Honor of Kings World Cup quarterfinals betting preview – EWC 2025

Get set for the first day of quarterfinal action in the Honor of Kings World Cup 2025 playoffs in Riyadh, where eight remain in the hunt for the US $3 million prize pool.

Wednesday’s action at the Esports World Cup features two best‑of‑seven clashes that pit local heroes Twisted Minds against Hong Kong dark horses Paws Gaming, followed by a heavyweight showdown between Chinese juggernaut Nova Esports and European upstarts OG.

Read on to see our HoK betting tips and match predictions for July 23, 2025.

Twisted Minds vs Paws Gaming

Best Odds: Twisted Minds -181.82 at BetOnline | Paws Gaming +125 at SportsBetting
When: July 23, 2025 | 12:00 AST
Watch Live: Twitch

Twisted Minds arrive as Major West Spring champions, boasting early‑objective mastery under coach Zhang Kai. The Saudis secure first turtle in 78% of games and average +1.2k gold at 15 minutes. Their dive‑heavy Guan Yu and Marco Polo drafts thrive when they grab the outer ring of towers before the 10‑minute mark.

Paws Gaming’s win‑rate is higher (31‑12 in 2025) thanks to razor‑sharp jungle pathing from Nelson “Myosotis” Cheng and late‑game carry Jiang “FengJie” Longhui, and they hold the tournament’s biggest 15‑minute gold lead (+2.8k). Yet the Hong Kong side dropped first tower in 36% of group games — a red flag against TM’s relentless lane pressure.

If PawsG deny Guan Yu in draft and force Twisted Minds onto slower front‑line tanks, they can elongate maps and lean on split‑push Lu Bu win conditions. Otherwise, expect the hometown favourites to snowball.

Nova Esports vs OG

Best Odds: Nova -588.24 at BetOnline | OG +320 at BetOnline
When: July 18, 2025 | 15:00 AST
Watch Live: Twitch

Fresh off a one‑loss romp through the KPL Global Tour Spring, Nova Esports enter playoffs with an outrageous +4.2k gold differential at 15 minutes and a perfect 12‑0 record on jungle‑swap Mulan for star mid‑laner Fei. Their patented 1‑3‑1 macro stretches opponents across the map before collapsing with global ultimates such as Zhang Fei and Liu Bang.

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European hopefuls OG upset heavyweights in the West League by chaining Sun Bin speed‑boost compositions around jungler DaoDao, whose 73% kill participation is the highest left in the field. Their quickest average lord take (12:42) shows a willingness to force early fights, but surrendering 42% of tier‑two turrets pre‑lord could be fatal if Nova lock down vision.

OG must ban Mulan and Jing during the first rotation and ride early skirmish wins with Yi Se or Lu Bu. Should Nova secure their comfort picks, expect them to choke out vision and tempo‑snowball.