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So in a departure from our usual style, we are going to give you a recap of the two ongoing tournaments. We’ll also examine how the betting looks in each of these events.
We will begin with the Dota 2 Asia Championship 2017 Qualifiers, which are running Feb. 3 through Feb. 13. Three of the four events are complete at this time.
Dota 2 Asia Championship 2017 Qualifiers
As you may know from last week’s article, the Asia Championships 2017 Qualifiers began last week in four regions: the Americas, Southeast Asia, Europe, and a CIS
qualifier. One team from each of the four qualifiers will earn a place in the finals of this huge event.
Eight teams are already confirmed as qualifying. Evil Geniuses, Wings Gaming, OG, and Newbee were all offered a direct invite into the finals. Invictus Gaming, Team VG.J, LGD.Forever Young, and iG Vitality earned their places through the Chinese Qualifier (played in mid-January).
Let’s see how things are shaping up in each qualifying sections:
Americas
With the group phase now complete, compLexity Gaming and Team NP moved on with perfect 2-0 records. Digital Chaos finished second in Group A to take on Team NP in one semifinal, with Team Onyx taking on compLexity Gaming in the other.
Southeast Asia
Team Faceless and TNC Pro Team made it through as group winners. Then, Team Faceless wrapped up a comfortable 2-0 win over Mski.GGNetwork in the first semifinal.
The second semifinal between TNC and WG.Unity took place on Feb. 8. That first result puts Team Faceless into the Winners Final, while Mski.GGNetwork drop into the Losers Round.
Europe
There was a surprise in the European section where B)ears ended up winning Group A without dropping a single game. Team Liquid came through the top of Group B.
B)ears will face Group B runner-up Cloud9 in the first semifinal, with Team Liquid taking on Group A runner-up Team Secret in the second.
CIS
Effect and Team Spirit made it through Group A setting up semifinals with Team Empire and Vega Squadron, respectively.
Effect has been the team to watch here, not dropping a map in two victories, while the difference between the other teams has often come down to a single game.
Recap
Most surprising is the caliber of the teams that have not made it through the qualifiers. Established Dota 2 teams such as Virtus.pro, Alliance, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Execration all fell at the first hurdle. It highlights just how difficult and open this competition promises to be.
Bet365 is currently offering a number of bets on the tournament, including the popular Match Winner market for the remaining playoff games.
LoL Spring Split 2017 Update
We are now a few weeks into the League of Legends Spring Split tournament. Several qualification events are happening across the globe, and Bet365 always offers a huge amount of betting on 
these big LoL events. They’re some of the most important in the industry.
Let’s take a closer look at how things are shaping up in the four leagues. These are generally accepted to be the powerhouses when it comes to LoL gaming: North America, Europe, South Korea, and China.
North America LCS Spring Split 2017
Four teams have made strong starts in the North American Spring Split. Cloud9 made the best start with a 6-0 record. FlyQuest eSports and Team SoloMid acquired 5-1 records, followed by Phoenix1 in fourth with at 4-2. All other teams have either 2-4 or 1-5 records in what looks like the most competitive qualifying group.
There’s a big matchup this week between the top two teams, FlyQuest and Cloud9.
Europe CS Spring Split 2017
In Europe, G2 Esports and Unicorns of Love top their respective tables with 3-0 records. Misfits and H2k Gaming are second with 3-1 records. Fnatic and Splyce are third with 2-2 records.
It’s a busy week for G2 Esports as they face H2k Gaming and then OG in their two games. Unicorns of Love play just the once against Giants! Gaming. Punters can bet on all these matches and many more at Bet365.
Korea LCK Spring Split 2017
World champions SK Telecom T1 got off to a blistering start in their 2017 campaign. They’ve won all four of their matches so far. KT Rolster is also undefeated and equally impressive. Both these teams sit ahead of third-place Samsung Galaxy and fourth-place bbq OLIVERS.
There are some big games taking place this week that will likely influence the final standings. KT Rolster faces Jin Air Green Wings, followed by a showdown against the team that beat them in the World Championships last year: Samsung Galaxy.
SK Telecom will play Afreeca Freecs and then bbq OLIVERS in two games the champions stand a good chance of winning.
China LPL Spring Split 2017
The Chinese qualifiers have not advanced as far as the other sections. At the moment, there are four teams with perfect records: IMay and Snake Esports in Group A and EDward Gaming and Qiao Gu Reapers in Group B.
It should be noted Snake and Qiao Gu have only played a single game, compared to two for the other two unbeaten teams.
Betting action this week includes IMay taking on Snake Esports. They will also face off against OMG at the bottom of the table. Snake’s second game this week is against a 1-1 Royal Never Give Up squad.
The bookmakers still have EDward Gaming as the top team here: 7/2 favorites to win the event outright, with World Elite 9/2 and IMay a 6/1 outsider.
