TEAM LIQUID vs NIGMA DOTA 2 BETTING & MATCH DETAILS
Dota2 Betting Odds:	Liquid $2.02 at GG Bet | Nigma $1.73 at GG Bet
Dota2 Betting Lines:	Liquid +1.5 at $1.33 | Nigma -1.5 at $3.11
When:	June 9, 2020 at 16:30 CEST
Watch Live:	Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/BLASTDota)

TEAM LIQUID vs NIGMA BLAST BOUNTY HUNT BETTING PREVIEW

Team Liquid and Nigma will clash for the eighth time in history this Tuesday in the opening fixture of the BLAST Bounty Hunt, which will see six of the strongest European Dota2 esports teams fight over a US $145,000 prize pool.

Seeing Nigma’s roster play against Team Liquid is still a bit strange, even now, eight months since they left to play under a new banner. While Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and his crew enjoyed a very successful period at Liquid, they have yet to gain any serious traction since becoming independent.

While Nigma boast one of the most stacked Dota2 rosters in the scene, they are also one of the most inconsistent. At the start of the year, for instance, they made it to the Leipzig Major playoffs without losing a single map, only to drop games against Evil Geniuses and beastcoast to finish ninth-12th.

They followed that up with a grand finals appearance at the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 3 Europe Qualifier and a title-winning run at WePlay! Dota 2 Tug of War: Mad Moon in February, which remain two of their best placements to date. Last weekend, Nigma also concluded their run at ESL One Birmingham 2020 – Online: Europe & CIS, where they lost to Team Secret (1-2) in the third round of the lower bracket to finish in fourth place.

Although the online format might have contributed to Nigma’s recent struggles, it’s still somewhat surprising to see the core of players that won The International 2017 put up such mediocre results. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before we stop connecting this roster with their legacy, but we can’t deny that Nigma, when at their best, can defeat anyone.

While Team Liquid are not the powerhouse they once were, they have put up some decent performances this year. TL finished fifth-sixth at the Leipzig Major, fourth at DOTA Summit 12, third at WePlay! Pushka League S1: Division 1, second at OGA Dota PIT 2020 Online: Europe/CIS and, most recently, fifth-sixth at ESL One Birmingham 2020 – Online: Europe & CIS after losing 0-2 to Nigma in the second round of the lower bracket.

Liquid have posted solid results in most of the events they have attended and picked up a couple of wins against formidable opponents. Overall, however, Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi and his crew have fallen short of the mark as they are yet to win any silverware this season.

What’s more, Liquid tend to struggle when facing Nigma, so their best bet heading into this match is to count on their opponents’ inconsistency.

TEAM LIQUID vs NIGMA BLAST BOUNTY HUNT BETTING PREDICTIONS

Since December, when they clashed at the DreamLeague Season 13 Europe Closed Qualifier, these teams have met seven times. Team Liquid won three matches and eight maps, while Nigma picked up the remaining four series wins and 10 maps.

Their most recent two meetings took place last month at ESL One Birmingham: EU/CIS. The first match was played during the group stage, where Nigma reverse-swept Liquid (2-1) in a close match in which the third and final map took over an hour to decide. Their second meeting in the playoffs was much more one-sided, although it’s worth noting that Liquid were forced to replace iNSaNiA with Petu “Peksu” Vaatainen from OG.Seed for that clash.

It should come as no surprise that esports bookmakers have priced Nigma as favourites for this match, but we are not comfortable backing them at $1.73. Nigma are likely to come out with a win, but considering these meetings often go down to the wire, over 2.5 maps is a much more appealing option for us.