League of Legends betting – an introduction

League of Legends Betting – An Introduction

By Jack Ratcliffe Jan 23, 2013

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League of Legends is now officially the biggest online game in the world, with players amassing more monthly man-hours than World of Warcraft. In response to that demand, Pinnacle Sports now offers League of Legends betting in addition to its already world-beating eSports betting coverage.

Inspired by the popular Defence of the Ancients map for Warcraft III, it’s no surprise that League of Legends (LoL) went on to be as successful as its predecessor – particularly in the eSports betting market. We’ve already discussed DOTA 2 betting in a previous article, and our LoL offering is every bit as comprehensive.

For those of you less familiar with LoL, it’s an action RTS video game played between two teams of five players each, with 110 different champions from which to choose. Teams begin at opposing sides of a map in an area called the Spawning Pool, near what is called a Nexus. A match is won when either team’s nexus is destroyed.

To destroy a Nexus, each team must work through a series of Turrets placed along a path to each base referred to as a Lane. Along the way, each player gains levels from killing the opposing team’s champions and Minions and defeating neutral monsters. Completing objectives rewards players with gold, which is used to purchase items.

LoL betting itself began to gain traction in 2011 during the first season of the World Championships, where European team Fnatic defeated teams from around the world to win a prize of $50,000. Although there were professional events before this, this period marked the beginning of LoL as a sport for high-stakes spectators.

As the stakes have risen, so has the interest, and with a pot of $5mil dished out last season, Season 3 is expected to be even more exciting for pro-gamers and bettors alike.

Lol Betting – Tournaments

LoL betting features at all of the major Pro-Gaming tournaments throughout the year, including the IGN Pro League, Major League Gaming and Intel Extreme Masters events.

Thanks to a huge investment by the game’s creators Riot Games, this year will also see the League of Legends Championship Series. Featuring huge prizes, professional salaries and the best action, the League of Legends Championship Series is set to be the highlight of the LoL season.

Other competitions are also covered, including OGN The Champions and NiceGameTV – check our Betting Menu under the E-Sports category for all our latest offerings. A list containing current and upcoming events can be found at: http://leaguepedia.com/wiki/Main_Page.

Betting options include outrights, 1×2 (who will win a particular match), handicap and individual map betting.

LoL Betting – Tactics and Talents

While the individual nuances of League of Legends provide a distinctly different gaming experience from DOTA 2, there are many cross-game skills that can improve both your DOTA and LoL betting.

For example, examining teams is vitally important. Team coordination can be noticeably improved within just a few weeks, while a player’s individual skill fluctuates less wildly.

Watch out for the three major factors that influence how well a team is coordinated going into a contest: roster changes, which can shake up a team’s unity, how much practice time the teams have, and the impact of game patches.

It’s also important to understand which in-game characters (champions) are strong against other types, and which players like to use them. Because of the large number of characters, aided by the ability to ban other teams from choosing certain characters, teams can gain a huge advantage before a round has even begun.

Therefore to be successful in League of Legends betting, it’s important to stay up to date with recent tournament results, teams roster changes and other useful news. These sites provide this kind of info, including team rankings:

http://www.gosugamers.net/lol

http://www.in2lol.com/en/start

All League of Legends matches are streamed online and are free to watch.

If you’re also interested in DOTA 2 betting, Pinnacle Sports offers the best DOTA 2 odds online, as well as Starcraft and other eSports odds.

*Odds subject to change

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