How Riot's League Changes Affect Esports Betting Strategy

Last week, Riot Games announced it would be moving forward with a brand new business model for its flagship title’s esports sector. The company’s President of Esports, John Needham, outlined these changes in a recent blog post, explaining his hopes to shift away from sponsorship revenue and instead towards in-game digital purchases. Below, we break everything you need to know about this change down.

Riot Games Announces LoL Adjustments

To start out, Needham outlined a plan to create a Global Revenue Pool that will generate its revenue from digital esports content and then allocate it to different teams depending on a number of potential factors.

About half of the revenue will be allocated amongst the Tier 1 teams whilst 35% will be distributed based on competitive performance. The latter is split into two pools: one for international events and one for regional standings.

Then the last 15% goes into “Fandom Shares,” which are meant to reward teams for developing their respective fandoms. Needham was not clear on the details surrounding what constitutes a successful following. However, it was noted that each team would also get a fixed stipend from the company directly.

Needham said that the changes would move away from sponsorship revenue but that it would still contribute 50% of other revenues after Riot recovered the annual cost to run LoL esports. The changes, which are expected to affect the North American, EMEA, and Korean teams, are still having their final details worked out as far as the Chinese team is concerned.

Additionally, Riot intends to increase its revenue sharing percentage, but Needham was tight-lipped about the exact figure. Instead, he went on to say that content from the past two years had generated new records for both engagement and revenue, expressing optimism that LoL was now on a path to “long-term sustainability.”

League’s Long-Term Impact On Esports

Right from the very beginning, even during League of Legends’ development, Riot’s founders had always admired esports games and hoped that their own creation would eventually be worthy. Fast forward to today, and it’s clear to see just how much players have embraced LoL both as competitors and participants.

As one of the few popular games to have always been free to play, League’s cosmetic-only monetisation model created a level of accessibility that became common with other MOBAs over time. The model encourages new players to pick up the game, and that leads to more people becoming invested with the esports sector, too.

That, of course, means more money getting invested into the esports scene, and LoL’s revenue generation is especially impressive. In fact, in 2017 alone, it generated $2.1b, so it’s not surprising at all to see that the game has dominated betting sites in the thirteen years since its release.

Changes In LoL Esports Betting Strategies

When you choose betting sites not with GamStop and see all the LoL options before you, chances are you’ll be wondering how this news will affect how you should bet on the game. Fortunately, much of the strategy remains exactly the same with few core adjustments.

Know The Meta

No matter how you approach it, there’s no getting around the meta. Understanding those details is incredibly important to betting on League of Legends. As can be seen with the changes to revenue, Riot Games continually adjusts its games to keep them fresh.

Though they seem small at first, tinkering with LoL can inherently change how professionals approach the game, and that can drastically alter their gameplay strategy, causing huge upsets. A team might even find they are no longer able to use a strategy anymore. So staying informed about these changes is crucial for your betting success.

Specialise On A Team & Their Playstyle

Likewise, it’s best to specialise on a team and focus on how they’re playing and adapting to changes. Just as with any sport, different teams have different tactics, so each matchup has a wide variety of facets to consider.

In LoL, there are two general schools of playstyle: aggressive and LCK. The former immediately rush into major fights and try to overwhelm their opponent early on. LCK teams, on the other hand, think about the macro gameplay and rely on strong team synergy to carry their plays to the late stage.

For instance, a team might focus on the earlier part of the game, drafting aggressive champions into their roster, whilst late-facing teams might go for defensive champions so they don’t exhaust all their resources too quickly.

As for which has the advantage over the other? Well, that depends on the nuance - and that’s what learning about your team helps you master.

Understand The Match Format

Finally, don’t forget about the match format: It’s not always a one-shot scenario you’re betting on. In fact, the standard formats you’ll see for LoL are:

• Best of 1
• Best of 2
• Best of 3
• Best of 5

European teams usually focus on the Best of 2 format whilst the US teams engage in Best of 3. All of them do Best of 5 for playoff events, and these are the safest to wager on. There are no guarantees in a set, but chances are pretty good that the team that wins the first couple of matches before the other will be the one that comes out ahead on the ticket. Of course, if you don’t mind a little volatility and risk, then Best of 1 matches are just as fun to consider.

League of Legends’ competitive scene is definitely no joke; with competitions held and billions generated each year, it’s clear that it won’t go anywhere anytime soon. So with these changes in tow, it’s certain that there will be a wave of impact felt throughout the entire industry as other games likely follow suit. As such, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the latest betting tips to ensure you’re always up to date with the most important industry shifts.