Huya Dota 2 Winter Invitational 2021 predictions – Friday, December 24

ESB’s free esports betting predictions for Friday, December 24, include three Huya Dota 2 Winter Invitational 2021 bouts. Here are our selections for Xtreme Gaming vs Team SMG, Vici Gaming vs Team MagMa, and iG.Vitality vs Invictus Gaming, with top odds courtesy of BetOnline.


Team SMG gained a large following of Dota 2 fans last season thanks to their consistency, but Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng and co. will face a tough challenge this Friday when they clash with Xtreme Gaming. The all-Chinese roster enter the Huya Dota 2 Winter Invitational as a relatively unknown threat, but also a squad that demands respect.

Fielding former Sparking Arrow Gaming duo in Wang “J” Wenjun and Sun “Srf” Runfa, who teamed up by former Vici Gaming teammates in Ding “Dy” Cong, Xiong “Pyw”‘ Jiahan, and Zhang “Paparazi灬” Chengjun, Xtreme Gaming seem to be a second attempt at creating a Chinese Dota 2 superteam, after Elephant fell flat at The International 10. While we don’t know how well Xtreme will do this season, they have successfully qualified for the upper division of the Chinese Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), which is nothing to sneeze at.

Team SMG are known to do well against stronger teams, but at +128, we have to side with the new Chinese superteam to deliver.


Vici Gaming enter the new season with a much weaker roster, and while they still have some solid pieces, Vici will likely struggle to claim a top-two finish in Group A. They might prove us wrong, but to do so, Vici can’t afford to lose against Team MagMa.

MagMa enter the Huya Dota 2 Winter Invitational following an impressive top-two finish in Chinese Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Tour 1 Division II. Although they couldn’t beat Xtreme Gaming (0-2), MagMa looked very convincing in the remaining outings and proved that they deserve to carry the tag as one of the strongest teams in the region.

On paper, Yang “poyoyo” Shaohan and co. look like the most likely victors, but we haven’t seen them play yet, so it’s fair to question whether they’re really as strong as the latest Dota 2 betting odds suggest. We know that MagMa are good enough to put up a fight, so a draw is a real possibility, but at +504, we have to add a smaller wager on the outsiders to cause an upset.


Clashes between the main roster and its academy team are always exciting, but they tend to end in only one way. As the Dota 2 betting odds suggest, Invictus Gaming should win, and while we have no issue with that, it’s shocking to see them priced as high as +106.

For whatever reason, IG are not getting much respect from the top esports betting sites this tournament, which is confusing, knowing that Zhou “Emo” Yi and his crew placed in the top four at The International 10 just two months back.

Ring rust is a factor, and it will likely affect IG’s performances at the start, but by the time they clash with iG.Vitality, Emo and co. would have already played two games. There is quite a significant skill gap between these two squads, and there is no reason to believe IG can’t win.