MOBA Tournaments and How to Bet on Them

Multi-player Online Battle Arenas or ‘MOBA’, are a subgenre of Real-Time Strategy(RTS) games.Each player controls a single character with the objective of destroying the enemy team’s base to win. MOBAs are a fusion of real-time strategy games, role playing and action genres.

The genre hasn’t seen fierce competition unlike the FPS genre due to a couple of giant MOBAs taking a lion’s share of the player base and stomping out the competition. Here are some of the most popular MOBAs.

League of Legends

League of Legends or ‘LoL’ is a MOBA developed and published by RIOT games. It is inspired by the Warcraft 3 mod “Defense of The Ancients”.

League of Legends is perhaps the biggest Esports in the world, with about 115 million registered monthly players and about 30 million players logging in daily. It garnered 100 million total viewers for the League of Legends world championship in 2019, with peaking at 44 million concurrent viewers.

League of Legends has an active and widespread competitive scene, which is commonly described as the preeminent global Esports and a major factor towards the industry’s legitimization.

Tournaments: 

League of Legends World Championships

The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games and is the culmination of each season.

The League of Legends World Championship has gained tremendous success and popularity, making it the world’s most watched Esports tournament.

The tournament is known to rotate it’s venue across different major countries and regions every year.

Last Prize Pool:$2.2 million USD

Format:

24 teams are invited.

Play-in:

1. Group Stage(Round 1)

• 12 teams participate drawn into 4 groups
• Matches are Best of one
• Top 2 teams per group advance to Round 2

 

1.       Knockout Stage(Round 2)

• 8 Teams participate
• 1st palace teams from the group stage each face a 2nd place team
• Matches are best of 5
• Winners go to the Main Event

Main Event:

1.  Group Stage:

• 16 teams participate
• Teams are divided into 4 groups
• Double Round Robin
• Matches are best of one
• Top two teams from each group advance to the Knockout Stage

1. Knockout Stage:

• Single Elimination bracket
• Matches are bet of 5

Schedule:

The 2019 LoL World Championship was held from October 2nd 2019 to November 10th 2019.

The 2020 Worlds Championship hasn’t been announced yet. The teams are currently in regional seasons.

Significant Teams:

China Region:

FunPlus Phoenix

Royal Never Give Up

Invictus Gaming

 

Korean Region:

SK Telecom T1

Griffin

 

European Region:

G2 Esports

Fnatic

 

North American Region:

Team Liquid

Cloud9

 

Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macao Region:

J Team

Ahq Esports Club

 

Vietnam:

GAM Esports

Other Tournaments:

Apart from the World Champion series that brings all the best teams in the world together, there are smaller regional leagues with their own championships.Some of them are:

 

League of Legends European Championship(LES)

The League of Legends European Championship (LEC), is the name of the professional League of legends Esports league run by Riot game. 10 teams compete in the league. Each annual season of play is divided into spring and summer seasons with 9 weeks of play, then concluded by a play-off between the top 6 teams. At the end of the season, the team with the most championship point and the winner of the gauntlet tournament qualify for the annual League of Legends World Championship. The LEC represents the highest level of League of Legends play in Europe.

 

Format:

• 10 teams participate
• Each team plays 18 matches: Each match is Round-Robin format and best of one
• Top 6 teams qualify to playoffs

 

 

Teams:

Fnatic

SK Gaming

Origen

Excel Esports

Rogue

MAD Lions

G2 Esports

Misfits Gaming

Schalke 04

Team Vitality

 

 

League of Legends Pro League (LPL)

League of Legends Pro League (LPL) is the top level of professional League of Legends in China. The top 3 finishers of the playoff tournament receive automatic bids to the LoL World Championship.

 

Format:

1. Group Stage

• All 16 teams play in a group.
• All matches are best of 3.

 

1. Top 8 teams advance to play-off stage: All matches are best of 5

 

 

Teams:

Edward Gaming

Royal Never Give Up

Invictus Gaming

Oh My God

JD Gaming

LGD Gaming

Positive Energy

Team WE

FunPlus Phoenix

 

 

League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK)

League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is the primary competition for LoL in South Korea. 10 teams compete for 2 seasons per year to qualify for the LoL World Championship. It is conducted by Riot games and KeSPA in partnership. It is widely considered to be the strongest league in League of Legends competitive scene.

.

Teams:

Afreeca Freecs

APK Prince

Damwon Gaming

DragonX

Gen.G

Hanwha Life Esports

KT Rolster

Sandbox Gaming

T1

Team Dynamics

 

 

 

 

League of Legends Champion Series (LCS)

The LCS is the top level of professional League of Legends in the United States and Canada. The Esports league is run by Riot games and has 10 franchise teams. Each annual season is divided into 2 seasons. The top 3 teams qualify for the annual League of Legends World Championship.

 

 

 

Teams:

Team SoloMid

Counter Logic Gaming

Cloud9

Team Liquid

FlyQuest

100 Thieves

Golden Guardians

Dignitas

Evil Geniuses

Immortals

 

Vietnam Championship Series (VCS)

The Vietnam Championship League is the professional LoL league run by Riot games and Garena based off in Vietnam. Teams have the opportunity to qualify for the LoL World Championship.

 

Teams:

Saigon Jokers

GAM Esports

Dashing Buffalo

Full Louis

Saigon Fantastic Five

EVOS Esports

Hanoi Fate

XGame

Team Ozone Cutie Monsters

 

 

League of Legends Continental League(LCL)

League of Legends Continental League (LCL) is the top level of professional League of Legends competition in the CIS region. It is organized by Riot Games Russia. There are 8 teams in the league.

 

Teams:

Elements Pro Gaming

Gambit Esports

Vega Squadron

M19

Dragon Army

RoX

Team Just

Vaevictis Esports

 

 

Pacific Championship Series (PCS)

The PCS is a professional League of Legends Esports league for players competing from Taiwan,Hong Kong, Macau and South East Asia. It has 10 teams in the league.

 

Teams:

Esports Club

Alpha Esports

Berjaya Dragons

HK Attitude

J Team

Liyab Esports

Machi Esports

Nova Esports

Resurgence

Talon Esports

 

 

 

Turkish Championship League(TCL)

The TCL is the professional LoL Esports league in Turkey.

 

Teams:

1907 Fenerbahce

5 Ronin

Besiktas Esports

Dark Passage

Galakticos

Istanbul Wildcats

Papara SuperMassive

Royal Youth Team AURORA

 

 

Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends CBLOL)

The CBLOL is the top professional LoL Esports league in Brazil. There are 8 teams in the league.

 

 

 

Teams:

Flamengo Esports

FURIA Uppercut

INTZ

KaBuM! Esports

paiN Gaming

Prodigy Esports

Redemption POA

Vivo Keyd

 

 

 

Liga Latinoamerica (LLA)

The LLA is the top level of professional League of Legends in Hispanic America.

 

Teams:

All Knights

Furious Gaming

Infinity Esports

Isurus

Kaos Latin Gamers

Pixel Esports Club

Rainbow7

EXTEN Esports

 

 

League of Legends Japan League (LJL)

The LJL is the top professional Esports league for LoL in Japan.The league has 8 teams under partnership.

 

Teams:

AXIZ

Burning Core

Crest Gaming Act

DetonatioN  FM

SoftBank Hawks

Rascal Jester

Sengoku Gaming

V3 Esports

 

 

Oceanic Pro League (OPL)

The OPL is the top level of professional LoL competition in Oceania. It is organized by Riot games and has eight teams.

 

Teams:

Avant Gaming

Chiefs Esports Club

Dire Wolves

Gravitas

Legacy Esports

MAMMOTH

ORDER

Pentanet.GG

 

 

Summary:

As of 2020, there are 12 professional leagues for League of Legends around the world. All these leagues have their own regional teams who need to compete with each other, and gain enough points to qualify for the World Championship. For the World Championship, LEC and LPL are allocated 4 spots each, LCS and LCK are allocated 3 spots each, PCS and VCS are allocated 2 spots each, with the remaining spots given to the summer champions from the remaining play-in regions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2)

Dota 2 is a MOBA video game developed and published by Valve. The game is a sequel to and derived from the community created DotA mod map for Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne.

 

Dota 2 has a large Esports scene, with teams around the world playing in various professional leagues and tournaments. Valve, the developer, manages an event format known as the Dota Pro Circuit, which are a series of tournaments that award qualification, or invite to the biggest Dota 2 Esports tournament called ‘The International’.

 

The International tournaments see the largest Esports prize pool for any other Esports out there. Going upwards of $30 million USD.

 

 

 

 

 

Tournaments:

 

The International

The International is an annual Esports world championship tournament for the video game Dota 2, hosted and produced by the game’s developer, Valve .The international has been held consistently since 2011. The Tournament consists of 18 teams; 12 earning a direct invite based on results from a tournament series known as the Dota Pro Circuit and six from winning regional playoff brackets.

 

One team each from North America, South America, Southeast Asia, China, Europe and CIS regions participate.

 

Prize pool: The 2019 The International (TI9) Prize pool was crowdfunded to an amount of $34 million USD.

 

 

Format:

1. Teams

• 12 teams qualify through the Dota Pro Circuit.
• 6 teams qualify through Regional Qualifiers: one team each from China, SE Asia, North America, South America, CIS, Europe.

1. Open Qualifiers

• Single-elimination bracket for Regional Qualifiers.

1. Regional Qualifiers

• Best of 1, round-robin Group Stage to advance to Playoffs.
• Double-Elimination Playoffs, winner qualifies to TI.

1. Group Stage

• All 18 teams are divided in 2 groups and play in round-robin format.
• All matches played in a best of 2.
• Top 4 teams in each group move to the Upper Bracket of the main event.
• Bottom team in each group eliminated.
• Remaining teams move to the Lower bracket of the Main event.

1. Main Event

• 16 teams play in a double-elimination format.
• 8 teams begin in Upper Bracket,8 teams in Lower bracket.
• First Lower bracket rounds are best of 1.
• Grand Finals are best of 5. All other rounds are best of 3.

 

 

 

 

 

Significant Teams(TI 9):

Europe:

• Team Secret
• Team Liquid
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• Alliance
• Chaos Esports Club
• OG

 

CIS:

• Pro
• Natus Vincere

 

China:

• VICI Gaming
• LGD
• Royal Never Give Up
• Keen Gaming

 

North America:

• Evil Geniuses
• NewBee

 

Southeast Asia:

• Mineski
• TNC Predator
• Fnatic

 

South America:

• Infamous

 

 

Schedule:

The International 2020 was originally scheduled to take place in Stockholm, Sweden from August 18th to 23rd. Valve has delayed the event in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

 

 

Dota Pro Circuit (DPC)

The Dota Pro Circuit(DPC) is a professional tournament format system of Dota 2. It was introduced by Valve to determine which teams are eligible to obtain a direct invitation to The International tournament.

 

In the Dota Pro Circuit, a “Major” is a sponsored Dota 2 tournament that has 2 teams from North America, South America, Southeast Asia, Chinese, European and CIS regions. It has a minimum prize pool of $500,000 and concludes with a LAN finals.

 

In addition, a minor championship tier exists and follows the same rules, with a minimum prize pool of $150,000.

 

Teams are awarded qualifying points based on their results.The top 12 teams at the end of the season receive a direct invite to that year’s The International with a single spot reserved for one team from each region. Majors and Minors are held in pairs.

 

 

Schedule(2019/20 season):

 

Qualifier 1                                   Oct 5-10,  2019

DOTA Summit 11                         Nov 7-10, 2019

MDL Chengdu Major                    Nov 16-24, 2019

 

Qualifier 2

WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020       Jan 9-12,   2020

DreamLeague Leipzig Major        Jan 18-26, 2020

 

Qualifier 3                                    Feb 9-14, 2020

StarLadder ImbaTV Minor            Mar 3-8,   2020

ESL One Los Angeles 2020         Cancelled

 

Qualifier 4                                    Cancelled

OGA Dota PIT Minor 2020           Cancelled

EPICENTER Major                       Cancelled

 

Qualifier 5                                     Cancelled

Minor Event                                  June 9-13, 2020

One Esports Singapore Major      Cancelled

 

 

 

 

 

Betting in MOBA

Each of these MOBAs is extremely profitable and a great game to watch or play when you have the time. MOBAs are completely different from your traditional first-person shooter or your typical RPG, but it’s in a good way, and if you can choose a good MOBA to bet on, it won’t be surprising to see the bucks start to roll in. MOBAs allow for far more variables to bet on.

 

Some popular websites for Esport betting are:

Thunderbet.com

Arcanebet.com

sports.betway.com

egb.com

esportsbets.com

gg.bet

BUFF.bet

 

Betting websites take a variety of forms and all offer a slightly different service. There is a huge variety of betting sites which allow you to use real money, Bitcoin or both, and the list continues to grow with more brands to choose from. They all offer slightly different odds, meaning you can maximize your winnings if you’re comparing a few different sites.

 

 

 

 

How much to start betting with?

Most betting guides would recommend beginners to start small and only bet an amount they can afford to lose. The amount can vary for different people. For some it can be as little as $5 or $80 for others.

 

Tips & Tricks to Winning Big

By making smart betting decisions you too can grow your bankroll easily. Here are some tips and tricks to making your money work for you:

• Know the game and the players before you make any big bets. Learn all the rules, familiarize with the game’s meta.
• New patches might give you an opportunity to bet against a strong favorite team who has one or more key players who recently only rotated between two or three heroes. If these heroes have been nerfed in the latest patch, this might give you an opportunity to make a buck.
• Specialize whenever possible – with so many teams and tournaments happening annually, focusing on a particular region will allow you to research in more depth which will result in smarter betting decisions.
• Bet selectively and objectively–you don’t need to bet on every match and you should always bet with your head rather than your heart–your favorite team may not be the favorite to win.
• Don’t limit yourself to only major events–minor tournaments and local events that feed into majors often feature unknown teams with the potential to upset their more known rivals making for juicy wins for smart betters.
• Follow teams and players and understand player form–teams and players cannot always play at their best, know your team’s history and research recent results before placing bets. Know which players are strong with certain heroes/champions which can give them an advantage.
• Observe Community betting

Observe the top betters and what their opinion is about the game, teams, players and the meta.

• Event Format

Depending on the format of the matches, the likelihood of certain outcomes can change. For example: a Best of 1 has higher chances of an upset or unexpected result. A draw is very likely in a Best of 2. A Best of 5 should favour the most consistent team than an unexpected result.

 

 

 

 

• Don’t believe people’s information blindly and make your own decisions

Some individuals might just want to throw off others’ predictions by giving out false information, to sway the odds and gain higher profit for themselves. Hence it’s better to not take everything at face value and make your own end decision through research.

 

 

 

Understanding Odds

 

Odds are of 3 distinct types. Decimal, Fractional or Implied Probability. You’ll most often come across Decimal Odds, however.

 

Decimal Odds

E.g. 3.44

Decimal odds give you the easiest conversion from stake to return. e.g.

Bet $10 with odds at 3.44

RESULT: $10 x 3.44 = $34.4 (Your $10 stake included)

 

Fractional Odds

E.g. 2/1

This is mostly for horse racing so you shouldn’t see this on Esports betting.

 

Implied Probability

E.g. 55%

 

This is a more readable way to denote odds, however this can be highly inaccurate and is mostly just used as a reference to calculate risk.

 

It works as follows:

Decimal odds = 100 / Probability odds

E.g. 100/40 = 2.5

RESULT: A $10 stake would return $25 ($15 profit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Words

 

In the end, it is crucial to watch a lot of live games, VODs and replays.The more you know about the game the better. Keeping up with the current meta-game is super important as different strategies and heroes vary in popularity and strength over time. You should use your knowledge about the MOBA meta-game as a base to find mis-priced odds at the different Esports bookmakers.

 

It is also very important to know what kind of strategies the different teams favor. Some are very object-oriented, other teams gank and rotate a lot. Teams often have a preferred game plan that they execute better than others. Normally, the more versatile a team can perform in form of strategies, the better. As with the other MoBA Esports, drafting is very important. A good captain or drafter often makes a really big difference.

 

However, the value is not in predicting the winning team all the time. The value is found in finding a team that can perform and win more often than the odds the Esports bookmakers are offering. A good rule of thumb is to make your own prediction of the odds or win percentage before looking at the odds. This is a very good exercise even if you’re not betting real money on a match or event because you still get the experience!