After 3 Frenzied Weeks, A Slightly Quieter One Is On For Esports Betting

Last week saw the Korean Champions SK Telecom T1 take home the grand prize in Riot’s MSI whilst Team Liquid won Epicenter in the Dota 2 world and Luminosity continued their great form to win the ESL Pro League Season 3: Finals in CS:GO.

After three huge tournaments in the three largest esports, this will be somewhat of a quiet week in the normally frantic world of esports.

League of Legends

[toc]There is very little going on this week with League of Legends as the community digests the last two weeks of great action where, as aforementioned, Korean juggernaut SK Telecom T1 recovered from a shaky start to take the grand final 3-0 over North Americans Counter Logic Gaming.

Starcraft: WCS Spring Circuit

There’s a few games being played in Starcraft over the next week, with the WCS Spring Circuit playoffs kicking off the action this week.

CS:GO: Operation Kinguin

Operation Kinguin continues this week with action from some of the “smaller” teams in the world of CS:GO taking place throughout the week.

There is no rest for the best, however, as Fnatic are back in action in just one day’s time as they face G2 esports in the ECS European League. The North American League also continues this week, so there’s certainly enough top tier CSGO betting to keep the avid fan going.

Check out our esports guide on how Kinguin works.

Dota 2: various qualifiers

The Dota 2 scene saw the roundup of Epicenter which has gained plaudits around the world. It’s been widely considered one of the best events ever held in the Dota scene and sees Moscow make a serious claim to host a future Major.

This week, in the build-up to the Manila Major sees qualifiers for ESL Frankfurt (June) and The Summit 5 (July) continue as well as qualification for Starladder I-League Season 2 and the second Nanyang Championships.

Heroes of the Storm: Super League

The Super League continues as HotS teams aim to ultimately secure a top two finish and a qualification to the Heroes Global Championship this summer.

What the esports betting sites are offering

SkyBet

SkyBet are offering odds on the CS:GO and Dota in their normal, relatively comprehensive fashion.

Meanwhile we see a first appearance for Call of Duty in their markets. There are two matches available for consumers and they offer a small range of markets including Best of 5 Score, Map Winners as well as Handicap betting on either team.

BetWay

Betway Esports have a limited offering this week. They’re offering odds on some of the Dota qualifers and continue to offer a more comprehensive range of markets than SkyBet.

They have ante-post markets for E-League and League’s Summer Invitational but until the events roll around, there’s not a huge amount for the consumer. The welcome offer and acca insurance special could definitely be better used in a different week.

Bet365 Esports

Bet365 continues to be the best place to go for a wide variety of real money esports betting.

They’re offering multiple markets across Dota, CS:GO, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm which most bookmakers don’t tend to offer any odds on.

For those that prefer to bet on the smaller esports, Bet365 continues to be the top esports bookmaker to go.

Ladbrokes, PaddyPower and Coral

PaddyPower is offering match odds on CS:GO, Dota and Starcraft with very little else to bet on. You can of course bet on the winner of certain tournaments but their esports offering continues to lack depth in most areas.

Meanwhile, Ladbrokes has taken a step back this week with esports betting odds only being offered on CS:GO and League of Legends, and none of the markets available are for match betting.

Coral continue to exhibit their lack of understanding of the esports market with one Starcraft match available for customers.

Despite all of this, the eSports Betting Summit taking place in Kensington, London this week will seek to educate the high-street bookmakers as to how big the esports gambling industry may well become.

It may not be long before all of the bookmakers recognise the sheer growth of esports and start offering comprehensive odds across the board.