NiP vs. Vikin.gg BTS Pro Series playoffs betting odds, analysis

Though it’s been overshadowed by the OGA Dota PIT League Season 3, BTS Pro Series’ Europe and CIS tournament has also delivered the goods for fans. The group stage has wrapped up and the playoffs are set to kick off this weekend. 

The second upper bracket match sees Vikin.gg and Ninjas in Pyjamas face off. This is a relatively fresh matchup despite both teams being very active of late, and it’s one that warrants a closer look for bettors.

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Vikin.gg BTS Pro Series betting analysis

NiP still struggling in Dota 2 without ppd

The retirement of Peter “ppd” Dager continues to haunt Ninjas in Pyjamas. The North American captain called it a career in the spring, with NiP quickly signing the Chicken Fighters lineup led by Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev. That was disappointing to many on its own, as ppd’s version of the team was just starting to hit its stride, but it became even worse for NiP as the new roster seemingly got worse after signing with the organization.

The departure of former leader SoNNeikO has left NiP fielding a substitute for months now, with the team’s lineup in the BTS Pro Series standing as follows:

1. Charlie “CharlieDota” Arat
2. Ondřej “Supream^” Štarha
3. Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek
4. Adrian “Era” Kryeziu
5. Mihail “Misha” Agatov

NiP’s summer has been generally disastrous. The team’s best performance was taking fifth in the WePlay! Pushka League, and past that have been a number of last-place finishes. In the BTS Pro Series, which is largely made up of tier-two teams, NiP has looked more at home against lower-tier competition.

Still, NiP does look a bit better than it has in months past. This lineup has a lot of work ahead to establish itself as a force in Europe.

Vikin.gg has fallen back to earth in Dota 2

Vikin.gg was the biggest surprise of the spring in Dota 2. The team took shocked fans by eliminating Team Secret from ESL One Los Angeles and going on to place third at the event. This was followed by a string of first-place finishes in lower-tier events.

That success had Vikin.gg looking like a potential contender in Europe, but that hasn’t held up over time. Vikin.gg has shown itself to be a very good team, but it suffers from the sheer depth of the European region. A case can be made that Vikin.gg is one of the 20 best Dota 2 teams in the world, but it’s also proven to be a definitive cut below prestigious organizations such as OG, Team Nigma, and Alliance.

The team’s lineup stands as follows:

1. Indji “Shad” Lub
2. Miroslav “BOOM” Bičan
3. Tobias “Tobi” Buchner
4. Adam “Aramis” Moroz
5. Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp

Vikin.gg performed slightly better than NiP in the group stage, but doesn’t seem to be in particularly strong form in this event.

Vikin.gg vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas BTS Pro Series predictions, odds

NiP and Vikin.gg have faced off three times in the past, with a split record of 1-1-1. Their group stage match was a 1-1 draw, but NiP actually got the better of their most recent showdown which came in the qualifiers for the OGA Dota PIT League Season 3.

Vikin.gg’s better performance over recent months has the team standing as a modest favorite, with the line currently at 1.61 vs. 2.17 on Winners.bet. There’s also a robust offering of prop bets for the match on various bookmakers.

As the line suggests, Vikin.gg is the overall better team and should be looked at as the most likely winner. The big concern there is that Vikin.gg is actually on a three-game losing streak right now and the team does have a tendency to run cold for extended periods of time. If that’s the case, NiP does have what it takes to take the victory.