IG is arguably the most synchronized team in the market, as they have great team morale.
Whereas RNG rose to our expectations as a hot candidate to debut at the DPC2021-22. Housing several former PSG.LGD players and other high-profile players, RNG’s current line-up looked significantly better than the trainwreck, Team Elephant. On paper, both teams are formidable, so their match odds of approximately x1.85 odds reflects that.
Match Picks, Bans & Strategies
While the general odds are relatively even, there are exotic betting markets that may look enticing. Before that, let’s talk drafts and strategies.
IG heavily relies on big team fight combos, which is an understatement since IG excels in initiations into clean teamwipes. Their midlaner, Zhou “Emo” Yi is essentially IG’s sole playmaker, alongside both supports providing counter initiations and saving mechanisms. We will certainly see Void Spirit or Ember Spirit picks for Emo, but that’s assuming their opponent isn’t already opting for heavy lockdowns.
We saw OB.Neon effectively forced Emo to play outside his typical hero pool. This compromise was arguably what led to IG’s downfall during the earlier upper bracket final. Hence, expect multiple long-range saving supports, such as Weaver and Abaddon.
Meanwhile, RNG opts for aggressive playstyles that often snowball well into the midgame. It’s a standard playstyle, that would work most of the time if their opponent wasn’t an elusive player. Against IG however, team RNG will most certainly need to re-evaluate their plans. Nevertheless, expect Lu “Somnus丶M” Yao to play his signature picks, mostly aggressive carries, such as Bloodseeker, Leshrac, or Broodmother if he’s feeling adventurous.
These heroes will force IG’s reaction as it would be impossible to ignore Somnus asserting dominance over the enemy territory.
Match Predictions and Odds
Reviewing their playstyles, it’s evident that these teams love their teamfights, which of course means massacre. Albeit we will have to side RNG on this match even though IG is the more seasoned team.
The death counter can increase drastically as the game progresses due to IG’s aggression. Total kills can reach well over 55.5 kills, which gives a decent x3.12 return. Another consideration is the match duration, which seems to average at over 40.5 minutes, rewarding x3.32 returns.
Special markets, such as “First Blood, Destroy First Tower, Kill First Courier and Win Map” can be a fun bet since it returns x7.00 winnings. RNG is a good candidate for this particular bet since their aggressive draft calls for easy first blood, quicker pushing capabilities, and win the map. There’s no doubt that it’s indeed a difficult task, but considering its multi-fold returns, it’s worth the leap of faith.
Consider the “First Blood and Win Map” market in favor of RNG too. At a decent x3.06 return, it’s an easier alternative to the previous market and has a higher chance of occurrence. These odds make for a great betting slip together and are exclusively available on GG.bet.
OB.Neon vs Royal Never Give Up – Grand Final (Updated)
OB.Neon could pull off a win at the Huya Dota2 Invitational 2021, if they best RNG in their drawn out games. While OB.Neon have proven their strength by taking down both RNG and IG before, it still easy to win a best of series versus any Chinese team.
The grand final is an excruciating best-of-five series, so there’s certainly less room for mere flukes. Expect more then 4 games for sure in these series, and average game times longer then 30 minutes.
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