Your Guide to eSports Betting and Odds

eSports games and competitions began early in the 2000s but it wasn’t until shortly before the turn of the decade that it began to show some real potential. This was partly a result of the emergence of a number of fantastic games like League of Legends and StarCraft 2, which are both engaging to play and exciting to watch.

Throughout the past decade, new eSports varieties have come about, with a number of companies jumping on the bandwagon like Riot Games, Valve Corporation, and Blizzard Entertainment.

Among these games are Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, StarCraft 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Dota 2. Each of the aforementioned titles has become a hit with its very own tournaments, sponsors, players, coaches, analysts, professional teams, and community.

The numbers vary between titles, with the highest of those numbers being phenomenal for an industry still in its infancy. For example, the most recent Dota 2 World Championship offered a staggering prize pool of 25 million dollars.

League of Legends

Riot Games announced this free Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game in 2008 and made it available to the public the following year. Thanks to the inventive design and lively visuals it is not only entertaining to play LoL yourself, but just as much fun to watch other people play. The game is now the world’s most popular eSport.

Dota 2

This might ‘just’ be another free-to-play MOBA game but that’s where the similarities with League of Legends end. Valve Corporation, which also owns Steam, developed and published Dota 2. They began developing the title in 2009 but didn’t release it until four years later. Today, there are 12 million people enjoying Dota 2, which is best known for its enormous prize pools and its penchant for complexity. The game contains a vast number of mechanics and elements and therefore it isn’t easy for a new player to get their head around. Even entrepreneur Elon Musk used it to test AI projects that were developed by his company OpenAI.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)

Hidden Path Entertainment and Valve Corporation teamed up to develop this first-person shooter. It’s the fourth release on the popular Counter-Strike franchise and has sold over 25 million copies since its 2012 release.

StarCraft 2

This popular title has won a reputation for being the best-ever real-time strategy game. Certainly, it’s another gem from Blizzard Entertainment. This sequel is divided into three separate installments: Legacy of the Void, Heart of the Swarm, and Wings of Liberty. A short time after the first StarCraft was released, the sequel proved to be every bit as popular as its predecessor and later evolved into an eSport, much to the delight of fans.

Heroes of the Storm

This free MOBA game is another offering from Blizzard Entertainment. While it’s every bit an eSport as any other MOBA title we’ve discussed, it’s more straightforward and contains fewer features. The protagonists, for example, neither level up nor use any objects. Instead, the fun comes from playing as part of a team.

Hearthstone

Another free title from the prolific Blizzard Entertainment. However, this game is different in one major way: it’s a card game. While lady luck has a role to play, it’s not unlike Poker in that the more you learn, the more you can use that knowledge to your advantage and give yourself a better chance to win.

By acquiring advanced knowledge of a particular game, you can observe a match or an overall tournament you’re betting on and recognise a bona fide betting opportunity with attractive odds and a high chance of success.

Here are some tips on betting on eSports that will offer you an advantage.

• Assess each participant of any tournament, particularity any recent results. Whenever two teams go head-to-head, learning about their previous match-ups and overall team history will provide you with the knowledge necessary to make a calculated and informed decision.
• Watch any match that you’re betting on. You’re able to place more than one bet in any single match, which enables you to apply a number of different betting tactics. For example, you could make a straightforward bet but later cancel it out by betting on the opposing outcome when the second bet offers odds high enough to make this tactic viable. This is a great tactic to include in your arsenal for those moments when the game goes against you and you need to apply damage control as opposed to chasing losses.
• Learn as much as you can about any match you get involved in before you place your first bet. In a MOBA game, for example, you can even watch the drafting phase before making any decision on who you should bet on. Even if you haven’t fully got to grips with the game at this point, the analysts will help you out by providing numerous clues on which team drafted better. What you’re hoping for in this phase is that the best team has a better draft than its opponent.
• Pay attention to any game and roster changes. If there have been any changes to the eSport you’re betting on, such as a key patch or if a team has made any roster changes, this can have a significant impact. At least one team in any tournament may have been awarded a place because another, better, team had issues with their visa and the organisers needed to call upon a replacement. In this case, that replacements can be a far weaker team that you could bet against.
• When you’re tempted by a match because you feel that a particular team has a clear advantage over its opponent, you can find decent betting odds if you bet on an event consistent with the match’s results. For example, if you feel that a particular team will win the game you’re considering betting on, look for other game events that you feel they will win, or at least achieve in a shorter amount of time than the team they’re going up against.

• • straight odds. The most straightforward type of bet where you back a winner or a draw.
  • outright winner. Here, you predict the tournament winner before the first game of the tournament has even been played and then wait to find out the overall winner.
  • live betting. This type of bet allows you to see real-time odds while the match is underway. The odds can change in a moment, depending on who appears to be in the lead.

   

  If you know anything at all about eSports, betting can be a simple way of applying that knowledge. Of course, it also makes watching a tournament even more fun. Some choose to bet casually while others learn all they can to make money from something they already love. No matter whether you consider yourself a casual or a die-hard fan, we offer tips to help you make the most of your betting, along with an opportunity to make money with us.