World of Warcraft has been the most popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) for almost two decades.
The original game was released back in 2004. It has since had eight expansions, including The Burning Crusade (TBC), Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK), Cataclysm (CAT), Mists of Pandaria (MoP), Warlords of Draenor (WoD), Legion (L or LEG), Battle for Azeroth (BfA), and Shadowlands.
Millions of players worldwide enjoy levelling their characters, going on quests, hanging out with friends, or engaging in a never-ending battle between Horde and Alliance against other players.
World of Warcraft is also one of the games that many players enjoy betting on. If you want to learn more about the game and understand how World of Warcraft esports betting works, you’re on the right page. In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of WoW esports and help you enter the magical world of Azeroth, filled with all kinds of characters played by players around the globe.
Player vs Player (PvP) — Most online games, such as CS:GO or Dota 2, are PvP, meaning that players compete with other players to win the game.
Player vs Environment (PvE) — Players have to work together and explore dungeons, face dangerous bosses, kill mobs, and more to survive.
The majority of bets that are related to WoW are PvP. Players get together in groups and face other groups in a battleground, and you get to bet which group will win. There are all kinds of different betting markets related to PvP, which we’ll explore later in this article.
However, many sportsbooks and esports betting sites started exploring other wow betting possibilities, allowing you to bet on certain PvE events, with Mythic Dungeon being the most popular one.
On the surface, betting on WoW is easy if you’re going to stick to the standard betting markets, such as moneyline or outrights. However, there are all kinds of stats you can track for each player when they engage in a PvP battle or a PvE event, and many of them paved the way for all kinds of betting markets.
If you want to lower the element of chance, you’ll have to be familiar with the game and the teams/characters taking part in the event you’re wagering on. That means knowing more about each character’s race and class, their statistics, advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, you should be familiar with each participant’s equipment and their attack/defence rotation. Finally, you need to understand how every spell works and how it can affect each enemy type.
Truth be told, that’s not a simple task, especially if you’re not a WoW player. Therefore, before engaging in World of Warcraft betting, we advise learning the game and levelling up at least one character to explore all the possibilities. That way, you’ll be able to have in-depth knowledge about the game, which will eventually help you make the best possible wager.
If you’re reading this article, the chances are that you’re already an experienced WoW player, and you’re interested in learning more about the wagering options. In that case, please proceed to the next section of this guide — the betting markets.
Betting Markets
There are all kinds of betting markets you can make on esports, including World of Warcraft. Some are as simple as placing a bet to back one of the two opposing teams. Others require more knowledge and a more sophisticated approach. However, if you have at least some experience betting on sports or esports, you should be familiar with most options.
Moneyline WoW Betting
Moneyline betting is the most straightforward wagering option on any sport or esport. Two teams or individuals face each other, and you get to guess who will emerge as a winner in the end. If you get it right, you’ll receive a reward.
If you’re new to World of Warcraft betting, you should start by making moneyline bets. With these, all you need to do is place a wager on the team you think will win and hope your prediction is accurate.
Handicap World of Warcraft Esports Betting
When two teams engage in a battle with one being the favourite, sportsbooks usually handicap it by taking away some points from the team. Therefore, if you bet on the favourite, they need not only to win but also make the point difference. On the other hand, if you bet on the underdog, they can still lose, but if it’s within the point spread suggested by the betting site, you’ll win the bet.
Some of the biggest WoW tournaments, such as Arena World Championships (AWC), feature the best-of-three format, meaning that one team needs to win two out of three battles to win the match. In that case, the handicap is usually presented as -1.5 or +1.5. The favourite will have -1.5 next to it, which indicates the number of rounds it is handicapped by. The underdog will have +1.5, which gives it a certain starting advantage.
Handicap WoW betting is for more experienced WoW bettors, as it requires understanding the game and the participants better.
Outright World of Warcraft Betting
Outright betting markets, which are often called futures in Canada, enable you to try and predict the winner of the entire series or tournament. For instance, if you’re making a futures bet on the Arena World Championships, you can place a wager on a team that you think will win this entire event.
Please bear in mind that outright bets are usually available before the season starts. Once the season is underway, you will not be able to place any more bets of this kind, but you can always focus on individual games and place moneyline wagers, handicaps, and more.
Prop Bets
Proposition bets, also known as specials, are predictions about the upcoming WoW matches and tournaments you can make. If they turn out to be accurate, you’ll get rewarded. This option is not very common for WoW, but other esports, such as CS:GO or Dota2, often feature more specials.
PvE vs PvP Betting
As previously stated, you can bet on both PvP and PvE events.
PvE is still new, and you can make moneyline, futures, or handicap bets if you focus on this type of competition.
PvP is more common, and there are much more betting options. The only problem that many players face is that new teams and players are being introduced every season to AWC, making it difficult to make accurate predictions. Don’t be lazy — try learning more about all the participants to try to lower the element of chance before placing your first wager.
How World of Warcraft Is Played
At the start of every World of Warcraft adventure, the player needs to create their in-game character. First, you need to select one of the available races and then pick the class you like. Not all races can be all classes, and that’s something you should bear in mind.
All races are divided into two warring fractions — The Alliance and The Horde.
Alliance races are Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Draenei, Worgen, and Pandaren. Horde races are Orc, Undead, Tauren, Troll, Blood Elf, Goblin, and also Pandaren (Pandaren can be either). The original WoW featured just four races, and that list expanded with additional races.
That’s also the case with classes. Here’s the list of all playable classes at the moment. Please take into account that races/classes may change with new WoW expansions.
Warrior
Hunter
Paladin
Rogue
Priest
Shaman
Mage
Warlock
Monk
Druid
Demon Hunter
Death Knight
Each race, class, and race/class combo is unique, and you should explore that as well as possible before making your character. This is also important for PvP and PvE betting, as having a better understanding of each character’s abilities could help you make more accurate predictions.
You’ll start as a Level 1 character and some essential equipment for your class. To progress through levels, you need to solve quests, explore dungeons, go on raids, and more. You can also join a guild to make new friends and find other people interested in playing with you. Once you reach the top level with your character, you’ll be ready to start some serious PvP and PvE competitions.
Still, to become an expert WoW player, you’ll have to play the game for years, as it’s one of the most complex games in the world. However, becoming an enthusiast and making the best decisions when placing wagers on WoW is much easier.
WoW Esports Jargon and Terminology
Professional WoW players often talk in jargon, and covering all terms would take an eternity. Still, let’s take a look at some of the most popular terms that should help you understand the game better.
Spell — Each character class has different spells that come in all shapes and sizes, such as damage spells, healing spells, and more.
Dispel — A particular type of spell that dispels all buffs and debuffs.
Buff — A type of spell that increases some of your stats and makes you more powerful. Buffs are usually cast by teammates. Sometimes, NPCs (non-player characters) can cast a buff and increase your abilities.
Debuff — A type of spell that decreases your states and makes you weaker. Enemy players or mobs (non-player enemies) can cast debuffs on you.
Cooldown — Most spells and abilities can be used after a certain cooldown period. Some are available within seconds, and others take hours, so you need to use them wisely.
CC — Crowd control spells usually affect the movement of characters. There are all kinds of stuns, slows, snares, and more.
AoE — Area of effect spells can be cast to a specific area, usually to affect several enemies at once.
Trinkets — Items that can upgrade your stats and give your certain effects after you equip them.
Kite — Escaping from the enemy around the map and letting them follow you. Ranged players usually do this with melee opponents to do damage while receiving none.
Line of Sight — LoS is a strategy where you position your character so that the opponents cannot see them, usually behind a wall.
Pot — Short for a potion. Potions play a massive role in WoW and can enhance your abilities and stats before you head to battle or enter a dungeon.
DPS — Damage Per Second. Every character makes some DPS, but some classes specialize in making more DPS than others.
Adds — Additional enemies that may spawn during the boss fight.
Tank — The character who takes most of the damage from the enemy while others focus on making DPS on the enemy. The tank needs to have the strongest armour and a lot of health.
Healer — The healer heals their party members during the battle or a raid.
The list doesn’t end here. Feel free to explore various forums and blogs to learn more about the WoW terminology and get familiar with how WoW players communicate in the game. It’s almost an entirely different language, but the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in a different environment. In other words, to master the terminology, try playing WoW for a while.
WoW Tournaments
Right now, there are two significant tournaments related to WoW.
WoW: Arena World Championship — The AWC is the biggest WoW tournament in the world. It was founded in 2014 and since then has been very popular among WoW players, especially from the Americas and Europe, where players can take part in AWC Circuit in their area. Entering the AWC isn’t that difficult, and even characters with lower levels can compete.
Mythic Dungeon International — The MDI offers several different formats. One of them is PvE and teams compete which one will complete the dungeons faster. These are called Time Trials. There are also MDI Cups where eight teams face head-to-head in a best-of-three series and earn prizes for competing. Finally, there is the Season Finals, where the best eight teams compete for the lion’s share of the C$300,000 prize pool.
Top Teams and Players
Professional WoW teams earn a lot of money for taking part in WoW tournaments. Here’s the list of the top 10 teams at the moment, along with their earnings and the number of tournaments they won. Please take into account that this list often changes.
Method — 34 tournaments; C$696,450 earned
SK Gaming — 14 tournaments; C$220,400 earned
Splyce — 6 tournaments; C$159,500 earned
Cloud9 — 4 tournaments; C$119,650 earned
Nihilum Gaming — 6 tournaments; C$109,500 earned
The Gosu Crew — 8 tournaments; C$108,200 earned
Against All authority — 6 tournaments; C$106,100 earned
Tempo Storm — 14 tournaments; C$96,200 earned
Wildcard Gaming — 2 tournaments; C$70,000 earned
Panda Global — 4 tournaments; C$66,500 earned
The best-performing player at the moment is Suspex for 10v10 battlegrounds. The 3v3 arena is currently dominated by Magnuszx and the 2v2 arena by Magnusz. However, these states change all the time, so make sure to keep an eye on them on the official WoW website, where you can learn more about the players.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, World of Warcraft esports betting is an exciting activity. Although it’s not as popular as some other esports, it still has a considerable fan base. Many WoW enthusiasts are willing to place wagers on popular tournaments and individual battles/dungeons. Therefore, feel free to explore the betting sites that offer WoW betting and start your esports wagering journey right away.
