Defense of the Ancients 2, more commonly referred to as DotA 2, is a stunning multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game.
The game blends together real-time strategy (RTS) and role player game (RPG) elements to produce a competitive, fast-paced, and strategic massive multiplayer online game.
But betting on DotA 2 requires more than a simple knowledge of the game, you’ll need to know how the tournaments work, the teams playing, and how to bet on e-sports. All of which you’ll find in this comprehensive DoTA2 betting guide.
DotA 2 is the sequel to the very popular Warcraft III mod “Defense of the Ancients”. Officially released in July 2013 it has quickly become one of the largest e-sports games, and the only MOBA that comes anywhere near to the success of League of Legends.
DotA 2 has over 10 million players; still quite a bit smaller than LoL, but it makes up by having an impressive prize fund. To give you an idea of the size and interest, the major DotA 2 tournament “The International” had a top prize of $18.4 million in 2015. That’s a larger prize fund than the Super Bowl.
And with over 20 million viewers alone, DoTA2 e-sports betting is no longer reserved for hardcore gamers and is just as thrilling.
DotA 2 involves two teams of 5 players that are pitted against each other across a battlefield.
Each player controls a single character known as a hero with the objective of destroying the opposing teams “Ancient” (the main building in the middle of the base). The game ends when one sides Ancient has been destroyed.
In DotA 2 there are two teams, the Radiant and the Dire. Each team has their own base with three paths known as lanes. A top lane, a middle lane and a bottom lane. All three lanes head towards the enemy base.
Every 30 seconds non-player characters called Creeps will re-spawn at the beginning of each lane for both teams. These will automatically head towards the enemy base engaging enemy Heroes, Creeps, and Towers as they make their way along the lane.
Towers are also spread across all three lanes and will also attack all enemies in range across the Defence of the Ancients 2 world.
As well as the Ancient, each team’s base will also contain a well and a shop. The well allows players to regain health and mana quickly, while the shop allows them to buy items for their hero, such as to recover health/mana or to boost their attributes.
To achieve the goal of destroying the enemies’ Ancient, a player needs to collect experience to level up their hero and gold in order to buy better items. Experience is shared evenly between all players in the vicinity of an enemy that has been killed.
When a hero levels up they can spend ability points on:
Gold is gained automatically; players earn one gold every second. However bonus gold can be gained by striking the killing blow on an enemy. A large amount of bonus gold is also shared across the team when an enemy tower is destroyed.
If you want to learn more, watch this great video that introduces the gameplay of DotA 2 in just 4 minutes:
It might appear easy to place a DotA 2 bet, but we’ve seen beginners make some easy mistakes.
However, it is a popular eSports betting sites choice for a reason. Equal parts high skill, tactics, and team work, it allows the smart gambler to bet wisely, with just a little research.
Below we’ll look at some of the factors to consider when you bet on a DotA 2 match.
There are several different types of match format in DotA 2 tournament play.
These are BO1, BO2, BO3, BO5 & BO7. In this guide we’ll look at the most common formats, BO1, BO3 & BO5.
When we talk about BO1, BO3 etc. we mean, for example, best of one game, or best of three games, etc. So to win a BO3 match your team would need to win two out of three games.
Matches that are based on ‘best of one’ battles are the most unpredictable for eSports betting as, much like in traditional sports, in a one off match anything can happen.
A normally weaker team, if they get off to a strong start, can exert a dominance that can’t be overtaken, even by a stronger side.
Sometimes a result is nailed on; ie. when a very strong side is facing a very weak or poor form team. However, as a whole, this is the most dangerous format to bet on, even if it is the quicker format to get your return.
You’ll most commonly see BO1 matches during the preliminary stages of the tournament.
Best of three is a common format in the main stages of DotA 2 tournaments.
This is a format that is reasonably reliable for eSports betting, as a weaker side is less likely to manage to repeat a giant killing two battles in a row.
Obviously if two teams of very similar form and ability come into a best of three match, then this still can be tough to bet wisely.
But for a lot of matches careful study of the teams will give you a good chance of getting decent returns.
Best of five is usually reserved for a tournament’s grand final bout.
Obviously, as this is the final, you’re not as likely to see a clearly stronger side against a weaker one as both have earned their way to the final.
However with it being the best of five games, careful study of the teams, their resilience, stamina, and skill, is a must.
If that sounds like too much work, you can always play the favourite. If they’ve gotten to the top, it is very unlikely for a weaker side to defeat a strong one.
To make the most out of your e-sports bets on Dota 2 you need to make sure you have done your research.
Whether that is getting news on team roster changes, form and matchup history, or watching games to get a better understanding for the eb and flow of a match, you should take the time to find this all out if you want to have greater success in your eSports betting.
The best eSports betters do their research, and there are a bunch of great places to find the form and team facts.
Remember to look up the latest matches and find out the past results, lineups, past encounters, as well as player and match history.
Once you do, we have the best DotA 2 eSports betting sites, who offer the best odds, right here.
Ultimately, you just need to do your research, bet responsibly, and have fun.
You can bet on DotA 2 all year round, with various tournaments throughout the year.
Namely you have the main Valve sponsored events. These come in the form of three majors, and one main tournament – that last one has the biggest prize pot and is easiest to find on eSports betting sites, known as ‘The International’.
However there are additional tournaments that you can bet on during the year.
We’ve got all upcoming DoTA2 Tournaments for 2016 below, and where to bet.
No current 2016 tournaments to display - check back soon
YouTube Gaming and Twitch are both filled with some excellent channels for watching live and pre-recorded DotA 2 matches.
Head over to the best DOTA 2 betting site and enjoy all they have to offer.
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