The International 10 betting picks – October 9, 2021

Esportbet returns with another set of free Dota 2 betting predictions for The International 10 group stage. Here are our selections for Evil Geniuses vs OG, Team Aster vs T1, and Elephant vs SG esports, with top odds courtesy of the leading esports bookmakers for gamblers in United States.

?OG started their road to a three-peat with a draw against Virtus.pro and two victories against Alliance and Thunder Predator. While three games aren’t enough to draw any conclusions, it seems like the current meta might suit OG both with how they like to play and their players’ preferred heroes.

One thing to take away from OG’s performances is that they heavily rely on Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan, who has ended the series against Alliance with a combined record of 35/2/16 and was just as impressive in the remaining two bouts. Seeing SumaiL carry his team – as he has done with any roster he was a part of – is not too shocking, but it also suggests that OG might struggle against squads who know how to shut down the Pakistani Dota 2 esports superstar.

Evil Geniuses just might fit that bill, with Artour “Arteezy” Babaev. Even though Arteezy hasn’t had an as outstanding individual performance as SumaiL on day one, he is still a world-class player.

There weren’t many draws on the opening day of TI10, but this fixture seems like it could end in one. We prefer EG slightly over their arch-rivals, but not enough to bet on them at the offered Dota 2 betting odds.

?Most people will expect Team Aster to defeat T1, but we are not as excited about the Chinese Dota 2 team. While Aster have done well for themselves in their region, they have struggled on the international stage and finished ninth-12th at both Major tournaments.

T1 had an excellent showing during WePlay AniMajor, where they finished in third place and have been very solid throughout the whole season. T1 are a well-rounded team with a star player in Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon, easily one of the best carry players at TI10.

Team Aster might seem stronger on paper, but they aren’t in great shape and have to deal with an added disadvantage of playing remotely after some team members tested positive for COVID. Based on what we have seen on day one of TI10 action, the offered Dota 2 betting odds should be much closer to even money, so we have to favour T1 at outsider odds.

?The International 10 group stage matches rarely go as expected, but the Dota 2 betting odds on this match seem to undervalue Elephant. While they have slipped before, there is no hiding that Elephant are a significantly better team than SG esports.

This is a match between solid contenders for an upper bracket berth and a team likely to crash out of TI10 after the group stage. Elephant have their issues, but this is still a team with some of the best talent the Chinese Dota 2 scene has to offer, including Xu “fy” Linsen.

SG esports have not made it to any of the two Majors and have struggled against other teams from their region. Even a draw would be a huge upset, but we wouldn’t count on it happening.