It’s not the first title that springs to mind when you consider the term ‘esports’. However, for many years, a vibrant competitive community has existed in and around the classic MMORPG, World of Warcraft. There’s a far-stretching legacy that has long seen players compete against one another in an esports environment. Today, we’re here to discuss how you can take advantage of that fact and bet on WoW.
When World of Warcraft launched back in 2004, it acted as a spark that ignited the MMO space. Within mere months, it would become an industry standard, played and loved by tens of millions around the world. In 2008, Blizzard hosted the first-ever successful World of Warcraft LAN event, known as the BlizzCon Arena Tournament. It spawned a lengthy string of tournaments, the most prolific of which was (and still is) the Arena World Championship.
Bet on WoW: How Does It Actually Work?
The biggest and brightest tournament in the World of Warcraft space for esports betting is the Arena World Championship. This competition sees eight 3v3 teams go head-to-head in mixed PvE and PvP environments. The Arena World Championship adopts a double-elimination format, with teams fighting for the ultimate cash prize.
If you’re a fan of MOBA titles like League of Legends, you’ll fall easily into WoW esports. There are several similarities to how the Arena World Championship is played, namely the breakdown of specific classes and builds. Although there are other tournaments, such as the AWC Circuit (a qualifying landscape), the AWC Cups, and the Mythic Dungeon invitational, the AWC itself is the most prominent competition.
Betting on the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship is relatively simple. It involves the same process as you’d follow to bet on other esports, like CSGO or Call of Duty. There’s the opening task of finding an esportsbook that offers odds for World of Warcraft, and then you simply need to place your bets.
Where to Bet on WoW
As World of Warcraft is more of a niche title, and not exactly suited to PvP, it can be hard to find odds for it. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t accounted for, and the bigger, or more specialist platforms, will offer esports betting markets for the game.
For example, GG.bet is considered as one of the best esports betting sites out there, and when the AWC goes live, there are markets for it. It’s a similar story with Betway or Bet365, both of which are massive platforms used by millions of bettors around the world. Although they made their start with traditional sports betting, they now offer markets for esports. And yes, that includes odds for World of Warcraft esports.
It’s best to pick a specialist esports platform like GG.bet or Unikrn for World of Warcraft betting. This is because the markets are likely to be more diverse, and the odds a little more advantageous to bettors.
How To Bet on WoW’s Mythic Dungeon Invitational
The Mythic Dungeon Invitational (MDI) is a unique event in the World of Warcraft space. It doesn’t feature teams going head-to-head directly against one another, but it is still massively competitive. As of 2021, the MDI was just five years old, placing it some way behind the ever-popular Arena World Championship.
In this tournament, the best teams in the World of Warcraft space compete in a dungeon race. This event will see them fight to complete a brand new dungeon raid in the fastest time possible. This requires total in-game knowledge and control, and unparalleled levels of keyboard and mouse mastery.
Unfortunately, it can be extremely hard to find good markets to bet on WoW’s MDI event. If you’re lucky enough to find odds on esports betting sites such as GG.bet or Bet365, it’ll likely be just outright winner markets. There’s $300,000 on the line, so it’s a big competition, but it’s very tough to generate markets, considering the style of play that takes place.
Tips for Betting on WoW
The Arena World Championship is fuelled by quite literally anybody. As long as your team is good enough to dominate in the local and regional qualifying stages, it’ll make the AWC. It isn’t exclusive or franchised, like competitions such as the Call of Duty League, and it boasts a totally open format.
This makes it a little tougher to know who to bet on. Although, the AWC is typically played by some bigger names, such as Method, and Cloud9. Therefore, if you have a slight understanding of how those more prolific teams work, you have an advantage.
Here’s one of the best World of Warcraft betting tips: gain a little knowledge. If you’re placing wagers on the gameplay, you’ll need to understand what’s going on. It stands to reason that if you watch and play some World of Warcraft, your bets will be much more effective.
Finally, and it’s a good tip in any vertical, you shouldn’t ever discount the underdog. In many cases, those weaker teams can offer fantastic odds, and you never know, they might just bring home the trophy.