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Riot Games’ VALORANT Champions Tour has been an unprecedented success in the past few years, with millions of spectators tuning in to watch some exceptional matches in the esports scene. Our VCT betting guide for 2023 will take you through everything you need to know: the top bookies covering the Tour, betting options available, predictions, and more!
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VALORANT is a superb video and esports game whose presence has been steadily increasing in the past two years. And now, fans and punters alike are being treated to an expanded VALORANT Champions Tour esports tournament. Here’s what you should know about bookies, betting markets, and more before placing your first bet:
With two years of experience under their belt, Riot Games are now looking to take VALORANT’s competitive scene to even greater heights through the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023, including revised formats and all-new events. This can only lead to even more betting opportunities as far as punters are concerned – with this in mind, we've shortlisted the most popular bet types worth keeping in mind for VCT betting.
No matter what tournament you’re going for in, moneyline bets are as easy as it gets. Whether best-of-ones or best-of-threes, simply predict which team you think will win the match and keep your fingers crossed! Due to its simplicity, this is the perfect type of bet for those just starting out. Predicting an upset would mean a greater reward for the greater risk that you put into your bet – as such, doing your research early on could net you good gains to take home.
Totals betting is the next step for those who want to up their game. It works in the same way as over/under betting, where you predict if the game will go over or under a score or metric. In VALORANT, total betting refers to predicting one of two things: whether a series will go over or under a certain number of games, or if the game in question will reach over or under a certain number of rounds.
It can be useful to look at stat platforms (such as THESPIKE.GG) to examine the patterns in a team’s playstyle. These are good metrics to set a baseline on if you want to proceed with totals betting.
As its name suggests, handicap betting betting involves a betting site assigning an advantage or disadvantage to a team before a match begins. This type of bet aims to level the playing field and make the perceived chances of a team winning more balanced for punters.
Naturally, favourites are given a negative handicap while the underdogs are awarded a positive one.
For instance, your bookmaker may give the weaker team a +1.5 round handicap. This means that if the latter team wins the match, or loses by only one round, the bettor who placed a wager on the handicap will win. On the other hand, if the stronger team wins by two or more rounds, the bettor who placed a wager on them will win.
Outrights are relatively difficult bets to get right, but they’re very easy to understand and get into. They are also one of the rare few betting markets that are only available prior to the tournament’s start. This means that you’ll have to place your outright bets at least a day (or more, depending on the bookie) before the first match.
As far as what's involved on your end, it’s simple – you’re betting on the team you think will win the entire tournament. The favourites usually have the lowest odds, so these bets are perfect if you want to place more than one bet but not take too much risk. For instance, you might bet on LOUD (winners of VCT 2022) and place another bet on the team who finished mid-table.
Lastly, we have proposition (‘prop') bets, which are slightly more tricky owing to their more unique nature. In VALORANT, there are occurrences in-game that do not necessarily decide the finale outcome, such as first blood, the outcome of pistol rounds, overtime, and so much more. Through prop bets, you can put your game knowledge to the test and bet on such events taking place throughout a match.
Be wary, however, because this needs a lot of research – but, of course, it has a higher potential payoff. Though you won’t always be able to find these bets up and running, it can be fun to try them out when you do get the chance!
The VALORANT Champions Tour is an annual VALORANT esports event that encompasses a couple of other tournaments, all of which lead to the culmination of the VCT – the VALORANT Champions (basically, the VCT Finals).
The VCT usually starts in February with the VCT LOCK//IN tournament and ends with VALORANT Champions in late August to early September. It is divided into the following International Leagues:
Previous iterations of the VCT had more international leagues, but a decision was made to combine those into three distinct regions. The teams that finish in the top few positions in their respective leagues will qualify for the VCT Masters stage later in the year.
Although there is still some info that we don’t know yet at the time of writing (prize pool amount and distribution, etc) we do know that 32 teams will compete for their share of the winnings:
Although LOUD are new to VALORANT esports, they’ve already made a mark – and a pretty big one at that, having even won VALORANT Champions 2022 by defeating OpTic Gaming 3:1.
BRAZIL STANDS ON TOP! 🇧🇷 @LOUDgg ARE THE 2022 WORLD CHAMPIONS OF VALORANT! #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/a8lMMlny35 — VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 18, 2022
BRAZIL STANDS ON TOP! 🇧🇷 @LOUDgg ARE THE 2022 WORLD CHAMPIONS OF VALORANT! #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/a8lMMlny35
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 18, 2022
However, just two months prior to this victory, they had a very rough time in the VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen event where they lost to… OpTic Gaming and KRÜ Esports. Nevertheless, they bounced back to claim their first S-Tier victory.
Based on their previous performances and past track record against other strong teams, LOUD have a good chance of winning the LOCK//IN tournament; that said, this isn’t a guarantee, because they’ve gone through a heavy roster rebuild where basically the entire team is new. Whether or not the new players will be able to continue the team’s past performances is yet to be seen.
FunPlus Phoenix have been around since the inception of VALORANT esports and they’ve had some pretty good runs. However, 2022 was the first year where they participated in S-Tier events. Coming as a surprise to some, the team pulled off winning the VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen event by eliminating Paper Rex in the finals.
Sadly, FPX couldn’t repeat this feat in the VALORANT Champions 2022 tournament, finishing in a relatively disappointing fourth place. Nonetheless, it’s evident that FunPlus Phoenix have the potential to come out on top in the LOCK//IN tournament.
DRX are a very strong VALORANT team who seem to have some issues performing on the big stage. Every single A-Tier (and lower) tournament that the team entered in 2022, they won. But when it comes to S-Tier events, it seems that they just can’t seem to make it work.
VCT 2022: Stage 1 Masters – Reykjavík – 5th place. VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen – 5th place again. They also finished 3rd in VALORANT Champions 2022 after losing to OpTic Gaming in a close-knit match that ended 3:2 in the favour of OpTic. Could 2023 be DRX’s year? The fans think so. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
The VCT 2023 tournament format is incredibly simple as the event itself basically serves as a jumping board toward the next phase of the VALORANT Champions Tour. Here’s what to expect:
Playoffs
The tournament starts on the 13th of February and ends on the 4th of March 2023.
Riot Games still hasn’t released any information regarding the size of the prize pool or its distribution. We will update this section once they do.
You can watch all VALORANT Champions Tour 2023 LOCK//IN matches through livestreams of the event (some might even be available in your country’s native language). These are mostly available on the official Twitch and YouTube channels.
The VALORANT Champions Tour 2023 presents numerous and exciting opportunities for punters. From International Leagues to Champions, there’s a niche for all sorts of bets. If you want to play around and bet on underdogs, you can head onto the International Leagues. If you want a challenge to see which of your favourite teams will come out on top, you can always place your bets on the Masters and Champions. No matter what your preference is, there’s a tournament you can bet on all year round!
We recommend Betway for moneyline bets, Rivalry for prop and total bets, and Pinnacle for handicap betting!
You can livestream the 2023 Champions Tour through Twitch and YouTube.
The 2023 VALORANT Champions Tour starts in February and will be concluded by the VALORANT Champions by (most likely) September. Riot has yet to release their exact plans following Champions, however.
Although there’s still a long road ahead for all the participating teams, some clear favourites (based on past performances) are LOUD, FunPlus Phoenix, and DRX.
If you’re just starting out, you should definitely start out with match-winner/moneyline bets. These have decent odds and are quite straightforward by design. On the other hand, if you want the chance of landing higher winnings and feel ready to take on more risk, check out Total/Over-Under bets and outrights.
Through our in-depth guides and reviews, we are focused on providing the best insights into esports betting.