Overwatch League Betting
The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league created by Blizzard to develop a fresh competitive format for video gaming. A total of 20 teams compete across 28 matches from February 2020 through August 9, 2020 in the goal of winning the league title and claim a hefty chunk of the $5,000,000 prize purse.
Overwatch League 2020 Playoffs: Grand Finals Betting Predictions. The action will begin on Oct. 8 with a meeting between Seoul Dynasty and San Francisco Shock, followed by an exciting clash featuring Philadelphia Fusion and Shanghai Dragons. Here we will cover both fixtures and give our predictions with betting odds courtesy of MyBookie. Is Overwatch World Cup betting superior to betting on Overwatch League competitions? For most people, betting on the Overwatch League will form the bulk of their Overwatch betting entertainment. This great league has earned plenty of acclaim for its clear and consistent format, and it always manages to serve up some great gaming action to bet on.
Today we take a closer look at the available Overwatch League betting odds and opportunities across sportsbooks out there. Since the OWL is a rather new phenomenon, most sportsbooks prefer to play close to the chest and offer a few available bets at a time.
We will now have a detailed look at this year’s event and help you find out all you need to know about making a bet on OW. Most importantly, we recommend to experience the game yourself for starters. Let’s start with the latest Overwatch odds.
Odds for Outright Winners in the 2020 Overwatch League Season
The currently available odds are subject to change from week to week because of the volatile nature of the league. As the event progresses, favorites will begin to shape up and that will be reflected in their odds.
Here are the latest 2020 Overwatch betting odds:
*Odds last checked on January 24, 2020
Where Is the 2020 Overwatch League Season Taking Place?
The regular season will be played offline from various locations with teams traveling to other teams’ home stadia to play in front of live crowds. Each event will feature a four-map contest and teams will participate in a total of 28 matches in the regular season.
Presently, the smallest stadium capacity in the league is the Full Sail Live at Full Sail University, Winter Park, Orlando, home to Florida Mayhem. Conversely, the largest capacity venue is the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, West Midlands home to London Spitfire.
Where Can I Watch the OWL Games?
Blizzard has done a fantastic job of broadcasting all main events in multiple languages via Twitch and even signing deals with TV stations in Germany and Brazil.
- Watch the Overwatch League on Twitch(English)
Overwatch League Mvp
Mind, this is also the first season when the OWL has fully adopted the home/away format, bringing the league closer to its original design – emulating the big sports leagues in the United States.
However, there has been some doubt as to whether the OWL can scale globally the same way it has been developing in the U.S. with investment going in home arenas and franchised slots going for reportedly between $30 million and $60 million per a single slot.
Players to Consider This Season
Each esports has its own idiosyncrasies. In Overwatch, the ability of individuals to wreak havoc and reduce enemies to piles of pixelated flesh and bones works just alright to secure an important win.
Mind-blowing plays are an everyday occurrence in the OWL, and you would do well to keep your eyes open for those players who have the ability to sway entire games. In fact, Overwatch even puts an emphasis on showering the MVPs withs accolades.
Besides, the league is entering its third year, and the pool of contenders is teeming with newly-fledged talent perfectly capable of staging comebacks in crucial moments. Here is the list of players to keep in mind when placing your bets this year and ahead of the opening week:
Dong-gyu “MANO” Kim – New York Excelsior
Teaming with talent, New York Excelsior works together as a well-oiled machine, one in which you could often overlook the support roles. But Dong-gyu Kim, better known by his moniker, “MANO,” is a player to watch out for this year. Voted as one of the most gifted players on the Overwatch League block, his tanking style is a little more aggressive than a conservative defender would play. Yet, it pays off, and the overall set-up in NYXL suggests that they will be coming into this season hard, looking for the title at all costs.
Sung-hyeon “JJONAK” Bang – New York Excelsior
NYXL just know how to choose talent and there is no denying that. You may often overlook the support role in Overwatch, but you can hardly look the other way when Sung-hyeon Bang or JJONAK is in there for your team. He has been delivering mind-boggling plays, offering well-timed heals and generally being the backbone of NYXL’s offensive and defensive for two good years now. He often runs for the MVP title himself and in 2020, JJONAK is one of the key elements to New York’s overall chances of claiming the title.
Jun-ho “FURY” Kim – Philadelphia Fusion
Jun-ho Kim or FURY has joined Philadelphia Fusion after the team clocked a rather dispiriting season. Amid the falling performance of the team, Fusion’s management decided to shake up its roster and adding FURY to the front line – as he plays tank – has been a wise decision. With the league’s first official plays this season just around the corner – or probably already on for you as you read that – FURY is one of the biggest assets for his team and this will be put to a test as early as February 15 when Philadelphia faces off Washington Justice. Or conversely, it has been put to a test!
Hyojong “HAKSAL” Kim – Vancouver Titans
Often called a one-man-army, Hyojong Kim or HAKSAL is perfectly capable of executing genocides and sniffing the fire out of opponents. His heart-felt plays and super human reflexes give him a nearly overwhelming presence on the field, putting immeasurable pressure on opponents. HAKSAL may as well be what puts the Vancouver Titans on the map in the 2020 Overwatch League season.
Grant “MOTH” Espe – San Francisco Shock
Meet Grant Espe or as you may know him MOTH. He is a San Francisco Shock support player. Who has been an indispensable healer and an aid to his team, helping Shock push to the very top in the Overwatch World Cup 2019 as well as – understandably – the Overwatch League – 2019 Playoffs. Espe has been instrumental in boosting his team’s fortunes from a year before when San Francisco placed 5-8th the Overwatch World Cup 2018. Even though you won’t hear commentators mention his name as often, he’s definitely able to set a pace for the game, so keep your eyes peeled for him.
Joon-yeong “PROFIT” Park – Seoul Dynasty
Joon-yeong Park or “PROFIT” spend two seasons playing for London Spitfire, winning the 2018 Overwatch League MVP award and establishing himself as one of the most appreciated players across the entire OW competitive scene. Since the first season, PROFIT has been there for his team, His signature heroes include Genji, Hanzo and Tracer and he is equally lethal with all of them. Whether Seoul Dynasty makes it to the top this year is another matter, but PROFIT is definitely going to play a big role in determining the team’s fortunes.
Top-Performing Teams in the Overwatch League
The Overwatch League rewards talent and with just two seasons out there, you are probably wondering how to pinpoint the best teams. We have created a simple reference table that quickly informs you which teams have won the most OW Grand Finals titles and Midseason titles:
Top 10 OWL Teams by Earnings
- San Francisco Shock – $3,500,000
- London Spitfire – $1,425,000
- New York Excelsior – $1,200,000
- Vancouver Titans – $950,000
- Philadelphia Fusion – $575,000
- Los Angeles Gladiators – $525,000
- Los Angeles Valiant – $450,000
- Hangzhou Spark – $425,000
- Seoul Dynasty – $350,000
- Atlanta Reign – $325,000
Overwatch League 2020 Begins
The Overwatch League is without a doubt one of the most ambitious esports projects. Still in its initial stages of development, and backed by heavy investment, Overwatch is the first serious attempt to test the franchised model on esports. Fans have been reacting positively, but the game definitely has a long way to go if it is to establish itself on a similar scale as traditional ports. In the meantime, make sure to tune in, watch your favorite teams play or even place the occasional wager.
Latest Esports Headlines
Overwatch is quickly becoming one of the most popular esports games out there. The tournaments that are popping out are absolutely bonkers in many ways, and that’s what we’ll be talking about in this Overwatch League 2019 betting preview!
Overwatch League Betting Tips
Overwatch is still a young game. Having been released in 2016, Overwatch has gone through many trials and tribulations. New additions to the game have been made, and it has been steadily growing in interest. However, no one could have expected it to reach the point where it’s at now.
Esports is perfectly compatible with Overwatch, and this was realized soon after the game was released. Overwatch tournaments, such as the Overwatch League 2019, have been appearing everywhere. It’s no wonder that so many people are getting the game for themselves. Not to mention the insane prize pool for this tournament (which we’ll cover a bit later).
The Overwatch League Season 2 tournament will be a long one. Starting on Valentine’s Day 2019, it’s set to last well past summer. This is due to a couple of facts, but mainly thanks to the increase in participating teams for this year’s event. Last year, the number of participating teams was 12, which is still a lot all things considering. Twenty teams for this year seems like a lot, but thanks to Overwatch’s fast-paced action, it won’t be a snooze fest!
So, how about we start the Overwatch League 2019 betting preview?
Where to Bet on Overwatch League 2019 Best Esports Bookies
A large part of esports nowadays is esports betting. Akin to sports betting, esports betting can be found on virtually any bookmaker website. Up until recently, you couldn’t find that many; after all, esports wasn’t exactly as big as it is now. However, over the years, the situation has changed, and esports betting grew.
Most bookmakers that host esports bets and betting odds nowadays focus mainly on real-life sports, but also offer the possibility for esports betting. Some others have dedicated their work toward esports only.
What this means is that you can look anywhere online and find a good esports bookie.
These bookies have been selected according to the esports betting services they offer. You won’t find better Overwatch tournament betting odds than at these bookies. On top of that, betting is simple and quick. There is plenty of game selections as well, but if you’re looking for Overwatch bets, they’re the best at these bookmakers!
Overwatch League: Interesting Facts
- The first Overwatch League hosted was in 2018. Its prize pool was $1,800,000, and the winner took home $300,000 (New York Excelsior won the season). This year’s Overwatch League features a slightly increased prize pool of a staggering $5,000,000.
- This year’s Overwatch League is one of the longest esports tournaments out there. When you look at the schedule, it’s set to last more than half a year, which is crazy. Again, this is due to the number of teams (Overwatch League 2018 lasted from January to June), but it’s still a pretty stacked schedule.
- The Overwatch League is divided into divisions (akin to conferences in NBA). There’s a Pacific Division and the Atlantic Division. Last year, each division featured six teams. This year, there are ten of them per division.
- The biggest country in Overwatch League this year (in terms of a number of participating players) is South Korea. They have 107 players taking part in the Overwatch League 2019. In comparison, the US who are in second place in terms of player numbers fields ‘only’ 23
Tournament Format
This is the most confusing part of Overwatch League 2019. It might take some time getting used to it, which is understandable considering how many teams are in the league. This Overwatch League 2019 Betting Preview should help you understand the tournament format a bit better and make it easier to remember!
So, let’s start! First up – the Regular Season!
Regular Season
The regular season part of the Overwatch League 2019 starts on the 14th of February. The good thing for fans and online viewers alike is that all action will be live. All matches will be played in the Blizzard Arena every week. All of the 20 teams will play 28 matches. This progression will spread over four 5-week stages. Each stage features seven matches.
It’s worth noting that, even though the season is broken up into four unique stages, the wins and losses for the teams will count toward their full-season records. This is also important for the preseason seeding. Here’s the schedule:
- Stage 1: 14/02 – 17/03
- Stage 2: 04/04 – 05/05
- Stage 3: 06/06 – 07/07
- Stage 4: 25/07 – 25/08
After the regular season stages are concluded, the Postseason will start (Playoffs).
Playoffs/Postseason
The date for the playoffs is still unknown, and probably won’t be released for some time (since it’s so far away). However, it won’t happen before September. In any case, after the 4th stage of the regular season is done, the best Atlantic and Pacific teams (plus the next four teams in the combined standings) will qualify for the playoffs.
Additionally, the 7th-12th teams in the combined standings also have a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. These six teams will fight against each other in a sudden death tournament. The two best teams will be joining the others in the playoffs (which will feature eight teams).
The only remaining part of the Overwatch League 2019 tournament is going to be the All-Star Weekend. Note that it happens before the playoffs.
All-Star Weekend
The 2019 All-Star weekend will be held sometime in the middle of the regular season (between the second and third stage). This event will be a chance for the best players to fight against other top players in an amazing Overwatch weekend!
Once the remaining dates for the tournament are released, we will update our Overwatch League 2019 betting preview!
One last thing: The playoffs feature $3,500,000 of the entire prize pool with stages one, two, and three having $500,000.
Overwatch League 2019 Teams Overview
The Overwatch League 2019 tournament is filled with many great teams. You’ll be able to see last year’s champions New York Excelsior who achieved massive success last year. More on them in a bit.
Basically, since there are 20 teams participating in the tournament, many of them can be considered fan favorites. We’ll be mentioning the three teams that have the highest chances of winning, but it by no means they’re the only good ones. That’s the beauty of Overwatch League; loads of talented players and great teams! Let’s start with New York Excelsior as they’re looking very strong this year.
New York Excelsior
New York Excelsior is slowly becoming a staple name in the Overwatch esports world. A large part of their roster has been on the team since October 2017, and they’re seasoned veterans. The entire team consists of Korean players, so communication is easy for them.
This team has already earned $650,000 in prize money and have gotten one division title in 2018. Over the previous year, New York Excelsior won the OWL Inaugural Season stages two and three (beating Philadelphia Fusion and Boston Uprising respectively). They also won the Overwatch League Inaugural Season after finishing first in the group stage. The team came second in the stage four title matches (losing 1:3 against Los Angeles Valiant who came second in the group stage). At the end of the season, they finished 34-6, which was far better than any other team.
Overall, New York Excelsior is looking sharp, and the esports bookies think this as well. The Outright Winner betting odds for them are at +250, and they’re definitely the favorites to take home the crown.
London Spitfire
This is an amazing team. Since their creation in 2017, they’ve earned a stunning $1,200,000 in prize pool money. They even have one Championship title (from 2018) which just shows how good they are. In the Overwatch League Inaugural Season, they finished 5th. Not a pretty result, but they would eventually figure out what was wrong. London Spitfire won the Overwatch League Inaugural Season Playoffs and have taken home $1,000,000! They beat Philadelphia Fusion 2-0, which was kind of surprising at the time. In the OWL Inaugural Season Stage one title matches, they won against New York Excelsior with a 3-2 result.
London Spitfire’s finishing position last year was a meager 5th with a score of 24-16, which simply wasn’t good enough.
Overwatch League Betting
In this year’s OWL, London Spitfire is a fan favorite for taking home the crown. We can’t disagree; they seem intent on being the best Overwatch team in the world. The betting odds for London Spitfire winning OWL S2 are good as well; sitting at roughly +300 on most esports bookies.
Overwatch League Teams
Philadelphia Fusion
Philadelphia Fusion is the only team among these three that isn’t fully Korean. Each player in PF (with the exception of Carpe and SADO, who are both Korean) is a different nationality. Truly a fusion of players!
This is also the only team out of the three that hasn’t won a Championship or Division Title, but in both cases last year, they were on the brink of success. Their total earnings are $525,000, which isn’t too far behind New York Excelsior. The team came second in the OWL Inaugural Season Stage two title matches, losing to New York Excelsior. They also came second in the Overwatch League Inaugural Season playoffs, losing to London Spitfire this time.
At the end of last year’s season, Philadelphia Fusion was 6th with an identical score to London Spitfire (24-16). This year though, Philadelphia Fusion is looking to take their multinational team to the highest pedestal of esports gaming! Philadelphia Fusion seems to be a soft spot for bookies because they’ve estimated the betting odds at +600 for them to win the second OWL season.
Note that the rules state that each team must have a minimum of eight players, so there’s a lot of people taking part in this tournament.
Now it’s time to finish up this Overwatch League 2019 betting preview with something for the esports betting fans!
Outright Betting on Overwatch League 2019
Overwatch League 2019 is a new step for Overwatch esports. This is the largest tournament Overwatch has seen to date, and the organizers have done a great job. Because of this, esports bookmakers have taken their time preparing and refining the betting odds and options.
In this case, we’ll talk about outright betting on Overwatch League 2019. Basically, outright betting gives you the possibility to place your favorite esports bets on a team that you think will win the entire tournament. Of course, you can still place regular bets, but these are the most interesting due to how the Overwatch League is formatted.
A long, exciting tournament that is almost certain to have a new champion (unless New York Excelsior manages to continue their amazing form) means that predicting the winner is quite hard. You can never know with these teams but, if you do opt for some outright esports betting, make sure to choose one of the esports bookies we mentioned earlier!
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