Overwatch Odds Legend
The Overwatch League is one of the newest esports on the market and has already grown to be a massive game. With games being played on a consistent schedule, it has also become huge in betting markets.
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This means you can bet on all your favorite Overwatch League matches and even have a ton of options to do so, including moneylines, spreads, totals, and futures. Let’s take a look at how all of these work.
Moneyline
Moneyline bets are the simplest of all the betting options out there, all you have to do is predict the Sportsbook of a match. The odds for moneylines are usually displayed in American odds, which are numbers in relation to -100.
The numbers change depending on each team's chances to win the match, with the favorites generally having odds that start with a minus, while the underdogs generally have odds that start with a plus.
You’ll usually see something like -120 or +150. The -120 tells you that you would need to bet $120 to win $100, while the +150 tells you that betting $100 would win you an extra $150.
Spreads
Spreads are bets that focus on points in the game, rather than the end result. In Overwatch, you’ll mostly find spreads for maps, with each team receiving a positive or negative handicap.
As most Overwatch League matches are played in a best of five format, you’ll find +2.5, +1.5, -1.5, or -2.5 options for map spreads. The positive options mean that a team would start either 2.5 or 1.5 maps ahead, and would only need to win one or two maps for your bet to win and could even lose the match as long as they win some maps.
Meanwhile, the negative options mean the team would start either 2.5 or 1.5 maps behind. This would mean they’d need to win either 3-0 or 2-0, meaning they’d need to dominate.
Totals
Totals are bets that work similarly to spreads, but instead focus on the overall number of things. Once again, in Overwatch this would most commonly be maps, but you may also see elimination spreads.
The way this type of bet works is that a Sportsbook sets a number, for example 3.5 maps, and then you can bet either OVER or UNDER on this. If you bet OVER, you’re looking for the match to go to four or more maps, meanwhile, an UNDER bet wants to see three or fewer maps.
It doesn’t matter which team wins or how they do it, all these kinds of totals are looking for is the numbers.
Futures
Futures are somewhat similar to moneylines, only for a whole Overwatch League Stage, or even the entire league itself. You cast all results aside and simply pick one team to take it all in the playoffs.
There is a bit of difference in futures, namely that the odds are much higher than most bets, as it’s a lot riskier. While some teams are dominant, you never know who’s really going to win in the grand finals. Even the favorite might see odds of +400 or more.
However, do keep in mind that once you’ve placed your bet it’s locked in until the stage or the league ends, so you may be without your cash for a while.