League of Legends Betting: how to play, tournaments and betting strategies

League of Legends has rapidly become one of the most popular esports games. The game is interesting not only for players, but also for fans of esports betting. What types of bets can you make on the competitions? How is League of Legends played? We will discuss the main features of betting on the popular esports game. 

When did League of Legends Come Out and How Many People Play?

League of Legends is a strategic cooperative game that falls into the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) category, like the other popular esports game Dota 2.

League of Legends came out on October 27, 2009 after being developed by 'Riot Games' and is still available as a free to play. According to the developers, the monthly participants in the game reach over 100 million players worldwide

The game takes place in the fictional world of Runeterra. The main characters are called champions, and are selected by the players. Each champion will have different play styles and abilities. In total, there are over 140 different champions available in the game.

How Big is League of Legends?

In addition to the dozens of local tournaments that take place, the League of 'Legends World Championship', known simply as 'League of Legends worlds', has been held annually since 2011.

The competition sees the top teams from the professional leagues compete against each other. 

Since League of Legends came out it has become one of the top five most popular esports competitions. The game stands out for a number of different reasons, most notable its graphics, active gameplay and variety of characters.

The characters themselves not only have a variety of abilities, but also well developed storylines. 

How to Play League of Legends

All professional League of Legends tournaments begin with the drafts. Games begin with the process of selecting and banning certain champions from the game. In each of the drafts, five champions are banned by each team, making a total of ten unusable champions. 

Each of the professional teams will consist of management and a coaching staff, as well as inactive and reserve players. The five active players for the game will take on one of five roles in the roster.

  • Top Laner
  • Mid Laner
  • Jungler
  • AD Carry
  • Support

The largest scale and most popular League of Legends tournament is considered to be the 'League of Legends World Championship', having been held since 2011. The tournament is held annually, usually in the fall.

The record prize pool for the tournament was recorded in 2016 at $5.07 million. 

The 'Mid-Season Invitational', which began in 2015, is also among the major tournaments considered to be the game's second most important international competition.

The participants this competition are the Spring Split champions from each of the game's top five regions. 

League of Legends Lore

The franchise League of Legends has become so popular not only due to the exhilarating gameplay, but also in part to the deep League of Legends lore throughout the series. 

League of Legends lore takes place in the form of comic strips as well as the game. The entirety of happenings throughout the series takes place in the world of Runeterra. The vast majority of the champions originated here and the characters and stories for all League of Legends lore are developed by Riot. 

The current Runterra and various other landscapes in League of Legends were affected and changed into their current states by the «Rune Wars». It is also by result of these conflicts that the necessity for a 'League of Legends' was formed. 

This group features all forty of the world's champions and serves to peacefully resolve various conflicts throughout the different lands. In 2014, Riot made major changes to League of Legends lore in efforts to separate the gameplay from the additional stories and characters that make up the lore. 

Today, there are different comics and engaging storylines surrounding the world inside the popular esports competition. The League of Legends lore is constantly changing and adding new aspects, which can be actively followed on the official lore page. 

League of Legends Bet Types

Esports is a growing phenomenon all over the world, with a massive market in the USA. Thus, the interest surrounding bets on the game is growing all of the time. With more states opening up to legal esports betting, the number of available sportsbooks and bets on the competitions will continue to grow. 

  • Team victory
  • First Blood - team or player whorecords the first kill
  • Total destroyed structures -total number of defensive structures destroyed at the end of the game or at a certain point in the game
  • Individual stats - the number of individual achievements of the player or team: murders, destroyed structures, assistance in killings, etc
  • MVP - the most valuable player 
  • First to (#) kills - betting on the first team to a certain number of kills (5, 10,15, etc.)
  • The total of Nasor's take - how many times the players of a certain team will defeat the strongest neutral monster in the Gorge of the Invocations. Killing this monster gives all living team members the reinforcement of Baron's Dlan
  • Who will take the next dragon - which of the teams next will kill the neutral monster (Dragon) to get a special reinforcement
  • Whether a particular champion is banned - before the game, each team bans certain champions, which are made unavailable to the enemy. By doing this, teams cut off "combining pairs" - two or more characters who gain a serious game advantage by interacting with each other
  • Total destroyed Inhibitors - how many times a certain team will destroy a special structure (Inhibitor), which blocks the appearance of enemy superminions on a certain line on the map
  • Futures betting - prediction for which teams will reach the semi-finals, finals, super finals, the winner of the tournament, etc.

League of Legends Betting Strategies

Esports competitions are different than most regular sporting events in that betting outcomes are not easily predicted. However, betting fans are kept interesting by live betting, where they can watch the events unfold in real time and make more accurate predictions. 

In order to make more accurate bets for League of Legends, you need to pay attention to the following factors:

  • The squad - this is one of the most effective ways to make more accurate readings of the competition. Bettors should keep track of the player's previous games and their win percentage. You should also pay attention to the champions this player uses the most often, and to what effect. 
  • Substitutions - sometimes players can be replaced in the active roster even on the day of the event.Thus, before selecting any bets to make, you should keep updated on the latest news on the team's website or social media accounts. 
  • Which champions are chosen - a well coordinated team of champions is often a recipe for success. Here again, we will want to look at past records of each competitor with certain champions. 
  • Champion banning - when making a live bet, you need to know which champions have been banned from the competition. Banning champions is a necessary part of League of Legends competitions as it helps to even out the playing field between two teams. The champions that end up being blocked will change the way that the game is played.
  • Counterpick - this is the champion that if chosen will present an obvious disadvantage to one of the opponent's champions. Simply put, if the player knows the champion that they will be matched up against, they can make a strategic pick which will give him a direct advantage against the opponent. 
  • LAN or Online - here it's all about the interaction of players with each other. Cyber-athletes can play online more relaxed when they do not sit in a hall filled with hundreds of fans, but this situation may have some difficulties with intra-team communication, because all pre-match strategies will be discussed by team communication, not in personal communication. On the other hand, during the LAN tournament, players have a significant increase in the level of interaction with each other, as they are all in the same room and in between games can talk face to face. Don't forget that the success of a particular team in the LAN tournament and online may be different;
  • The first tower - the first team to destroy a tower and let their minions on a «push» territory is a very important factor. The destruction of the first tower sometimesdetermines the result of the entire game. However, it is also worth considering the work of "foresters" whose task is to "farm" (save) gold and destroy key bosses.

The main odds for the main League of Legends results are calculated based on the results of past matches, the abilities of the participants and the importance of the tournament.

In short, the same factors determine these competitions like they would for regular sporting events. 

League of Legends FAQ

With the massive popularity and playability that League of Legends features, this results in many inquiries including everything from getting started to small niches in the gameplay. Here we are going to put some of those to bed as we answer some of the most common questions faced about the game.

How to Log Out of League of Legends?

There are actually two places where you need to log out in order to close the entire game. One handles quitting or logging out of the gameplay, where another takes you out of the website. Both of these are simple to do and only take a few second to learn how. 

  1. Log Out of Gameplay - in order to log out of the League of Legends gameplay, click on the red X in the top right corner of the screen. Here, you can either exit the game completely or just log out while keeping the client open. 
  2. Log Out of the Website- to log out of the League of Legends website, the process is very similar. First, click on the summoner name in the top right corner of the screen, and then select the logout at the bottom. 

How to Change Your Name in League of Legends?

The summoner name that you select will be the name that othe rplayers will see online. Not every name that you give a summoner will keep your fancy forever. Luckily, League of Legends players can change summoner names in the game. 

If this is the first name change in League of Legends that you are requesting, then you will be able to change the summoner spacing and capitalization for free. To do this, you need to send a request ticket to the League of Legends support team with the tag:

(SUBJECT: Summoner Name Change)

Summoner name changes can be done anytime. However, if this is a repeat name change, then there will be a charge from Riot. The current prices for name changes can be viewed on the League of Legends support site. 

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