Panda Prediction 3: Why China’s LPL will be leagues above in bet volume in 2021
When it comes to esports betting the conversation is often dominated by CS:GO, but coming in at second place is Riot Games’ hugely popular MOBA League of Legends. With franchised leagues, a truly global property and a World Championship that seems to improve every year, League of Legends sets a high bar for a top-down structured esports scene.
When it came to total betting turnover for a single competitions or split in 2020, the only non-CS:GO events that made the cut League of Legends events. The pinnacle of pro LoL, the World Championship came in at at number 4 for total bet volume for 2020. Not far behind was the 2020 Summer Split of China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in 7th place.
It’s noteworthy that a domestic LoL competition is able to go toe-to-toe on total betting turnover with some of the best Counter-Strike competitions in the world. There are several contributing factors to the popularity of the LPL among bettors, namely competition structure, crossover time and bloodthirstiness.
💪 The biggest domestic league in the world
With 17 teams competing in best-of-3 series during the regular season, the LPL is scheduled unlike any other professional LoL league. There are either 2 or 3 best-of-3 series running every single day of the week — that’s anywhere from 4 to 9 games each day. With so many matches happening every single day, the LPL has the capacity to offer more betting opportunities than any other domestic competition in the world.
The LPL has been incredibly competitive and has arguably eclipsed Korea’s LCK as the premier Asian competition, with many Koreans making big money moves to China. As noted by LPL English caster Jake “Hysterics” Osypenko, the league is incredibly competitive:
⌚ Great crossover time
The broadcast time for the LPL also makes it a valuable betting product. Running in the Chinese afternoons from around 5pm Beijing time, it captures the domestic Chinese market, Australian punters running a few hours ahead, the late European morning as well as any bright and early bettors in the United States. With decent crossover into so many timezones, the LPL captures betting activity across the globe.
⚔️ FIGHTING
There’s also the entertainment factor. Since its inception the LPL has built a reputation as an incredibly bloodthirsty competition. This has always translated onto the international stage too, with Western audiences seeing first hand how Chinese teams fight their way In the very same LPL Summer Split 2020, across 335 games there was an average of 26 kills per game with an average game time of 32 minutes and 13 seconds. When compared the LCS or LEC, which averaged less kills and longer game times with 75% less matches played, the LPL offers matches with tons of action, and a large number of them too.
🐼 Panda Prediction for 2021?
For bookmakers it’s worth taking note of the betting volume that the LPL attracts considering how much CS:GO dominates the sector. While Counter-Strike certainly isn’t going anywhere, the fact that the LPL season can compete highlights the importance of offering a quality betting experience throughout the season.
It’s also a strong indicator of interest in and within the Asian betting market, a region that is at times untapped by Western bookmakers. There may be logistics and regulatory challenges in offering betting products to Asian punters, but the popularity of the LPL certainly demonstrates both a domestic and global betting appetite that can be better captured.
So far we’ve covered why Rocket League can solidify its place as a top 4 betting product and Brazil’s significant presence in CS:GO betting in 2021. Next we’ll be taking a look at US regulation and it’s potential impact on betting in US dominated esports like Call of Duty.
