Esports is one of the highest-growing forms of competition in the 21st century. What was just a passion hobby for many not more than a decade ago, has now turned into a mainstream entertainment phenomenon followed by tens of millions of people across the globe.
This surge in popularity has brought Esports on par with traditional sports in many aspects, including sports betting. Just like fans, sports bettors are drawn to the excitement and the diversity of Esports, backing their favorite teams and players and placing bets on match winners, map winners, number of kills, and a variety of other outcomes in the hope of hitting a big payout.
However, while Esports betting is fun and easy to do, having any success doing it can be challenging. To make winning bets, you must know a thing or two about game mechanics, player performance, and team strategies while also having some luck along the way.
In an effort to help you make informed decisions and increase your winning chances, we asked the experts from BetZillion, a website dedicated to uncovering top online betting options, to compile some betting tips that can help turn your Esports wagers into big winners.
Understanding the Esports Landscape
The Esports landscape today is massive, encompassing a diverse selection of competitions, with games such as League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, and Fortnite at the helm.
League of Legends and Dota 2 have gained widespread popularity with their multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) gameplay. CS:GO is known for its high-stakes first-person shooter action, while Fortnite excels at the battle royale mechanics.
Some of the key tournaments in the Esports calendar include The International (Dota 2), League of Legends World Championship, CS:GO Major Championships, Fortnite World Cup, Overwatch League, and Call of Duty League, each drawing in millions of views and offering substantial prize pools.
Major Esports teams like Team Liquid, Fnatic, and Evil Geniuses consistently perform at the highest levels, with star players like Faker (LoL), s1mple (CS:GO), ATF (Dota 2), and Cooper and Mero (Fortnite) reaching the level of superstars.
Core Strategies for Making Esports Bets
Before we move to advanced stuff, we should introduce some core principles of successful betting. These strategies can be applied not only to Esports but to sports betting as a whole.
Research and Analysis
Being a successful Esports bettor involves some pre-planning. You can’t simply log into a betting site and magically make winning bets. First, you must do some research by studying team and player performance, looking into recent match outcomes, and even noting some bug fixes for the games themselves.
Finding the Right Esports Bookies
Before you can make Esports bets, you must find the right betting platform. Now, this may seem easy since there are now loads of online sportsbooks that feature the most popular Esports games on their menus.
However, not every Esports betting site is worth your time and money. Some sites are clearly above the rest in terms of the sheer number of betting options they offer, the range of betting markets, the quality of odds, the availability of bonuses and promotions, and other key aspects.
If you need help finding these quality websites, you can turn to the BetZillion company. The experts from BetZillion have reviewed dozens of online sportsbooks and can help you discover top Esports betting sites by region, sport, bonuses, or specific features.
Bankroll Management
If you want to be a sustainable sports bettor, learning effective bankroll management is a must. You first must set a budget that you can afford to lose and try to stick to it. From there, you should work on some strategies for managing and allocating your bankroll.
The percentage method suggests that your wagers take only between 1% and 5% of your total bankroll. This way, you can minimize risk and make sure that you have a budget that will last a long time. You can also try the unit system and divide your bankroll into individual units. From there, you bet a consistent number of units on each wager based on how confident you are in a given bet.
Another important thing to remember is that even if you encounter some losses, you should try not to get emotional and stick to your strategies. Chasing losses can lead to impulsive and irrational decisions and can see you looking at an empty bankroll quicker than you might expect.
Game-Specific Strategies
A specific thing about Esports is that it’s much more diversified than traditional sports. For instance, while the NBA and Euroleague differ in quality, league dynamics, and even some rules, they are both basketball competitions, so most of the same strategies can be applied to both.
When it comes to Esports, however, you must understand the nuances between various games and develop a strategy that’s specific to a given game. For example, in League of Legends and Dota 2, team composition and draft phase play significant roles in determining the match outcome. Analyzing these aspects can provide valuable insights into potential winners. Meanwhile, in CS:GO, map selection and team performance on specific maps are critical factors.
If you’re a beginner bettor, it may be best to master your betting strategies on a single game before branching out to others.
BetZillon’s Advanced Techniques
Now that we have gone through the basics, it’s time to move to some advanced betting strategies. Here’s what the guys from BetZillion suggest.
Live Betting
Live betting offers a dynamic way to engage with Esports, enabling you to place bets as the teams are battling it out. By watching the game unfold, you can evaluate team performances and take advantage of momentum shifts.
However, live betting is not easy. The fast-paced nature of Esports means odds can change rapidly, requiring quick decision-making and a profound understanding of the game. To succeed, you must stay focused, avoid emotional reactions, and rely on good research and analysis.
Value Betting
The goal of value betting is to find bets that are overpriced. In other words, you must spot betting markets where the price is greater than the actual likelihood of the outcome occurring. To identify value bets, you need to compare true odds with those provided by the sportsbook. Now, how you calculate true odds involves extensive research and a comprehensive knowledge of the game and the teams and players involved.
You first must come up with the expected value, which can be done using the following formula:
EV = (Probability of Winning x Odds) − (1 − Probability of Winning)
For example, if you estimate a team has a 60% chance of winning a match and the bookmaker offers odds of 2.00 (which implies a 50% win chance), you’re looking at a value bet.
EV = (0.60 x 2.00) − (0.40)
EV = 1.20 − 0.40
EV = 0.80
Hedge Betting
Hedge betting is a strategy that guarantees a profit by taking advantage of the discrepancies in odds between bookmakers.
For instance, if one sportsbook offers 2.05 odds on Team A, and the other sportsbook offers 2.08 odds on Team B, you can place a bet on each team using different sportsbooks to secure a profit. If you place a $10 bet on Team A and a $10 bet on Team B, you’ve wagered a total of $20. If Team A wins, you’re looking at a $20.5 payout, and if Team B wins, you will lock in a $20.8 payout. So, no matter the outcome, you’re in the plus column.
You can also hedge bets through live betting. For example, if you place a pre-match bet on an underdog and they win the first map, the odds on the favored team will rise and likely be higher than their opponent’s. You can place a live bet on that team to lock in a profit regardless of the outcome.
Responsible Betting
Last but not least, BetZillion experts shared some advice regarding responsible betting to ensure everyone can have a healthy and enjoyable Esports betting experience.
As mentioned, it’s important to set limits. Sportsbooks themselves can help you out here, as a lot of them provide responsible gaming tools that allow you to set deposit, loss, and time limits.
Still, limiting yourself is much easier said than done. Betting can cause addiction, and if you’re starting to notice the patterns of problem gambling behavior, it’s best to seek help from professionals.
Organizations like the National Council on Problem Gambling, GambleAware, and Gamblers Anonymous can offer support and guidance. Remember, betting should be fun and never at the expense of your well-being.
Conclusion
The diverse Esports betting landscape can be fun to explore, but making any kind of profit from it can be challenging. There are no easy hacks to winning bets, but if you put in enough effort and steer things in the right direction, there will be no limit to your winning potential.
From thorough research and bankroll management to finding suitable online sportsbooks and taking advantage of hedge betting opportunities, our friends from BetZillion have given you a winning formula. All you need to do now is follow their advice, and you’ll be on your way to success.