Elements that can factor into smart Dota 2 esports betting
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) developed and published by Valve. It started its life as a custom game mode for Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne under the name DotA Allstars. Plenty of designers handled its development until it became a competitive game under Steve ‘Guinsoo’ Feak and later by IceFrog.
The elements they added shaped Dota 2’s identity as a competitive esport today from the layout of the map to the way heroes are characterized. Although the game takes place on the same map, every match is different as it includes a different set of players, gameplay preferences, and strategies. All of these are major factors in predicting the outcome of a match.
Dota 2 game elements
Dota 2 was designed to be a competitive esport ever since Valve approached its designer, IceFrog, for the project. Every element added in the game serves to help players gain the upper hand against the other team. It includes playable heroes, purchasable items, controllable couriers, and farmable jungle camps.
Each of these can be changed through balance updates to shape the meta of the game. Your understanding of the game’s current state can help you in Dota 2 betting at Sportsbet. Here’s a quick explanation of how these details work.
Balance updates
Balance updates can vary from simple tweaks to major overhauls. These changes can be made to rebalance heroes that are either over or underperforming in the current meta to keep the game fresh. Other changes include reshaping what everybody now knows about the game to introduce new content or replace existing mechanics.
As a game that keeps getting new elements, Dota 2 is also prone to bugs that need to be fixed. This means that Valve also has to make patches to polish the current game’s issues. Sometimes, you can see players exploit a mechanic and you think that this can have a huge impact in esports. This is just an oversight that Valve will fix immediately.
Changes to the items and jungle contents are actually bigger reworks than changes to heroes. The difference is that items and the jungle affects everyone while hero changes won’t have any significant impact if they aren’t picked for the match. Using your understanding of these nuances can help determine which pro player will struggle to adjust.
High MMR meta
Dota 2’s ranked games trace every player’s matchmaking rating (MMR) based on their performance as an individual. They gain MMR from winning matches or performing skilful tricks using the heroes that they choose but lose ratings when they lose.
Pro players spend most of the circuit grinding in ranked games with their team or alone as part of their training or to gain circuit points to be eligible for tournaments. If you have a low MMR, then you cannot use your experience in ranked games to gauge pro players’ skills. You have to read blogs or watch pro players’ streams to get an accurate understanding of the meta.
Esports teams elements
Another reason why you should watch pro-players stream rather than rely on your perspective is to study the players and how their team composition works in action. Here are three elements that you can only get from monitoring esports teams’ performances. How they play in rank and scrimmages always carry over to their esports matches.
Team composition
Esports teams work together with their coach to form strategies so their performances stay consistent no matter the situation. This decision factors each players’ preferred heroes, map rotation habits, and consideration for every update. You should also read news about member replacement or substitutions because these are major changes to the team’s composition.
Team history
Eventually joining the major leagues takes considerable effort. You have to have a great record before an esports team considers inviting you. That’s why you can be sure that every pro player has a long history of their performance somewhere on the internet.
Some databases track their account’s performances while others focus on their career since their debut in a team. Both pieces of information are useful for anticipating how they will perform in future matches. If the team is newly formed with members from different teams previously, then it’s better to learn about the coach.
Players’ preferred heroes
You can predict what heroes each member will eventually use in a match based on what you know about every member. Even pro players cannot pilot all heroes in Dota 2. In a game where skills and creativity give you the edge to win, mastering a handful of heroes is better than knowing the basics for all of them.
You can use this knowledge for in-play betting in a tournament match. Pay attention to the character selection stage which hero is banned and who picks first. The first pick is a risky move because it opens the opportunity for the opposing team to counter-pick.
Some pro players will choose a good counter but don’t have what it takes to use the hero properly. With this information, you can deduce that the first pick still has the advantage regardless of the hero matchup. This is the moment where you make your own bet rather than refer to other people’s insights.
Conclusion
Now is the age of information and everything you need to know is a browser search away. You can keep an eye open for balance updates, changes in the meta of high MMR matches, and details from esports teams. You can consult a different Dota 2 betting fan for their interpretation of the information at hand before you make your bets at Sportsbet.
You still need to hone your skills in the game and your intuition, however. That’s why you either have to be a player or an avid viewer of Dota 2 streamed matches. Your understanding of the game and the ecosystem greatly affects how you reach conclusions. With enough insight, you can make quick interpretations of players’ decisions as they play then formulate your bets accordingly.
