With over 115 million active users and a viewership estimated at over five million, League of Legends is the most-watched esport in the world. Wondering what all the fuss is about? In this guide, I run through everything there is to know about LoL, including the most popular League of Legends betting variants, betting tips, tournaments, and more!
- Things you should know before betting on League of Legends
- League of Legends Betting Tips and Strategies
- LoL Odds
- League of Legends Tournaments 2023 Schedule
- Popular League of Legends Betting Markets
- Most Important League of Legends Tournaments
- Best League of Legends Players of All-Time
- How to watch League of Legends Online
- League of Legends Betting FAQs
- ThePuntersPage Final Say
Things You Should Know Before Betting on League of Legends
League of Legends is among the most popular esports in the world, renowned for having a widespread competitive scene, which is active in nature. To put things into perspective, the rise of League of Legends’ competitive scope served as a major factor towards the legalisation of the industry as a whole.
It was developed and published by Riot Games, which also organises the League Championship Series as well as the League of Legends European Championship. Each tournament consists of ten competing teams. Similar-natured competitions exist in China and South Korea, among other regions. The cream of the crop though, is the League of Legends World Championship.
The League of Legends World Championship 2019 came with a prize pool of $2,225,000. While this is not the largest of sums, what is staggering is the fact that over 100 million unique viewers tuned into the competition, with a peak concurrent viewing of 44 million.
League of Legends is without a penny of a doubt, the most watched esport in the world. In fact, its total and peak viewership not only surpass that of Dota 2 and Fortnite, but also beat the totals amassed by the Super Bowl!
That being said, how is League of Legends played?
League of Legends Gameplay
League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena-based esport, consisting of two game modes: Summoner’s Rift and Howling Abyss.
The game begins with the “laning phase”, where the main goal is to mine for gold and experience.
It is played in a three-dimensional isometric perspective.
Two teams of five players each compete in a match that lasts between 20-50 minutes on average, in the quest of destroying the other team’s “Nexus” – the core building of a team’s base.
Other objectives include destroying turrets and inhibitors, killings dragons, and defeating Baron Nashor.
Each character has a unique set of abilities, which can be used in due course of a match. While a Champion is defeated when it loses all of its health, it will be revived automatically in your team’s base, once a set amount of time passes by.
You can earn gold by killing “Minions”, and “Monsters”, destroying enemy structures, and by killing or aiding in the killing of opposing team Champions.
Your earned gold can be used towards buying in-match items, which further your Champion’s abilities. This earned gold pertains to a match in question, and cannot be carried over to another.
About League of Legends Champions
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Each competing player controls a character called a “Champion”. Each Champion begins at a lowly level and gains experience in due course of a match, attaining a maximum level of 18.
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There are over 160 League of Legends champions right now, with more extremely likely in the future.
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These come with specific roles based on their abilities. For example, Jungle Champions roam the map killing monsters and assisting team mates, and Support Champions provide protection to their team.
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Each has a passive ability, three basic abilities, and an ultimate ability. For instance, extra damage, crowd control, or healing as a few examples.
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All champions have their own unique lore, which interconnects with others in the game. It’s not just fun to play League of legends, there’s an amazing story too.
League of Legends Betting Tips & Strategies
One of the great things about betting on League of Legends is that much like playing the game itself, it’s accessible to those new to esports but also has enough depth to reward more serious and considered efforts. And if you want to put in that extra bit more to improve your esports betting League of Legends experience, we’ve got five simple tips and strategies to help.
Here’s how to improve your betting on League of Legends:
1. Understand what is legally and geographically available to you
Make sure you understand what betting sites and markets are legally available to you. For instance, betting in the USA provides rather different opportunities compared with betting in the UK (tip: we list all the best bookies for you in our country-specific articles).A little bit of research on the general legal situation in your jurisdiction and on the geographic availability of various sites should clear up whether you can bet on esports online.
2. Utilise multiple betting sites
You needn’t rely on just the one LoL esports betting site. You can sign up to as many as you want to get a selection of odds for greater returns, a broader selection of markets, and even more promotions.
This is perfect for LoL beginners who want to easily improve the value of their bets.
3. Look up past match results and form
Go through past match results and team form leading up to a specific match, alongside watching as many games as possible (available on Twitch). This will give you not just an idea of the quality of each team and the fairness of the odds, but also the strengths and weakness of each team.
This is suitable for anyone at any level of League of Legends expertise to improve their understanding of the markets.
4. Consider all available markets
Much like CS:GO betting, one of the cool things about League of Legends is that there’s so much depth to the game in terms of objectives, which means more betting markets. You can enjoy match betting alongside predictions, such as which team will first slay a dragon or destroy a tower.
We would only recommend this tip to those with an intermediate level of knowledge of how all this works.
5. Search for applicable promotions
League of Legends might not be as synonymous with betting promotions as football or horse racing, but there’s still an amazing number of bonuses available if you’re willing to seek them out. Some may be esport exclusive, but many more will be general sports betting promotions like free bets or bet boosts, which many don’t realise are likely available to use on LoL. Simply check the terms and conditions for confirmation.
Before placing a bet on a League of Legends-based betting variant, you must conduct research at all times. Always remain diligent.
How To Bet on League of Legends Pre-Match
Log into your preferred bookmaker.
Go to either League of Legends (if it has its own tab) or esports (if LoL games are categorised more generally).
Select the individual market you’re interested in, place your stake, and confirm your bet.
- Lots of time to consider your bets
- Tons of variety
- Fantastic for promotional use
- May require some waiting
- Many find live betting more exciting
- No chance to see teams play against each other before making up your mind
How To Bet on League of Legends Live
Go to your preferred bookmaker and log in.
Head on over to live markets and go to the League of Legends game you’re interested in.
Watch the game live. Check out the markets. When you think the odds are willing to pay out a strong amount for an outcome you feel is likely based on what you’ve seen, it’s time to quickly place your bet.
- Livestreaming
- Exciting
- More betting options
- Strategy can be tough
- Can take away focus from simply enjoying the game
- Opportunities aren’t guaranteed
LoL Odds
The best chance of getting the finest odds for LoL is by using the best betting sites for League of Legends. This means there’s no better place to look than at bet365.
Do keep in mind that no betting site has the best odds for every market consistently, as that’s just logistically not possible. However, by choosing only the finest UK esports betting sites, you can be sure of consistently competitive options. Plus, you can always improve your selection of odds by signing up to multiple bookmakers.
League of Legends Tournaments 2023 Schedule
| Tournament | Dates | Location |
|---|---|---|
| LEC Summer 2023 | June 17th – July 20th | Berlin, Germany |
| Worlds 2023 | October 10th – November 19th | Seoul, South Korea |
| Asian Games 2023 | September 23rd – October 8th | Macau, China |
| LCS Championship 2023 | August 19th/20th | New Jersey, USA |
Popular League of Legends Betting Markets
Outright Winner
An “Outright Winner” bet requires you to predict the winner of a League of Legends-based tournament.
Match Winner
A “Match Winner” bet requires you to predict the winner of a League of Legends match. As can be seen from the image, for a League of Legends match to be contested in the LCK Spring Split, the odds on offer in favour of KT Rolster is ¼, while the odds in favour of APK Prince is 51/20.
Maps Handicap
A “Maps Handicap” bet involves a stronger LoL team being handed a Map-based disadvantage and a weaker team being handed a Map-based advantage.
As can be seen from the image above, for a League of Legends match to be contested in the LCK Spring Split, KL Rolster has been a -1.5 Handicap, while APK Prince has been handed a +1.5 Handicap. KL Rolster must win by a margin of two Maps for a placed bet to result in a win, while APK Prince must win, or lose by 1 Map for a placed bet to result in a win.
Maps Total
A “Maps Total” bet involves predicting the total number of Maps (over/under a number specified by a betting site), which will be contested in a match. As can be seen from the image above, for a League of Legends match to be contested in the LCK Spring Split, the odds in favour of Over 2.5 Maps being contested is 11/10, while the odds in favour of Under 2.5 Maps being contested is 3/5.
Map Team To Destroy the 1st Tower
This betting variant requires you to predict the team that will destroy the 1st tower (opposing team turret), in due course of a Map in question. If you destroy the 1st tower of your opposing team’s base, you and your allies will receive gold.
Map Team To Slay the 1st Dragon
This betting variant requires you to predict a team which will slay the 1st dragon in due course of a Map in question. When you slay a dragon, you and your allies will receive experience points.
Most Important League of Legends Tournaments
League of Legends World Championship
The League of Legends World Championship is the premier League of Legends-based tournament. The tournament is organised by Riot Games, and comes with the largest following for an esports event, with over 100 million viewers tuning into the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. It came with a prize pool of $2,225,000.
The tournament consists of 24 competing teams.
League of Legends Championship Series
The League of Legends Championship Series is the most popular League of Legends-based tournament in North America. Organised by Riot Games, it consists of 10 competing teams. Each season of the tournament is divided into two Splits: Spring Split, and Summer Split.
League of Legends European Championship
The League of Legends European Championship is the most popular League of Legends-based tournament in Europe. It is organised by Riot Games and consists of 10 competing teams. Each season of the tournament is divided into two Splits: Spring Split, and Summer Split.
League of Legends Pro League
The League of Legends Pro League is the most popular League of Legends-based tournament in China. The tournament consists of 17 competing teams, and is organised by Tencent.
League of Legends Champions Korea
The League of Legends Champions Korea is the most popular League of Legends-based tournament in South Korea. The tournament consists of 10 competing teams.
Best League of Legends Players of All Time
| Rank | Player | Career Prize Money (At the time of writing) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok | $1,228,281 |
| 2 | Lee “Duke” Ho-seong | $954,646 |
| 3 | Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan | $913,085 |
| 4 | Bae “Bang” Jun-sik | $910,451 |
| 5 | Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong | $810,683 |
| 6 | Song “Rookie” Eui-jin | $582,582 |
| 7 | Kang “Blank” Sun-gu | $559,519 |
| 8 | Kang “Ambition” Chan-yong | $553,234 |
| 9 | Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in | $538,825 |
| 10 | Gao “Ning” Zhen-Ning | $538,745 |
How To watch League of Legends Online
Via your favourite bookmaker: The best LoL esports betting sites, such as bet365 and Pinnacle, should offer many livestreamed League of Legends events.
At Twitch: There are League of Legends competitions at all levels streamed live on Twitch.com from around the world. If a game isn’t shown on your bookmaker, this is a near perfect back up.
On YouTube: While Twitch may have more competitions covered, we really enjoy YouTube for their mix of livestreams alongside more analytical videos. Ideal if you want to learn more about LoL generally to improve your gaming strategy.
League of Legends Betting FAQs
The legalities of betting in general depend on your individual jurisdiction. What we can say, though, is that if sports betting is generally legal where you live, it is overwhelmingly likely that League of Legends betting will be legal as well.
This is any sports betting account you can use to bet on League of Legends markets.
bet365 and Forest Bet are the sites we most highly recommend.
Match Winner, Maps Handicap, Maps Total, Map Team to Slay the 1st Dragon, and Map Team to Destroy the 1st Tower.
League of Legends World Championship, League of Legends Championship Series, League of Legends European Championship, League of Legends Pro League, and League of Legends Champions Korea.
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is considered the best all-time LoL player.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
Before you place a bet on a League of Legends-based betting variant, performing your due diligence is of the essence. Being the most viewed esports around the world, it is of no surprise that several League of Legends-based tournaments take place throughout a calendar year.