Have you been watching the developing esports industry with a sense of wonder and perhaps confusion? Well don’t worry, we have all you need to know about esports in this article, together with two big previews of the two biggest tournaments in the esports industry, both of which start this week in Europe.
You may well think that esports is something best left to younger punters, but it doesn’t take a huge amount of knowledge to start enjoying betting on esports. Certainly, sites like bet365 Sport have radically increased the amount of esports coverage they offer over the years and for good reason; it is a hugely popular betting market especially with millennials and Generation Z customers.
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The good news is that esports betting is treated as sports betting on bet365 Sport, which means that if you have used your bet365 bonus code to sign up and have some bet365 credits left on your account, you can use them to enjoy a spot of esports betting if you so like.
So why are we talking about esports this week? Well, it just so happens that due to cancellations in the usual calendar, the two biggest esports tournaments in the world are set to get underway this week, attracting interest from millions of fans around the globe.
Now, if you are an esports novice, let’s begin by learning a little more about both these esports and their biggest tournament of the year.
What Are League Of Legends And Dota 2 Esports?
Although totally different games, League of Legends and Dota 2 are both examples of the extremely popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) types of esports. In these games, teams of characters, which players can select, compete against another team of characters in order to defeat them and win the Map.
Each character in the game has certain skills, powers and strengths and weaknesses which, when combined with the other characters on their team and the skills of the players, battle it out against the opposition to defeat them and win the map.
That is the very basics of each game, but in truth there is a huge amount of strategy and skill involved in deciding which characters to pick to best complement your team and also deal your opponents the most damage.
Although a similar game type, League of Legends and Dota 2 are very different games and while LoL is the most popular in terms of the number of players and fans that tune in to watch the games, Dota 2 is by far and away the richest esports tournament in the world, and the 2021 version will break new records for prize money.
What Is Esports Betting Like?
If you have never bet on esports, then don’t worry. You place bets and peruse markets on esports as you would for any type of sports bet. However, you may require a bit more specialist knowledge on the esports you are intending to bet on in order to maximise your chances of turning a bet into a win.
Bet365 offers a wide range of esports to bet on and there will be plenty of markets, both pre-match, pre-tournament and also In Play on both the big tournaments taking place this week. You can select from the wide range of bets on The International and League of Legends World Championships at bet365 right now and throughout both tournaments.
Simply place your bet as you would any other at bet365 Sport. Click on the odds on a market to add it to your bet slip, enter your stake and place the bet. Then sit back and tune in to a streaming service to see how your bet gets on, if you so wish! Unfortunately, the Bet365 live streaming schedule does not currently have events available.
League of Legends World Championships
The month-long League of Legends World Championship starts on the 5th October and runs
through until the 6th November 2021.
A total of 22 teams will compete in the event, 10 in the initial Play In stage, with the remaining 12 teams seeded into the Main Event of the tournament which takes place following the Play In.
The Play In Stage features two groups of five teams, with just one team eliminated from the tournament at the initial Group Stage and then two more teams eliminated once we reach the Play In Knockout phase after the group stage.
Play In Stage Teams
- Group A – Hanwha Life Esports (Korea), LNG Esports (China), Infinity Esports (Thailand), PEACE (Australia), RED Canids (Brazil)
- Group B – Beyond Gaming (Macau), Cloud9 (USA), Unicorns of Love (Russia), Galatasaray Esports (Turkey), DetonatioN FocusMe (Japan)
The four remaining teams go into the Main Event and will be drawn into one of the four groups that have already been drawn for this stage of the tournament. These are outlined below:
Main Event Group Stage Seeds
- Group A – Damwon Gaming (Korea), FunPlus Phoenix (China), Rogue (EU) + Play In Qualifier
- Group B – Edward Gaming (China), 100 Thieves (USA), T1 (Korea) + Play In Qualifier
- Group C – PSG Talon (Indonesia), Fnatic (EU), Royal Never Give Up (China) + Play In Qualifier
- Group D – MAD Lions (EU), Gen.G (Korea), Team Liquid (United States) + Play In Qualifier
After the Group Stage, the top two teams in each group qualify for the quarterfinals, which are played over a best of five schedule. The winning teams then progress in a straight knockout format to the final.
League of Legends Worlds Betting & Tips
History has shown that it is the Korean and Chinese teams that have dominated this event over the years and that is reflected in this years betting for the outright winner with almost all the most fancied teams coming from those two qualifying regions.
My pick is Royal Never Give Up, a Chinese team who are 11/2 and who have been runners up at this event in the past, as well as finishing in the top two of a number of events this season. They’ll face a tough battle from the likes of FunPlus Phoenix (9/4 favourites) and current holders Damwon Gaming KIA (who are a close second favourite at 10/3), but I am going with Royal Never Give Up for the win here.
However, the League of Legends Worlds is not the only big tournament getting underway this week.
Dota 2 The International 2021 – (Oct 7th to Oct 17th)
With an estimated prize pool of over $40 million, this year’s Dota 2 The International 2021 will
be the richest esports event ever, surpassing the record set by last yeat’s tournament.
The 18 teams will head to Bucharest in Romania to battle it out for the largest winners prize in esports. 12 teams qualified through the yearly Dota Pro Circuit by amassing enough points on the circuit to qualify, while the remaining six teams earned their place through a series of regional qualifiers.
The 18 qualifiers for this event are:
- Dota Pro Circuit Qualifiers (12) – Evil Geniuses, PSG.LGD, Virtus.pro, Quincy Crew, Invictus Gaming, T1, Vici Gaming, Team Secret, Team Aster, Alliance, beastcoast, Thunder Predator.
- Regional Qualifiers (6) – Team Undying (North America), SG Esports (South America), OG (Western Europe), Team Spirit (Eastern Europe), Elephant (China), Fnatic (Southeast Asia)
The tournament begins with the 18 teams being drawn into two groups of nine and the teams will play each other in the group stage of the tournament to decide who finishes in the top four (and enters the upper bracket)
The top four teams in each group enter the Winners Bracket of the tournament with the teams finishing 5th to 8th entering the Losers Bracket. A two-bracket knockout tournament takes place until we have one qualifier from each bracket to contest the grand final.
Teams in the Winners bracket, when defeated, have a second chance to qualify for the final because they drop into the losers bracket.
Who Will Come Out On Top In The International 2021?
OG have won this event on the last two occasions it has been contested and they are 8/1 to win for a third time in a row. However they are behind Team Secret and Evil Geniuses (both 6/1) while PSG.LGD are the clear favourites at 6/4 and to be truthful, they are the team to back for the outright winner market here.
