With proprietary data from the Kambi network and trading insights from Esports Trading Supervisor Gonçalo Bento, Abios has investigated betting activity for League of Legends Worlds 2024.
Gain insights on winning pre-match markets, the most bet-on teams and players, and LoL bettor demographics.
The League of Legends World Championship broke all viewership records, reaching 6.9 million peak viewers during the Finals between T1 and Bilibili Gaming. This has made it the largest esports event in history, with T1’s iconic Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok fighting for another Worlds trophy being one of the main draws.
This massive event also had an incredible amount of betting activity, and we have all of the insights into who was betting and what was being bet on.
Ahead of an event as big as Worlds, Abios ensures operators are prepared for an influx of bettors.
Esports Trading Supervisor Gonçalo Bento explained how he prepares trading for events like Worlds:
“Identifying which markets customers want to bet on is essential. We aim to provide the most comprehensive and accurate data, supported by experts who are up-to-date with the current League of Legends meta, teams, and players. These experts monitor data accuracy and make necessary adjustments in real-time.”
League of Legends Worlds 2024 breaks records
The world championships, Worlds 2024, showed that League of Legends still is one of the most popular esports titles of all time. With 6.9 million peak viewership, the Grand Finals became the most-viewed match in esports history. But other matches were also drawing in millions of fans from all over the world:
- Grand Finals T1 vs. BLG – 6.9 million
- Knockout Semifinals T1 vs. Gen.G – 4.97 million
- Opening Ceremony – 4.5 million
- Knockout Quarterfinals T1 vs. TES – 3.6 million
It’s clear to see that T1 was the most popular team to watch during Worlds this year. Of course, the top teams from all over the world were at Worlds after qualifying in their own regional split. But it was T1 that had most fans at the edge of their seats, with fans wanting to see if the team would take home the $445K of the $2.225 million prize pool and lift up the trophy.
League of Legends Worlds 2024 betting analysis
League of Legends fans who chose to bet on Worlds were quite active this year. In fact, our stats show that the number of bets placed on Worlds has nearly doubled from 2020 to 2024, with a 99% increase. The average age of these bettors was 31, with a clear majority being Gen Z and Millennials.
Most-bet on pre-match markets in Worlds 2024
- Match Winner
- Map Handicap
- Total Kills by the Player PLAYER PROP
- Total Deaths by the Player PLAYER PROP
- Total Assists by the Player PLAYER PROP
- Correct Map Score
- Champion to be Played
Player props in Worlds 2024
While Match Winner and Handicap markets accounted for the lion’s share of bets, Kambis player prop markets proved to be popular pre-match.
In League of Legends, there are certain roles, such as ADCs and mid-laners, that are expected to get the most kills. Many who watch LoL esports are players themselves, as 60% watch to become better at the game. By offering markets such as Total Deaths and Assists alongside Kills, you unlock metrics tailored for other roles, such as supports, which can engage with bettors who play a lot of support themselves or whose favourite player is a support main.
Taking advantage of the pick-and-ban stage
MOBAs like League of Legends have a unique drafting stage where teams pick and ban champions, deciding which ones will be in play for a given match. Due to meta, some champions can be more or less viable at a given time. Meanwhile, a team or player can be stronger or weaker depending on whether they get to play their best champions or comp. As such, the drafting phase is crucial for the outcome of a match.
By offering markets such as “Champions to be Played”, sportsbooks allow bettors to tap into this excitement and seasoned fans to bet on potential picks and bans of their favourite players.
Live vs pre-match betting on Worlds 2024
During Worlds, 53% of bets were taken pre-match. While the share of bets usually leans toward live markets in esports, a strong offering of pre-match markets, such as player props and other engaging long-tail markets for Worlds, could help explain the slight tilt in favour of pre-match.
- 53% Pre-match
- 47% Live
The grand finals and live betting
In the finals, T1 was considered the favourite to win, but BLG managed to win some matches convincingly early on. According to Gonçalo, this actually had a major impact on fans’ betting.
“T1 entered the finals as the favourites following an impressive run at Worlds. However, BLG’s strong start and early match point lead shifted live-betting odds temporarily in their favour,” he explained. “This exemplifies the appeal of live betting, where real-time odds can change based on match dynamics. Traders, using their expertise, identify the best value bets by closely monitoring these shifts throughout the series.”
Most bet-on teams in Worlds 2024
- Bilibili Gaming
- Gen.G
- T1
- Weibo Gaming
- Hanwha Life
While T1 was the most-watched fan favourite throughout the Worlds, it was not the team bettors expected to win. In fact, more people were betting on BLG and GEN during the tournament. This can be attributed to T1’s less-than-stellar performance in the Spring and Summer Splits and MSI, with Gen.G dominating the LCK (Korean League) league.
Many thought Gen.G would win, but T1 again showed that they had what it took to take home the most prestigious tournament in League of Legends.
Most bet-on matches in Worlds 2024
| Team 1 | Team 2 | % of turnover |
| Bilibili Gaming | T1 | 8% |
| T1 | Gen.G | 6% |
| Hanwha Life | Bilibili Gaming | 5% |
| Gen.G | FlyQuest | 5% |
| Top Esports | T1 | 5% |
Some players also caught the eye of bettors. Most of these pros were in T1 since the team dominated so much throughout the tournament. Pros are often bet on when they make incredible plays, like clutch wins or crazy kills. These are pros who carried games and seemed invincible while doing so.
Most bet-on players in Worlds 2024
| Top players | Team | % of turnover |
| Gumayusi | T1 | 4% |
| Bin | BLG | 3% |
| Faker | T1 | 3% |
| knight | BLG | 3% |
| Viper | HLE | 2% |
Worlds 2024 was a massive event for League of Legends fans and its bettors. If you want to prepare your sportsbook for other massive League of Legends, CS2, VALORANT, and Dota 2 tournaments, you’re in the right place.
Abios delivers a leading esports odds feed complete with engaging player props, high-uptime live markets and a bet builder. Being part of Kambi Group plc, Abios offers its odds for 40+ operators in regulated markets worldwide. Read more here.
