League of Legends is Riot Games’ hit Massively Online Battle Arena (MOBA) which has been going strong since 2009. A decade of patches, tweaks, and updates have ensured that this title has remained current and even today still dominates the Twitch boards for ‘Most Streamed Games’.
A free-to-play title that runs on almost every machine, League of Legends has a robust online community and an eSports presence that’s hard to beat. Continue reading our League of Legends review to find out why we at Super eSports Betting think that this title is a classic and a must-play.
Like many MOBA titles, League of Legends has players pick a hero character, and teams of players face off against each other in a number of different game modes. There are ten heroes made available for free each week from their roster of over 140, though players can permanently purchase a character using either in-game currency or real money.
Characters come in all different shapes, sizes, and flavors, though are split into 6 distinct types:
One thing that might surprise those who have never picked up League of Legends before is that it actually has a relatively wide variety of game modes. The mode that most would be familiar with would be Classic Mode, in which two teams of 5 try and destroy each other’s bases. Strategy is key here, with three distinct phases of gameplay and a variety of roles players can take.
The main maps are made up of three different ‘lanes’, which spawn minions and monsters that players can defeat for gold and experience. In between lanes are other monsters and optional bosses which can be ignored, or can be hunted down for a decent boost in gold and XP.
Keeping track of your team’s minions, protecting the dampener which restricts your opponents’ super minions, occasionally hunting a mythical beast for bonuses and gold, buying items to give you power-ups and bonuses; League of Legends definitely keeps you busy.
There’s also a 3v3 version of Classic mode, as well as a Domination mode that has two teams struggling over control of nodes, and an All Random All Mid (ARAM) mode that has teams of randomized characters face off in a short, narrow corridor, forcing more direct confrontation.
Each match rewards players with Influence Points (IP), regardless of win or loss, which can be spent on unlocking new heroes or customizing the ones you have. Ranked play opens up at level 30 (approximately 160 wins in), giving people access to leaderboards and ranks.
League of Legends’ last major graphical update was in 2014, and while that might sound like a long time ago, you’d be pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful League of Legends can be.
The game uses a very timeless, hand-painted art style, and one that doesn’t require a top of the line gaming rig to render. Riot games want their game to be playable on even the oldest or the cheapest computers, which meant they had to get creative about their graphics.
The visuals are consistent across the different maps the game has to offer, meaning that all the elements of the game feel like they ‘fit’ together. Nothing seems out of place. The browns, greens, greys, and blues of the game come together to show us a fantasy world in ruins, nature reclaiming ancient, abandoned sites.
League of Legends may not be a game that makes use of the latest in animation technology, but it’s also a game that’s going to look just as good in 2024 as it did in 2014.
With League of Legends being the second most watched game on Twitch in May 2019, you’re guaranteed to always find a decent selection of live streams broadcasting. When it comes to betting, however, we recommend looking at the top 3 streamers. They serve up plenty of action, hours and hours of content every day, and tend to have some of the highest view counts and most engaged followings you can find.
Tyler “loltyler1” Steinkamp is possibly one eSports’ most controversial eAthletes. Tyler1 is famous for being a League of Legends streamer, an eAthlete, for becoming a meme, and for his very public ban from League of Legends and subsequent return as a “new man.” Fans rallied behind him, seeing his reform, calling for his ban to be lifted en masse. Tyler1 is the most popular League of Legends streamer of 2019, streaming between 6 and 9 hours a day, Monday through Saturday, with an average viewer count of 17k.
Ashkan “TF Blade” Homayouni averages around 11k viewers on his streams, and usually streams 7 days a week. He generally spends around 6 hours streaming a day, and his follower count is continuing a skyrocketing, upward trajectory that started all the way back in January 2018, going from just over 22k subscribers, then, to approaching the 500k mark by June 2019.
Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana – didn’t want to play competitively at first, but ended up playing with Rock Solid when asked by Scarra, as Voyboy needed to leave the team to attend school. That year the team finished 4th at the ESL Pro Series and went on to win IGN Premier League Season 3. Averages over 8k viewers. Almost exclusively streams LOL, and has been playing for it for most of this decade. He’s been described as one of the best LOL players in the world, but his hilarious personality as an eAthlete and streamer is equally responsible for his success. He streams for between 6 and 9 hours a day, Saturday through Thursday, with Friday often being either a day off or a day of shorter streaming time.
Mostly due to its impressive popularity, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to League of Legends betting.
Keep an eye out for the League of Legends World Championship each Autumn, and the Mid Season Invitational each spring. These are the largest League of Legends eSports events each year and should definitely not be missed. In addition to these, the game has a healthy amount of regional leagues across the globe, so be sure to check your area.
We’d recommend platforms like Unibet and Bet365 at the moment. Unibet is a fantastic platform for eSportsbook betting, and they tend to have wonderful odds. Take a look at our Unibet operator review to find out more about the site’s best features.
Bet365 has live betting phenomenal odds. Bet365 is one of the most renowned sportsbooks in the world, head to our in-depth operator review to find out why..
If MOBA titles are your thing, you might also consider taking a look at titles like DOTA 2 and Vainglory. Both games, much like League of Legends, have thriving eSports scenes, as well as eSports betting scenes. For more information about the games, click on the hyperlinks above to go to our in-depth game reviews and betting guides for each of them.
The name of the game here is live betting. The best way to succeed at League of Legends betting is to spend time watching live streams. Bookmakers adjust their odds depending on how previous results and how the match is going so far. However they tend to not have very much knowledge about the game, the teams, or the players.
For example, if one team seems to be losing in the early game, but you know that this one of the tactics they employ to trick their opponents into going in for the kill too early, you’d be much bet on the team that doesn’t seem to be doing all that well. The bookmaker’s odds, however, will likely indicate to do the opposite, meaning you can win big by going on your own knowledge.
In addition, watching the live game as you bet is essential. League of Legends is a game where hundreds of possible things can occur, and you’ll need to be aware of what’s going on in order to adjust and adapt as you place your live bets.
Team communications and rotations are huge factors in League of Legends. Taking a look at a team’s roster will tell you if the team all share a first language, if so, they’re likely able to communicate more efficiently and quickly. This will affect how quickly players can rotate positions to mount crucial defenses or how quickly they can rotate to land surgical strikes against the opposing team.
Watching professional gamers stream their games is also a great way to get a real feel for the pacing of the game, meaning you’ll be able to more easily recognize crucial moments in the game and bet accordingly.
League of Legends has been around for around a decade now. If you’re a gamer who hasn’t played this yet, we strongly recommend giving it a try. If you’re just getting into eSports or eSports betting, League of Legends won’t disappoint and is a lot easier to get into and learn about than it seems.
We predict that League of Legends will likely still be popular over the next decade, so don’t worry about being late to the party on this one. Modern classics like these tend to never go out of style.