There is no denying that the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is always entertaining, with so much competition between the top North American teams. In this LCS betting guide, we have compiled the top bookmakers covering this event, as well as any odds, special bets available, teams participating, predictions and more.

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How To Get Started With LCS Betting

The LCS is, in and of itself, a massive annual League of Legends league that features North American esports organisations and their respective teams. The league is divided into two Splits – the Spring Split and the Summer Split. So, in essence, you’ll get to watch more than 100 matches strewn across a couple of months.

If you’re interested in placing some bets on your favourite teams who take part in this esports game but are still new to all of this, we have broken things down in a simple step-by-step guide below:

  1. Pick a betting site – There are dozens of experienced and renowned esports betting operators who support LCS betting. Before you create an account, make sure to compare the odds, betting markets, payment methods, and other features between these bookies. This will give you an idea of which site suits your needs the most.
  2. Register and verify your account – All you have to do here is pick a username, password, and enter your email address. Then, you'll need to validate these details by submitting a few documents, usually copies of your ID card/passport/driver's licence, as well as a recent utility bill or bank statement. These will provide the site with proof of identity and address, respectively. Bear in mind that while you might be able to place a few bets without a verified account, you definitely won’t be eligible for betting bonuses; some payment methods may even be unavailable. This entire process is required by all legitimate betting sites in order to adhere to compliance and security regulations outlined by the online gambling industry.
  3. Set up your preferred payment method – The vast majority of the most popular payment methods (PayPal, Skrill, credit cards, and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin) are accepted across almost all bookies. It’s best to make sure that your payment method is supported before you register with any operator.
  4. Prepare to bet on the LCS by researching and gathering info – The only way to maximise your chances of success is by researching the teams and players competing beforehand. By doing this, you’ll get a rough understanding of what to expect in all matchups; of course, upsets do happen every once in a while, so keep in mind that luck always plays a role in betting. It’s also a good idea to watch some livestreams or VODs of past events if you’ve missed them.
  5. Start small – Once your account is ready and you’ve gathered enough knowledge to place smarter bets, you’ll be well on your way. However, we recommend starting small; place a few match-winner bets at first to test the waters and see where it goes from there. You’ll always be able to place riskier wagers when you feel you're ready!

LCS Spring 2023 Betting Options and Specials

The 2023 LCS Spring Split begins on January 26th and ends on the 17th of March. 

When it comes to LCS betting, bookmakers are often united and offer mostly similar options. Here's what you can expect to find for this event below:

  • Pre-Match Betting – Pre-match markets are available before the match starts. Bear in mind that the majority of LCS special bets are available only for pre-match betting.
  • Live/In-Play Betting – On the other hand, live betting allows you to place wagers while a match is underway, meaning that odds are constantly fluctuating according to ongoing events. There is no denying that a lot of value can be found in live betting, especially on LCS, which is almost always filled with surprises and comebacks.
  • Outright/Tournament Betting –  Why not place a bet on your favorite team to win the entire event and just sit back and enjoy things as they unfold? Oftentimes, odds on outsiders to win an event will net you over 100x profit – but remember that such wagers naturally carry a good deal of risk, so think things through carefully.
  • Handicaps – This form of betting involves the bookmaker handing an disadvantage to a favourite or an advantage to an underdog in order to even the playing field. When it comes to League of Legends betting, this is mostly tied to either the entire series (map handicap) or to a number of kills (kills handicap).
    Example: Let’s say that two teams, Team A and Team B, are facing off in a best-of-three match. The bookmaker believes that Team A is stronger than Team B, so they hand the former a disadvantage (‘handicap') of -1.5 maps on odds of 2.00. Meanwhile, Team B is given an advantage of +1.5 maps on odds of 1.80.
  • Special Bets – To spice things up a bit, online bookmakers came up with various ways of providing entertainment through special bets. Below, you can find the most popular NA LCS special markets available for the tournament:
    • Race to Kills – Bet on the first team to get the set number of kills.
    • First Dragon – Bet on the first team to get the first dragon.
    • First Blood – Bet on the team you think will get First Blood.
    • Match Duration – Bet on the duration of the match (ie. 15-20 minutes, 20-25 minutes, etc).
    • Correct Score – Bet on the correct end-game score (ie. 13 kills to 7 & Team A wins).

What Is the LCS?

The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is an exclusive league hosted by Riot Games based on franchise teams, and was announced back in 2013. It then rebranded in 2019, from which point on it was no longer called ‘NA LCS’ but just ‘LCS’ (due to the ‘EU LCS’ rebranding into ‘LEC’).

The LCS consists of many splits throughout the year, with the Spring, Summer, and Regional Finals bringing together the best teams in the league.

Bear in mind that LoL esports is franchised into separate regions (resulting in the LCS, the LEC for Europe, the LCK for Korea, and the LPL for China). After a season concludes for each of these regions, the top teams from each meet each other in international events, such as the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the World Championship.

LCS Tournament History*

EventDatePrize PoolWinnerRunner-Up
LCS Summer 202218.06.2022 - 11.09.2022$200,000Cloud9100Thieves
LCS Spring 202205.02.2022 - 24.04.2022$200,000Evil Geniuses100Thieves
LCS Summer 202104.06.2021 - 29.08.2021$200,000100ThievesTeam Liquid
LCS Spring 202105.02.2022 - 11.04.2022$200,000Cloud9Team Liquid
LCS Summer 202013.06.2020 - 06.09.2020$200,000Team SoloMidFlyQuest
LCS Spring 202025.01.2020 - 19.04.2020$200,000Cloud9FlyQuest
LCS Summer 201901.06.2019 - 25.08.2019$200,000Team LiquidCloud9
LCS Spring 201926.01.2019 - 13.04.2019$200,000Team LiquidTeam SoloMid

*There have always been 10 teams competing in the LCS.

Teams Participating in LCS Spring 2023

In total, there are 10 teams competing in the NA LCS league, making for very tense and challenging opportunities for punters. However, this comes with high odds, so if you do your research well, you can land some very hefty winnings ideed!

TeamRoster*
100ThievesTenacity, Closer, Bjergsen, Doublelift, Busio
Cloud9Fudge, Blaber, Diplex, Berserker, Sven
Counter Logic GamingDhokla, Contractz, Palafox, Luger, poome
DignitasArmut, Santorin, Jensen, Spawn, Ignar
Evil GeniusesSsumday, Inspired, Jojopyun, FBI, Vulcan
FlyQuestImpact, Spica, VicLa, Prince, Eyla
Golden GuardiansLicorice, River, Gori, Stixxay, huhi
ImmortalsRevenge, Kenvi, ablazeolive, Tactical, Fleshy
Team LiquidSummit, Pyosik, Haeri, Yeon, CoreJJ
Team SoloMidSolo, Bugi, Maple, Neo, Chime

*The players have been listed in the order of their roles (Top lane, Jungle, Mid Lane, ADC/Marksman, Support).

Favourites to Win LCS Spring 2023

100Thieves

Out of the three teams that are favourites to win the LCS Spring 2023 event, 100Thieves are the most consistent. Although they didn’t win any of last year’s two Splits (and finished their Worlds run with disappointing performances), they still came 2nd in both the LCS 2022 Spring and LCS 2022 Summer Splits.

It’s also worth noting that the team won LCS Summer 2021 by obliterating Team Liquid in the finals 3:0. Moreover, 100Thieves’ roster is almost entirely new, with the exception of Closer, who remains the team’s jungler. Tenacity, Bjergsen, Doublelift, and Busio joined the team on December 8th, 2022. The roster looks terrifying on paper – but how well will they perform in real life?

Cloud9

Cloud9 is a beloved team in the LCS – one that’s entirely capable of winning the entire thing, seeing how they caused a stir with their performance in LCS Summer 2022, which they won by defeating 100Thieves 3:0.

However, apart from their most dominant years (2014 and 2018), Cloud9 have always seemed to have trouble with consistency. On their day, they can be undefeatable – however, even weaker teams have managed to get the advantage in the past. The newest addition is 19-year-old Diplex, who joined on the 24th of November 2022 and previously played for the Vitality.Bee roster in Europe. Many think that he is a wild card, but he’s also capable of being one of the best Mid Laners in the LCS. Time will tell if this is true.

Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses always seemed to deflate in the second half of the year, especially since their Summer Split performances haven’t been up to par. They finished third in 2020 and 2021’s Spring Splits, but then fell to 5th/6th in the Summer Splits.

However, everything changed in 2022, with the team arguably at their best throughout the entire year (except in the World Championship). They won LCS Spring 2022 and came 3rd in LCS Summer 2022, which are excellent results. The team features two new additions to the roster – Ssumday and FBI, who joined the team in late November 2022.

LCS Spring 2023 Tournament Format

The LCS Spring 2023 tournament format is fairly simple to understand. Teams will be competing for their share of the $200,000 prize pool, and the winner at the end of the Split will also qualify for the MSI.

Group Stage:

  • Double Round Robin format
  • All teams play 18 total matches (against each other twice)
  • Every match is a Best of 1
  • Teams that finish 1st through 6th will qualify for the Playoffs
    • Teams placed 1st through 4th are seeded directly into the Semifinals
    • 5th and 6th-placed teams are seeded into the Losers Round

Playoffs:

  • Double Elimination format
  • Every match is a Best of 5

Prize Pool Distribution

The distribution of the prize pool is yet to be determined, but we have made an educated guess below, seeing how the prize pool itself hasn’t changed in five years.

PlacementPrize Pool Amount
1st$100,000 + Mid-Season Invitational 2023 Playoff Seed
2nd$50,000 + Mid-Season Invitational 2023 Play-in Seed
3rd$30,000
4th$20,000
5th/
6th/
7th/
8th/
9th/
10th/

Where To Watch LCS Spring 2023

There are three ways of watching LCS Spring 2023 matches live when they begin. The first is through the official LoL Esports website. If you play League of Legends, make sure to create an account and watch matches while logged in – you may even get in-game drops when certain conditions are met (ie. a pentakill happens). You’ll have to connect your LoL account with the account on the official site for this to work.

The two other methods of watching are YouTube and Twitch, but keep in mind that you won’t be able to get drops this way.

Summary

While the LCS may not have dozens of competing teams from numerous esports countries, it’s still an epic tournament with plenty of intense and entertaining matches. If you’re a fan, you might be rooting for one of the teams, hoping they finish top bins and qualify for MSI or Worlds! And, if you’re a bettor, this is one of those events where you can go wild with your bets (to an extent) because chaos is often seen in the LCS (which is what makes it so great to watch).


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FAQ

LCS Spring 2023 FAQs

LCS stands for League of Legends Championship Series. The original ‘NA LCS’ league was rebranded in 2019 to just LCS, as ‘EU LCS’ had also rebranded into ‘LEC’ (LoL European Championship).

The LCS is an annual League of Legends tournament where 10 teams compete against each other for prizes and qualification for more prestigious events (including the World Championship and MSI). The League is divided into two Splits: Spring and Summer. In all, the LCS lasts for almost 9 months, from January until early September or late August.

The three teams many fans consider the favourites to win are 100Thieves, Cloud9, and Evil Geniuses. All of these teams have had excellent performances in the past year and, while some didn’t manage to win, there’s no doubt that it’s going to be tough.

LCS Spring 2023 starts on the 26th of January and ends on the 17th of March.

If you’re just starting out with your LCS betting career, it might be best to keep to safer wagers, such as match-winner bets. However, if you’re into playing riskier but maybe winning more cash in return, special bets and outrights are superb choices when it comes to LCS Spring 2023.

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