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League of Legends is one of the most popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) titles in the esports industry. The game is big when it comes to events, viewership, and betting. Every year, the developer of the game, Riot Games host a variety of tournaments which are followed by millions of esports enthusiasts and gamers.
Teams from different regions in the world participate in the events to eventually qualify for one of the biggest tournaments in the eSports industry, League of Legends World Championship Series. There are some other third-party events that take place in the world of League of Legends. However, the odds in almost every match of those events are bad because only a couple of top tier teams participate. This article will cover the best LoL Leagues to bet on in 2019. We have compiled a list in order to help you make most out of your betting.
League of Legends Championship Series NA and EU
The North American League of Legends Championship Series (LCS NA) and the European League of Legends Championship Series (LCS EU) are divided into two splits: spring and summer. In both competitions, the 10 best teams in the region participate. Throughout the season each team faces twice against each opponent. In total, 18 games.
After a LoL league phase, the playoffs are disputed among the first six classified teams, in eliminatory best of five format. Apart from contesting a final to proclaim a winner, a duel is also held for the third place.
The LCS NA and LCS EU use championship points (also known as circuit points) for qualifying for the World Cup. An LCS team can reach the World Cup in different ways:
- The team that wins the summer split automatically enters the Worlds as the first classified in that region.
- The team that has scored the most championship points throughout the season has access to the second place.
- In the event that several teams are tied at the end of the summer split, the club that has achieved the most points during that split will take part in the tiebreaker.
- The final place for the World Cup will be determined by the Regional NA and EU Qualifiers. The winners of each will be the third classified from their respective regions.
League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK)
The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is the most important LoL leagues in South Korea. In the LCK, 10 teams compete against each other twice during the season. All matches are the best of three. At the end of the season, the last two teams participate in a promotion/relegation tournament, while the top five finishers play the playoffs.
In the playoffs, the fourth and fifth place are contested first in a game that follows best of three format. Then the winner faces the third and the winner face the second. The final of the playoffs, the best of five, faces the survivor of these duels against the first classified team.
As in the LCS NA and LCS EU, the LCK uses championship points to qualify for the World Cup.
A team from the LCK can reach the World Cups in different ways:
- The winner of the summer split automatically qualifies for the World Cup.
- The team with the most championship points (spring + summer) enters the Worlds as second place in the region.
- The last spot is determined by the Regional Qualifiers of South Korea. The winner also gets a ticket to the World Cup.
League of Legends Pro League (LPL)
The Tencent League of Legends Pro League (LPL) is by far the most popular League of Legends leagues in China. The LPL has 14 separate teams in two divisions of 7 each. Each team faces its division’s rivals twice during the season and once against the rivals of the other division. All the games in the league are the best of three. Winning a series counts as a victory (or a point).
After the regular league, the playoffs are held. The two teams that are higher in each division are automatically moved to the playoffs. The third team of each division plays against the fourth of the other, and the winners also go to the playoffs. The matches in this phase are the best of five, and a match is played to determine the third and fourth place (not just a final).
The first two classified in the LPL are classified for the group stage of the World Cup and the third for the opening phase.
Mid-Season Invitational (MSI)
Mid-Season Invitational League of Legends (MSI) is almost held in May every year. This event has 14 teams representing 14 different LoL leagues. The positioning of the regional classifieds will depend on their previous results in the MSI and World Championship.
The teams that have won the spring split will participate in the MSI in the following regions:
- Brazil (CBLOL)
- China (LPL)
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
- Europe (LCS EU), Japan (LJL)
- Korea (LCK)
- North America (LLN)
- South America (CLS)
- North America (LCS NA)
- Oceania (OPL)
- Southeast Asia (GPL)
- Vietnam (VCS)
- Taiwan
- Hong Kong
- Macao (LMS)
- Turkey (TCL)
The opening phase has 10 teams, which will imply that the other 4 will start in the group stage.
The two best of the groups in the opening qualifies for the next round, which will be eliminatory to the best of five series.
In the group stage, six teams will be measured in series at best from one to two matches. The best 4 will go to the elimination phase, where the format is the best of five.
Mid-Season Invitational always influence the positional of the regional qualifiers for the World Cup. The best regions of the MSI have the first four places of the group phase of the Worlds.
World Championship Series
The World Cup is the most prestigious League of Legends Championship. The championship has classified teams that fight for the supremacy in the game of Riot Games. This year, the event is taking place in South Korea with 24 teams initially contesting for the title of champion. Now we are down to top two teams only the fate of which will be decided in the grand finals of League of Legends World Championship Series at Incheon Munhak Stadium on Saturday, November 3.
In 2017, Riot Games modified the format of the event, dividing it into three stages: The Play-in phase, group stage, and knockout stage. We assume that, in the event of non-notification of changes, for this 2018 the same format is being maintained.
The strongest regions send some or all of their direct teams to the group stage, while other less powerful regions start in the Play-in.
The LCK sends three teams to the group stage, while the following leagues (LPL, LCS EU, LCS NA, and LMS) send two to the groups and another to the opening phase.
The following leagues bring a team to the Play-In phase:
- CBLoL
- LCL
- LJL
- LLN
- CLS
- OPL
- TCL
- GPL
How can they be classified? Proclaiming themselves as the champions of the summer split. However, a good performance in the MSI opens the doors to a second place in the World Cup in these regions.
Rift Rivals
Rift Rivals is an interregional competition in which the teams give their all to place their region at the top. The competition debuted last year in July and was also held in 2018. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Rift Rivals 2019 will also be held in the month of July.
This was the distribution of the five tournaments between regions in 2018:
- North America Europe – United States
- China vs. Korea vs. LMS – China
- Brazil vs. LATAM North vs. LATAM South – Brazil
- Oceania vs. Southeast Asia vs. Japan – Australia
- Vietnam vs. Turkey vs. Russia – Vietnam
The Rift Rivals teams are selected based on their classification in the spring split and are positioned for the event according to that classification.
All-star
To close the calendar year in League of Legends, the All-Stars are celebrated in a competition in which the teams are made up of the favorite players picked by fans. Fans vote for their favorites among the professionals of the best eight regional leagues (according to the World Cup results).
As in 2017, this year the All-Star will be in North America, although we do not know if Los Angeles will host the event.
The format has not yet been confirmed, but if you keep the one from last year it will be like this:
- Main event: eight teams, divided into two groups, seek to qualify for the knockout rounds with the aim of reaching the final and proclaim themselves champions.
- Tournament 1 vs 1: 16 players (two from each of the eight regions) are measured in single eliminations, at best one. The semi-finals and the grand finals are the best of three.
League of Legends is quite synonymous to its rival title Dota 2. The map structure, creep spawning, and the monsters are similar except the mechanics of both the games which heavily differ from each other. Learning how to play League of Legends is somewhat easy for the beginners. However, there are some key points in the game that every new player should be aware of. This League of Legends for Beginners Guide will not only comprehensively explain the role of every class of champions in the game, but also help you pick the best LoL odds in the betting industry.
Champions
Unlike many games, In League of Legends, you just have to control one character or champion, so it’s even more important to know the characters comprehensively. So, before you start a game you should either test out the champion in a game against bots (AI opponents) or at least read through the spell to have an idea of what he/she can do.
If you want to learn a new champion later, it makes sense to search the internet for guides on the various sites to get an impression of how to perfectly play the champion.
Classes
Depending on that, champions can be subdivided into the numerous different classes. So, if you want to understand the meta game and discussions in different forums, you should be able to know and distinguish these terms.
Carry
Carry is a game-changing champion. Of course, every champion is game-deciding in his own way, but carries are the ones whom everyone looks at. The word “to carry” means to wear, meaning the champion is there to carry his team and lead to victory.
LoL Carriers
In principle, a carry can be anyone, whether Blitzcrank, Gragas, Malzahar, Ashe or Corki. Therefore, a distinction is actually made here as follows: A carry is a Damage Dealer (DD), which is divided into AP Carry, or AD Carry. Champions like Malzahar, Swain or Vladimir are so-called AP-Carries. That is, they deal more magic damage than others and can quickly eliminate the opposing team. AP stands for Ability Power, which means that they scale with Ability Power (or their spells). They are also often dubbed as casters. AD Carries are champions like Ashe, Corki or Ezreal. They deal significantly more physical damage and scale very well with attack damage, meaning their damage comes mostly from auto attacks.
Supports
In League of Legends, supports are champions who support or heal their team through specific abilities and LoL items. These include above all Janna, Taric, Sona, and Soraka.
LoL Supports
There are a few more supporters, but in principle, these are the best. They each have healing spells and shields to support their team.
Supports usually spend their gold on tactical items like buying wards and get Map control for their team.Furthermore, supports take no minion kills, meaning they support their AD-Carry in the bottom lane and let him take all the Last Hits.
Tank
After supports and carry, we go to the kings of the top lane, namely the tanks or off-tank. The term off-tank is referred to the anti-carry, such as Mundo, Akali or Maokai.
LoL Tanks
It is essential to get as much farm as possible because often the top lane can decide the fate of the game. Especially Jarvan IV and Irelia are of course in the current Meta. At the same time, you cannot push too far, because the opposing jungler can come from behind, and take advantage of your careless positioning.
You can also think of a “tank” as a champion that can absorb the damage of the enemy and somehow attract the fire of the opponents. For example, Rammus, Shen, Cho’Gath or Malphite tanks. Their abilities make them accustomed to initiate a team fight and protect the team. The direct translation here illustrates the whole thing: they are “tanks”.
Champion Mechanics
Most champions need mana to use their spells. However, this does not apply to everyone, so in the following is briefly explained what you have to pay attention to:
Katarina, Garen, Tryndamere, Vladimir
These champions do not use mana or anything like that. Their spells are completely free (Vladimir has two spells that cost lives). They are limited only by their cooldown.
Mordekaiser, Vladimir, Dr. Mundo
Spells (partly) cost lives in these three champions. If you kill yourself with a spell because you have so little life, the spell cannot be performed until you regenerate the required health.
Renekton
This champion uses anger. His abilities also do not cost anything, but they generate rage and if you have over 50 rage your spells are boosted. He also gets rage with Auto Attacks.
Rumble
Rumble creates heat through its fire magic. As soon as he has over 50 heat, each spell deals out more damage, but if it comes to 100 heat it stops for a few seconds and deals a little more damage with its auto attack.
Akali, Kennen, Shen, Lee Sin
The three ninjas and the blind monk use energy. They have 200 energy and regenerate mana a lot quicker than the other Champions.
AD Carries
What do you have to learn when playing an AD-Carry? Well, in principle there is not much to pay attention while playing the AD Carry, but of course, there are a few things that will be explained below.
As soon as the game begins, it will be standard for you to go to the bot lane with a support who gives you all the last hits. On the other hand, if you go down to the lane with someone else in the bot lane, you cannot guarantee that you will get your last hits.
No matter if you go to the Duo-lane or Solo-lane, you have to pay attention to the minion in both ways. At the same time take care not to get harassed too hard. This requires some practice, especially as there are some champs who can quite possibly nuke you to zone you out and effectively keep the lane to themselves. Therefore, it is essential to know your champion inside out. Speaking of playing an AD carry, you have to be better in many situations, especially on the solo lane, than your opponent.
Caster
Caster is the one who goes to the mid lane. As a caster, it is much easier to farm than AD-Carry. The main reason is that you have a solo lane and you do not have to compete against two opponents. In addition, after a short time, you have the opportunity to farm with your spells. This gives you the opportunity to zone your opponent if you are either better than him or if you have a stronger champion and are superior to your opponent.
The fact that you have the solo lane also makes you much more vulnerable to ganks since it is difficult to secure the lane with wards there.
Of course, the enemy is just as prone to ganks as you are, so you can always ask for a gank if the opponent is too close to your own tower. Accordingly, it is vitally important not to use all of your spells for farming, as you will be fast at the enemy’s tower and will be an easy target for enemy ganks. However, if the creeps are pushing into the tower, you should use the spells to clear the wave and get the Last Hits.
Support
As a support, you have undoubtedly the simplest job in the game, nevertheless, there are also some things that have to be considered.
As a support player, it is only possible to go with the AD Carry on the bot lane. Here you let him get all minion kills and support whereas possible. Since you do not get any minion kills, it is essential to invest your gold in wards. In principle, you do not have to do more when playing this role. If sometimes you have enough money to buy an item that is nice, but getting the map control with your wards should be the first priority.
Janna, Sona, Soraka, Taric, Alistar, and Lux are some examples of great support champions.
Jungler
Jungler role in itself is really not difficult, but if you want to optimize it and really master it, the whole thing looks completely different and you really have to know a lot.
LoL Junglers
To effectively jungle you have to look at each champion’s speed, invasion, survivability, path / build, and ganking, and then decide if it’s worth chasing with him at all and then building on his strengths.
Often time in the League of Legends competitive scene, junglers are the ones which setup the teamfights. Jungler’s high farm-rate and level advantage over other champions makes it an excellent choice to setup the ganks.
According to extensive research, eSports is on its way to become a billion-dollar industry. The industry has completely transformed how the world looks at gamers. Here are 15 top highest earning esports players in multiple divisions of esports for 2018:
Highest Mortal Kombat Earner
Ryan “Dragon” Walker – $ 190,000
The Dragon is one of the revelations of the new generation of fighting games and became known in 2016 when he began to stand out in various majors and premiers of Mortal Kombat X. However, the young man’s career shined only last year when he started competing in Injustice 2 and became champion in the EVO tournament.
Even so, his most important achievement of 2017 was the top of the podium at the ELEAGUE World Cup where he earned $ 150,000. Dragon is currently the 70th most profitable eSPorts athlete in the United States.
Highest Pro Evolution Soccer Earner
Guilherme “GuiFera” Fonseca – $ 211 thousand
Hailing from Jaú, in the city of São Paulo, Guilherme “GuiFera” is the main representative of Brazil in Pro Evolution Soccer. The player, who had a reputation in the Brazilian community, became a renowned star a few years ago when he was runner-up of PES 2016.
The following year, he won a tricky match against Italian Ettore “Ettorito97” Giannuzzi, GuiFera becoming the best in the world and bringing home a check for $ 200,000.
Highest SSB Earner
Adam “Armada” Lindgren – $ 285 thousand
At just 25 years old, Armada is part of the Alliance team and is a true Smash Melee legend. Playing mainly with Princess Peach, the Swede won the first few admirations of his career in 2007 – when he finished 4th place in the biggest European tournament of the season and took about $ 35,000 home.
Over time, Adam began to attend even more competitions and his income grew exponentially: Last year, the player participated in at least 31 championships and earned almost $ 90,000.
Highest FIFA Earner
Spencer “HugeGorilla” Ealing – $ 288 thousand
A native of the UK, Spencer started earning money from FIFA in 2015. It was also at this time that the player came to stand out in European championships, becoming one of the main figures in the community of the continent.
The highest point in the history of HugeGorilla was the conquest of the World Cup last year. Playing at home, the athlete thrashed the German Kai “Deto” Wollin by 7 to 2 on the aggregate scoreboard. The win was rewarded with the title of best in the world and a prize of $ 200,000, making him the British pro player who won most money in competitions.
Highest Street Fighter V Earner
Du “NuckleDu” Dang – $ 303 thousand
Known for its fast and aggressive style of play, the American NuckleDu is one of the newer names of elite competitive Street Fighter V. Currently 21, the Team Liquid representative plays Guile and collects important titles around the world.
The best achievement of the professional was the Capcom Cup 2016, where he beat Ricki Ortiz’s Chun-Li and got the $ 230,000 prize. His success in the championship made him one of the most prestigious players. This was the highlight of the athlete’s career, which also drew attention in November last year – when he won DreamHack Montreal and donated the $ 10,000 prize for victims of Hurricane Irma.
Highest HotS Earner
Lee “sake” Jung Hyeog – $ 323 thousand
South Korean Lee “sake” has already been a known personality of Heroes of the Storm since 2015. In the same year, the player was hired as support and captain of MVP Black and led the group in striking results: gold at the World Cyber Arena.
The team’s performance continued well in the following years and the team won most of the tournaments it played. The most important of them was last year’s World Cup, which had the Blizzcon 2017 final and awarded MVP $ 500,000. In addition, one day after winning the championship, the entire cast of the team was transferred to KSV Black – which underwent a remodeling and was renamed Gen.G Esports.
Highest Hearthstone Earner
Chen “tom60229” Wei Lin – $ 341 thousand
The most profitable player in the Hearthstone tournaments so far is Taiwan’s Chen “Tom” who signed with the Flash Wolves team and started competing in 2014. With good results coming almost instantly, it was a matter of time before Tom’s profit reached the top among card-playing professionals.
The final incentive came earlier this year when the Asian won the 2017 Hearthstone World Championship and was rewarded with $ 250,000.
Highest Dragon Ball FighterZ
Dominique “SonicFox” Mclean – $ 449 thousand
If you follow the competitive scenario of Dragon Ball FighterZ, you probably already know that SonicFox is one of the recent revelations of fighting games. The 20-year-old prodigy came into the spotlight only a short time ago when he competed for the first Injustice and became champion of Evolution 2014.
Even with the supreme title, the financial turnaround in American life only happened the following year when Mortal Kombat X was released and the most glorious period in the player’s career began. By the end of 2016, Dominique had already been a two-time EVO world champion and had won three straight seasons of the ESL Pro League, closing the year with earnings of approximately $ 191,000.
Highest Halo Earner
Tony “Lethul” Campbell – $ 582 thousand
Born in Michigan, American Tony “Lethul” has been a professional contender for Halo since 2010. In nearly eight years of shooting, the player has gone through virtually every game in the franchise and has won many valuable community titles.
The most profitable was the Halo 5 world championships in 2016 and 2017 – which earned a total of $ 375,000 for the athlete. He is currently the 7th highest-earning player in the US and has grossed $ 50,000 in prize money in the past three months.
Highest Starcraft Earner
Read “Jaedong” Jae-dong – $ 628 thousand
Jae-dong started playing professionally in 2006 when he was only 16 years old. In the control of the Zerg in Starcraft: Brood War, the South Korean won several championships in Asia and became a legend of the esports quickly.
One of the most outstanding titles in his early career was the first place in Ever Ongamenet StarLeague 200, a respected achievement of the sport and that earned about 42 thousand dollars for the professional starlet. It is also worth remembering that, two years later, in 2009, the player reached the three-time title at OSL and was the third man in the history to receive the trophy “Golden Mouse”. Currently, the pro player is the 5th in South Korea who has made more money playing.
Highest COD Earner
Damon “Karma” Barlow – $ 687 thousand
Currently representing OpTic Gaming, Canada’s Damon “Karma” entered the competition in 2011 and is the Call of Duty player with the highest revenue earned per tournament. The performance of the athlete in the first and throughout 2012 was reasonable, but the significant results only began to arrive a little later: Karma was signed with Fariko Impact and won the 2013 World Championship by playing Black Ops 2.
The player has already won two more world titles from there, with WLC 2017 being the last and most robust of them. In the decision, Damon defeated the EnVyUs team in Infinite Warfare and took $ 150,000 home.
Highest CSGO Earner
Gabriel “Fallen” Toledo – $ 749 thousand
In all, CS: GO already distributed approximately US $ 53 million in the championship awards. The talented star who pocketed a decent sum of the earnings is FalleN, AWPer from São Paulo, leader of MiBR, voted the second best player in the world in 2016 and fourth in 2017.
Gabriel’s most profitable phase came in the same period, with the win at ESL One: Cologne 2016. The title earned $ 100,000, for the athlete, who is now the most profitable Brazilian pro player in esports.
Highest LoL Earner
Lee “Faker” Sang Hyeok – $ 1.17 million
South Korea’s mid laner represents SK Telecom T1. Since 2013 when he was discovered, he started playing for the organization’s secondary team. It did not take long for the player to stand out and, in the same year, the team became League of Legends world champion.
Since then, the feat has already been repeated two more times and in the last one, which happened in 2016, the athlete was awarded US $ 338 thousand. It is noteworthy that even before turning 18, Faker had already received at least $ 255,000, in tournaments and is currently the South Korean pro player with the highest monetary gains.
Highest Dota 2 Earner
Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi – $4 million
Leading the ranking of the most profitable players on the planet, the German “KuroKy” Takhasomi is a living legend of Dota 2. The player started competing in the original DotA, representing mousesports in DreamHack 2008.
Dota 2 was launched back in 2011 and teams from across the globe were invited in the first International. However, even though he was in several editions of the millionaire tournament, the dream of winning the World Cup was only recently achieved: with the Team Liquid shirt, KuroKy led the team and was TI7 champion. In addition to hitting the missing goal in his career, the 25-year-old athlete was awarded more than $ 2.17 million and is now the richest eSports athlete in the world.
Update
Despite falling out of quarterfinals at worlds this year, Uzi still made esports history by being the first professional esports player to be endorsed by the brand, Nike. Despite their early departure from worlds, Uzi made several domestic and international performances that stunned the world with both Chinese LPL Championships and claiming the Mid Season Invitational, a first for the long playing ADC, now cementing him as one of the best players to come from the region.
Nike is commonly known for being a worldwide organization whose focus has been on providing apparel and equipment for celebrities and athletes alike and now they will step into unfamiliar territory for the brand by siding with a professional League of Legends player. Nike may not be the first sports endorsement to make it into the esports space but it is undeniable that Nike is among the biggest.
Jian “Uzi” Zihao
Now Jian “Uzi” Zihao will stand beside Chinese actor Bai Jingting and NBA player LeBron James for a campaign entitled “Dribble and” to promote James’ documentary series “Shut up and Dribble.” For Uzi’s shirt it features the word carry referring to the common esports term, specifically more used is MOBA’s where a player is able to lead to a team to victory seemingly by themselves. A term Uzi knows all too well being the Royal Never Give Up star ADC and considered to be one of the strongest players in the world. Royal Never Give Up has obtained several other sponsors this year, notably both KFC and Mercedes-Benz.
James was quoted saying the documentary series looks to give insight into “a powerful inside look at the changing role of athletes in our fraught cultural and political environment.” To have esports recognized in this change along with traditional sports is quite the topic with itself proving that esports have come quite a long way from being what people perceived a bunch of kids playing video games for money, and is now realized and fleshed out to be a well respected competition which many people put in similar hours and work to prove to be the best much like traditional sports athletes do.
The Future of Esports Sponsorships
Along with chinese actor, the reach in China will be fairly significant considering the large Chinese league player base and Uzi being one of the most recognizable players in League right next to Faker. It isn’t stated whether or not this is a one off deal and this will be Nike’s only esports endorsement, but the future for the growing industry with this move definitely looks bright. If proven to be successful this can be a gateway for other brands to dip their toes into the esports space and put more money to continue to grow the scene.
23 May, 2019
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