League of Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer online battle arena game and has grown to become one of the biggest and most popular eSports, in terms of the number of active players around the world, the number of competitive leagues and competitions run and the amount of money available to entrants to those competitions.
This page is designed to give you an insight into the best betting sites for League of Legends, how competitive gameplay works and which betting options associated with that gameplay are typically available.
Top LoL Betting Sites:
- Widest selection of eSports covered.
- Plenty of markets per event.
- Biggest opening account bonus.
- Highest possible review rating.
- Twitch integration alongside live odds.
- £10 weekly in-play free bet club.
- Uniboost bet boosts (3x daily).
- Solid welcome offer – easy to claim.
- Great bonus for smaller deposits.
- 5/5 Cheeky Punter review rating.
- Wide range of eSports bets.
- See trending & most popular eSports bets.
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- Wide range of esports markets.
- Weekly free bet club (£10).
- Welcome bonus a little small.
- Only option for trading eSports.
- Back & lay bets.
- Decent sized welcome bonus.
- Good range of eSports markets & bets.
- Plenty of eSports markets.
- No eSports specific promotions.
- 300% welcome bonus.
- Better eSports options above.
- eSports betting available.
- Lacking some markets
- Can request odds.
- eSports feels a bit of an after thought.
How Does Competitive LoL Work?
Developed by Riot Games and launched back in 2009, LoL is a multiplayer online battle arena game in which players assume the role of an unseen summoner who controls a champion with unique and varying abilities. That champion then works with other players or computer controlled champions against a similar selection of individuals or AIs.
The aim of the game is usually to destroy the base or headquarters of an opposing team, known as a nexus.
What Is League of Legends?
Competitive Gameplay Map
LoL gameplay in tournaments and official competitions always takes place on the same game map to somewhat standardise play. The map features three lanes (linear paths that champions can walk down) and those lanes are separated by areas of Jungle. The lanes and each of the two teams’ nexuses are protected by towers and it is up to each team to negotiate and control the map as best they can.
Teams, Roles, Minions & Monsters
In each competitive LoL match, teams are made up of five players whose champions each take on different roles. Those roles are known as the Top, Jungler, Mid, Marksman and Support, and each have diverse gameplay tasks including collecting gold, supporting other players and dealing damage to opposition champions, or computer controlled minions and monsters.
Those minions and monsters are crucial to gameplay as killing them can provide teams with gold (for buying items) and experience to strengthen them for when they attempt to attack their opponent’s Nexus.
Winning
To ultimately win a LoL match, one team must negotiate the map, computer controlled minions and monsters, and opposition controlled champions and towers, in order to ultimately completely destroy the opposing team’s nexus.
Each match has various phases and can last a varying amount of time, dependent upon how evenly matched the teams are and how the match ultimately plays out. In tournaments, rounds are typically played out as best of five contests, with the first team to win three matches deemed to be the winner.
What Are The Big Events?
Competitive LoL tournaments and events first began in 2011, just two years after the game itself was initially launched. The game, therefore, has always been at the vanguard of the eSports revolution and it is largely for that reason that it is today one of the largest and most valuable eSports in the world.
In the five years from the launch of competitive LoL in 2011 and the summer of 2016, a total of $29,203,916 USD in prize money has been handed out through official competition. Much of that extraordinary amount of prize money is available through the game’s Championship Series and the intrinsically linked World Championships.
Naturally when either event is taking place betting on LoL explodes.
LoL Championship Series
The LoL Championship Series is the name given to two leagues of competitive LoL play separated between the continents of Europe and North America. The format of each of those two leagues differs but in both cases, the ten teams involved are competing to try and earn a place at the annual LoL World Championships.
In the European LoL Championship Series competition, the teams are split into two groups of five and play a total of 13 matches. After those matches, the top three from each group qualify for the playoffs. Those playoffs reward winning teams with not only prize money but also so-called ‘Championship Points’ which ultimately come to decide which three of the ten European teams will be awarded an entry into the LoL World Championships.
On the North American side, the format of the LoL Championship Series is a little different. The ten teams play two sets of ten matches, each set held over the course of nine weeks with a round of playoffs at the end. Those playoffs then reward the teams with ‘Championship Points’ which are ultimately used to decide which three North American teams reach the LoL World Championships.
LoL World Championships
The premier event on the competitive LoL calendar, the World Championships take place annually, with the winning team claiming the title of World Champions, a 70lbs trophy known as the Summoner’s Cup and (as of 2016) prize money of a cool $1 million.
The ultimate format of the World Championships and the number of teams competing has differed in each of the six different iterations of the event to date. At time of writing, World Championships is currently ongoing and has seen a total of 24 teams from all around the globe competing.
Alongside the three European and three North American teams who qualified through the LoL Championship Series, three teams from China, three teams from South Korea, three teams from Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan, and one team from each of Brazil, Latin America North, Latin America South, Japan, Oceania, Turkey, Southeast Asia, CIS/Russia and a wildcard region completed the field.
What To Bet On League Of Legends?
It should have become clear by now, therefore, that competitive League of Legends is serious business and bears many of the same hallmarks as a professional sport. That is a fact that has not been missed or misunderstood by online bookmakers, and many of them now have a League of Legends betting section with odds and markets.
Alongside tournament and match winner outright bets, there are also now a decent handful of different types of bet which are often made available, and we’re going to explain a few of them below.
Player of the Tournament Bets – Just like the football world cup or another major international sporting event, each Lol World Championships ends with a single player being awarded the title of ‘player of the tournament’. Many bookmakers will now let you bet on who that will be, both before and during the competition.
Correct Map Score – Again similar to a popular football betting market, a correct map score bet in LoL is quite simply a wager on the final map score of a LoL match. Matches in many competitions are typically first to three, so score bet options will be 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 in either direction.
First Team to Get Ten Kills – Available from some of the better eSports betting sites, first team to get ten kills bets allow you to predict which team in a given match will be the first to reach ten kills of minions, monsters or opposition champions.
Total Towers Destroyed – A simple over/under style market, a total towers destroyed bet lets a punter predict how many towers will be destroyed by both teams during the duration of a match or map. The figure set for the over/under will differ from one game to another.
