League of Legends is the most popular video game in the world with over 100 million active players per month. And fans can now start betting on League of Legends right here with Unibet!
League of Legends has been around since 2009 and is widely considered the best game in eSports. It has a mass following and professional League of Legends players compete in stadiums in front of thousands of spectators.
But how does League of Legends work? And can you really bet on League of Legends?
This guide will take you through exactly what the game is, how you play it and how you can watch and bet on all the action.
If you’re new to eSports then League of Legends is usually a great place to start your interest in this industry. It’s fun, fast and very sociable.
Check out our guide below for everything you need to know about League of Legends.
What is League of Legends?
League of Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, whereby two teams of up to five players each battle against each other. The aim is to destroy the other team’s ‘Nexus’ — a structure that is situated deep in enemy territory. Each player of League of Legends will pick their own ‘champion’, which has their own abilities and weaknesses when it comes to combat.
Games start on a generated map, whereby the two teams are situated in opposite corners. The winning team is the one that manages to destroy the others’ Nexus. But to do this teams must not only destroy their opponents, but also dangerous creatures that lurk in the map.
There are three main walkways in a League of Legends map, called lanes. Each lane hosts a number of enemy turrets that you need to destroy on your way to the Nexus. It is up to the teams to decide which lanes to run down, which turrets to attack, and when to turn their attention to enemies instead.
Each champion starts the game with very little experience and few weapons. Only by killing dangerous creatures such as enemy minions, neutral monsters or even opposing champions can your own character improve their level.
A League of Legends match typically consists out of multiple games, with most games being played best-of-three or best-of-five, with teams alternating sides of the map.
Players earn gold when they defeat enemy threats, which they can then use to buy greater weapons and defences. This makes them both stronger and harder to kill, which increases a team’s chances of winning the match.
How is League of Legends played as a professional eSport
League of Legends is mostly played in a huge league system. This is opposed to other major eSports such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, which takes place in tournament format.
The League of Legends system is a massive web of divisions and sub-divisions, split largely due to regions. So, a team will compete against other teams from their own region, with a promotion and relegation system available. Typically, two seasons or ‘splits’ are played over a year, during the spring and summer. The most popular League of Legends leagues are the LCK (South Korea), LPL (China) and LCS (one in Europe, one in North America).
The best teams from these leagues qualify for the League of Legends World Championship, which typically take place each October. This is the biggest League of Legends event of the year and attracts millions of viewers watching via pay per view, while being played in massive stadiums in front of thousands of spectators.
Another major tournament is the Mid-Season Interval, which sees the very best in the world come together for a showcase of the eSport. Recently the Mid-Season Interval has been played in more than one city, in order to expand the event to even more spectators.
The amount of money available in League of Legends means many top players are now professional. The winning prize in the World Championship is around £2m each year and many teams are sponsored.
Korea has enjoyed a wealth of dominance in the early years of the World Championship. But China also boasts major talent in League of Legends, along with the USA and Europe. League of Legends is truly a global game and major championships have been held in Brazil, Vietnam and Sweden among other countries.
How to bet on League of Legends
Betting on League of Legends can be great fun and is an alternative way to understanding the game. That’s because you can follow all the action and work out who is winning via In Play betting odds, in order to better grasp what’s going on!
Over the last few years League of Legends has become a very popular eSport to bet on, for various valid reasons. First of all games are fast paced and action-packed, which make it interesting to watch and to bet on in-play. Games can easily be found online as each league has their own Twitch channel showing all the games. League of Legends is an analytical game, which makes it a perfect sport for experienced betters who like to prepare their bets.
The most popular bets are the match winner bets for every specific match. This is simply when you bet on the winner of a match, sit back and watch the action. For example, you might bet on Flash Wolves to beat Hong Kong Attitude at a price of 2.10. If Flash Wolves win the game, you win your bet.
You can also bet on which team will win a specific game. Because most League of Legends matches are played over best-of-three or best-of-five games, Unibet offers a market on each individual game. This is a great way to bet more closely on League of Legends, rather than making a match bet that could take an hour or so to settle.
Handicap betting is also a key fixture in League of Legends betting. This is because many eSports betting fans know if the match is set to be uneven. Say, for example, SuperMassive are playing Galakticos in the TCL. SuperMassive are big favourites at 1.12 to win the match — and the odds are so small it’s not very appealing.
So, you use a handicap to even out the odds. In this case, you might bet on SuperMassive to win with a -1.5 handicap. This could rise their price to 1.70 but it means SuperMassive must win the best-of-three match 2-0 in order for your bet to win.
You can also bet on how many League of Legends kills are made in a round. For example, you could back LNG Esports to reach 10 champion kills first in a match against Rogue Warriors. Or, bet on the total champion kills from a team surpassing 23.5 in a match.
There are loads of varying bet types in League of Legends to make sure you can back the event you want to back. And here at Unibet we’re dedicated to bringing you the very best pre-match and in-play odds, so you never miss a thing.
League of Legends betting In Play
In Play betting on League of Legends is a growing phenomenon that is aided by the ability to live stream League of Legends and bet at the same time. Many fans follow certain teams and watch their matches via online streams. And some also want to bet during matches, not just beforehand.
That’s why here at Unibet we’ve developed out In Play betting systems to cater for League of Legends as well. Just like sports betting, you can bet In Play on League of Legends at any time during matches. The odds will naturally change depending on how the match is progressing — and if there is a major kill towards the end of the match then it could completely flip the market!
Be sure to check out In Play betting when looking at how to bet on League of Legends. The odds give a good indicator of how much progress a team is making, so you can learn further intricacies of League of Legends from studying the odds.