Everything you need to know about Esports
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Gathering around a screen to watch other people play computergames? Up until relatively recently that would’ve seemed like an alien concept.But now more than ever, Esports is hugely popular.
The industry has captured a whole new audience hungry for some sporting action recently. But what are the main games associated with Esports? And how does it all work?
Here we take you through everything you need to know.
What arethe main games?
There are three main titles associated with Esports; Counter-Strike, League of Legends and Dota 2.
The trio allattract huge audiences and fall into one of two categories. They’re eitherfirst-person shooters or battle arena titles, which means they can be fought byindividuals or as teams. Let’s delve into them.
League ofLegends
This onefalls into the battle arena category. Two teams of five players face-off in anarena called ‘Summoner’s Rift’ where the aim of the game is to destroy theother team’s base – or Nexus – while defending their own.
Each player choosesa character from the 148 available before attempting to level up by destroyingminions, enemy towers or fighting over neutral objectives to increase theirteam’s chance of winning.
A typicalLeague of Legends game can last anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour, withdifferent teams often coming together from across the map to engage in tacticalbattles in a bid to destroy the opposition nexus.
FunPlus Phoenix, G2 Esports, SKT 1 and Cloud 9 are some of the most successful teams in recent years, while Korean (LCK), China (LPL), Europe (LEC) and North American (LCS) leagues are set to resume this weekend.
Counter-Strike:Global Offensive
Battle arenagames are good if you enjoy a tactical fight amongst a shed-load of carnage,but first-person shooters like Counter-Strike produce some seriously edge ofyour seat gaming.
It involvestwo teams being split into separate groups – Terrorists and Counter Terrorists(CTs) – before going head-to-head in 30 two-minute rounds across a selection ofclassic maps.
The aim ofthe game is this; the terrorists’ must plant a bomb at one of several sites,while the CTs must split their resources to defend those sites. Games can alsobe won by killing every member of the opposite team.
On ourSportsbook punters can bet on the Match Result, Map 1 and Map 2 winners, RoundHandicaps and each Pistol Round Winner, where players are only able to fightwith the aid of a pistol.
It’s a gamecontested in various leagues worldwide, the biggest of which is the ESEA ProLeague. It consists of four groups of six teams including Astralis and NatusVincere, who are one of the best teams around right now.
Dota 2
If there’sone thing Esports players love it’s a battle royale. And much like League ofLegends, Dota 2, or Defence of the Ancients 2 to give the game it’s full title,sees two teams of five go head-to-head.
Once againboth teams are attempting to destroy each other’s bases, although Dota 2 isarguably more of a tactical affair which can lead itself to even more thrillingcontests.
It’s a gamewhich is generally more about major and minor events, too, rather than adheringto a league structure. A tournament called The International offered a cool$34,330,068 in prize money last year.
However, theonset of coronavirus has put pay to two of those major events already in 2020,although regional divisions such as the South American Aorus League and theSigul Pro League are still up and running.
Are thereany that replicate real sports?
In the wakeof the aforementioned coronavirus various Esports replacements have beenpopping up in place of the real thing. Not only are they hugely entertaining,you can get bet on them too. Here’s what’s on:
FIFAUltimate QuaranTeam
Love Football? Love FIFA? Then you’re going to love Ultimate QuaranTeam. Set up by Leyton Orient, it sees 128 players representing their clubs on FIFA and battling it out to become the Ultimate QuaranTeam champ.
Ok, it’s not quite the Champions League, but unlike Europe’s premier competition it’s not behind a paywall either. You can stream every game live on each individual club’s Twitch account and watch the action unfold.
? So here it is in all its glory, the final 128!
Under 15 minutes to go. ?
Answer below to help pass the time.
Who you want to draw ___________
Who you’ll probably draw __________#UltimateQuaranTeam
— Leyton Orient (@leytonorientfc) March 17, 2020
We’realready halfway through the tournament which means there are still plenty ofgames yet to come. Plus, any profits we make from bets placed on the tournamentwill go to charity, so it’s all for a good cause too.
Nantes,Manchester City and Middlesbrough are all near the head of the betting.Unsurprisingly they all have Esports professionals representing them. Who doyou think will take home the inaugural crown?
OtherSports
Boxing hasbeen one of the other mainstream sports to delve into the world of eSports withEA’s Fight Night Legends pitting legendary heavyweights against each other in abid for virtual victory.
Simulated versions of Joe Frazier, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Eric Esch are all in the mix. They’ll have to go some to defeat eMuhammad Ali, though, who is 1/2 favourite to float like a butterfly and sting like an ‘e’ and take the heavyweight crown.
F1 has alsobeen getting in the mix with last weekend’s Bahrain e-Grand Prix which was wonby Guanyu Zhou and contested by famous faces such as Lando Norris, Sir ChrisHoy and Liam Payne. Keep an eye out for more of those in the future.
Bettingon Esports
Betting on Esportscouldn’t be simpler. To bet on established games such as Dota 2, League ofLegends and Counter-Striker, just go to our Sportsbook and tap or click ontothe Esports tab..
You’ll thenfind a list of matches on today, tomorrow and in the future. You can then clickon those matches, take a look at the various markets available within eachbattle and decide how you want to bet.
For Esports basedon actual sports, just click into that sport’s tab and see what we have tooffer.
All oddsand markets correct as of date of publication
