League of Legends (LoL) is one of the biggest esports titles in the world, offering fantastic betting opportunities. This ultimate LoL betting guide explores everything a beginner needs to start wagering on competitive League of Legends matches and tournaments.
Gameplay Basics
LoL is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Riot Games. Two teams of five players compete on a map called Summoner’s Rift. The goal is to destroy the enemy team’s Nexus located at their base. Key gameplay concepts:
- Champions – Players control unique Champions with special abilities. There are over 140 Champions.
- Lanes – The map has 3 lanes – top, mid and bottom. 5 vs 5 fights occur in lanes.
- Jungle – Areas between lanes filled with neutral monsters and bushes to ambush enemies.
- Items – Players earn gold to buy items that strengthen their Champions.
- Leveling – Champions gain experience and levels to unlock abilities by killing enemies.
Understanding these basics is crucial to analyzing matches for betting. New bettors should play some LoL games to grasp gameplay before wagering.
Betting Markets
Let’s explore the main betting markets for competitive League of Legends:
- Match Winner – Betting on which team will win the match.
- Handicaps – Giving a team a boost if they lose, but not by more than the handicap margin.
- Totals – Betting whether more or less than a specified number of kills, towers, dragons etc will occur.
- Map Spreads – Predicting the map score margin between teams in a best-of series.
- Prop Bets – Wagering on player-specific metrics like kills or gold earned.
- Live Betting – Placing bets while watching matches in real-time as odds shift.
These markets provide extensive betting options across LoL tournaments.
Major Tournaments
The premier events for LoL betting include:
- World Championship – The pinnacle LoL event each year with top teams from every region. Offering huge betting volume.
- MSI – Mid-Season Invitational featuring the Spring split winner from each major region.
- LCS – The North American and European regional leagues with regular season and playoffs.
- LCK – The elite South Korean league with top LoL teams like T1 and Gen.G.
- LPL – The Chinese region league with stacked rosters of talented players.
These tournaments have extensive live streaming and data for bettors to analyze.
Research and Analysis
Sharp LoL betting requires in-depth research:
- Team/Player Form – Review recent results and performances to gauge current form.
- Head-to-Head – How teams matched up historically offers insight into stylistic advantages and disadvantages.
- Champion Pool – Analyze which Champions and combinations teams like to draft.
- Stats – Key numbers like kill/death ratios, creep scores, gold differences at 15 minutes.
- Meta – Study gameplay trends and evolving strategies within the season.
- News – Roster changes, ping, patch changes all influence betting decisions.
Use all available data to make informed LoL bets.
Live Betting Dynamics
Live, in-play betting brings added excitement and opportunities:
- Gold Difference – If one team races ahead early in gold earned, consider betting them while odds are still longer.
- Baron/Dragon – Securing these key objectives shifts momentum to favor a team, potentially creating betting value.
- Scaling – Some compositions with late-game Champions become stronger over time.
- Surrendering – Once a team opts to surrender, immediately bet the victors next map.
- Styles – Aggressive early teams vs late-scaling teams creates oscillations in match dynamics.
- Comebacks – With strong AOE teamfight Champions, comeback potential always exists. Don’t count teams out too early.
Stay alert to swiftly capitalize on live betting situations as they emerge.
Betting Strategy Tips
Apply these strategic tips when betting on League of Legends:
- Find a specialty – Become an expert on a specific region or tournament to gain betting edges.
- Focus the champion pool – Thoroughly analyzing a handful of Champions provides more insight than superficial knowledge.
- Watch VODs – Study video replays of teams and players to become intimately familiar with their play.
- Note streaks – LoL matches come in hot streaks and cold streaks. Bet more aggressively after convincing wins or losses.
- Have patience – Wait to bet team fights rather than impulsive wagers at every minor skirmish.
- Leverage statistics – Use stats to verify perceptions and expose mismatches to bet on.
- Value counter-trends – When a mediocre team goes on a win streak, bet on them to eventually regress.
- Manage your bankroll – Don’t bet emotionally, stick to sensible stakes within your means.
With the right approach, LoL betting can be tremendously rewarding.
Conclusion
League of Legends offers a premier esport betting experience once you learn the Champions, tournaments and strategic nuances that dictate matches. Do your homework on all the top teams and players, utilise live betting to maximum effect, and stay up to date with meta shifts. By following this LoL betting guide, you’ll be equipped to start profiting on competitive LoL events.