The League of Legends 2024 World Championship is almost upon us. And you know what that means: It’s time to go through the best picks to win the LoL World Championship outright.
- What: League of Legends World Championship 2024
- When: Wednesday, September 25 - Saturday, November 2
- Where: London, Paris and Berlin
- Venues: Riot Games Arena (Play-In and Swiss Stages), Adidas Arena (Quarterfinals and Semifinals) and O2 Arena (Grand Final)
- Format: Play-In, Single Elimination and Swiss
- Prize Pool: $2.25 million
- Reigning Champion: T1
Anticipation is mounting more than usual this year amid such a lofty prize pool. On top of that, the field also appears to be more wide open. Just look at the latest League of Legends online betting odds:
To Win LoL World Championship Gen.G +225 +215 +200 +220 Bilibili +225 +250 +200 +225 Hanwha Life +275 +300 +300 +265 Top Esports +550 +500 +550 +525 T1 +600 +600 +600 +550 LNG +725 +725 +700 +675 Weibo +1100 +1000 +900 +1100 Dplus KIA +1800 +1800 +2000 +1500 G2 +2500 +2500 +2500 +2500 Liquid +3500 +3600 +3700 +3500 FlyQuest +3500 +3800 +3700 +3500 Fnatic +4500 +4600 +4400 +4500 PSG Talon +7000 +6500 +6600 +7000 MAD Lions KOI +9000 +9000 +9000 +100000 100 Thieves +9000 +100000 +100000 +100000 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks +15000 +18000 +20000 +20000 GAM +20000 +20000 +20000 +20000 Vikings +25000 +25000 +25000 +25000 paiN +50000 +50000 +50000 +50000 Movistar R7 +50000 +50000 +50000 +50000
Gen.G (+225) and Bilibili (+225) enter as co-favorites. But their leads aren’t all that stark. Hanwha Life (+275) is extremely close to them, and many believe both Top Esports (+550) and the reigning League of Legends world champion T1 (+600) are being undervalued.
On that note, we once again implore you to continue rechecking these esports online betting odds right up until you place your wager. Our League of Legends World Championship betting lines are accurate entering Friday, September 20. That gives the top online betting sites in the United States plenty of time to make adjustments before opening day on September 25. Plus, because the tournament lasts longer than a month, you can expect to see frequent and sometimes wild League of Legends betting odds swings once it is underway.
We will be tackling this from an LoL futures perspective. We aren’t interested in simply deep runs. Instead, we want to know which teams are best positioned to win the whole darn thing.
Breaking Down The Various League of Legends World Championship Tournament Formats
Multiple formats will be used throughout the League of Legends World Championship tournament. Below is the round-by-round breakdown, courtesy of the folks over Liquipedia.
Play-In Round
- Takes place from September 25 through September 29.
- Eight teams play a Double Elimination bracket
- All matches are played in a best-of-three.
- Top four teams advance to the Swiss Stage.
- Remaining teams are eliminated.
Swiss Stage
- Take place October 3 through October 13.
- Four teams from the Play-In Stage join 12 teams with direct entry from China, South Korea, Europe and North America.
- Unfolds with a 16-team Swiss System format.
- Round 1 teams will be paired against teams from a different region.
- Rounds 2 to 5 are seeded based on each team's win-loss record.
- Elimination and Advancement matches are Bo3.
- All other matches are Bo1.
- Each team can face an opponent only once throughout the Swiss Stage.
- Teams that reach three wins advance to the Knockout Stage.
- Teams that reach three losses are eliminated.
- Throughout the Swiss Stage, side selection will be determined by the initial draw pool. The higher pool will receive side selection.
- In matches between teams from the same draw pool, side selection will be determined by the team's drawing order.
Knockout Stage
- Takes place October 17 through October 27, with the Grand Final being played on November 2.
- Eight teams play in a single-elimination bracket.
- This will be a Side Selection Privilege format:
- Teams with Side Selection Privilege can choose the side in Game 1. After that, the losing team can choose the side in the next game.
- In the Quarterfinals, Side Selection Privilege will be granted to teams with better match records in the Swiss Stage. In the case where both teams have the same match record, Side Selection Privilege will be determined by the order teams are drawn in the Quarterfinals.
- In the following matches, the Side Selection Privilege will be determined by coin flip.
- All matches are best-of-five
Which Teams are Best Positioned to Win the 2024 League of Legends World Championship?
Now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We have isolated our top options to win the entire League of Legends World Championship tournament by weighting everything from current performances and the overall value of their betting odds.
Will one of the favorites win it all? Can a dark horse emerge? Who is our final pick? Let’s get to it!
Who is the Better League of Legends World Championship Bet: Bilibili or Gen.G?
Seldom do we see co-favorites entering such a massive tournament. And yet, that’s exactly what we have with Gen.G (+225) and Bilibili (+225).
To be honest, we were a little surprised by the latter’s placement at the top. But then we dug deeper into Bilibili’s recent performances. They have finished in first place in three of their past five majors, including the LCK Summer 2024 tournament earlier this month.
Even so, we remain more drawn to Gen.G. Not only have they finished first in two of their past four tournaments, on top of a second-place finish at the LCK Summer 2024 tourney, but they’ve really upped their early-game aggression.
It is an approach that has served them well. Gen.G is now winning over 70 percent of their matches when they’re leading by the 15-minute mark.
Why Isn’t T1 Getting More Love from LoL Oddsmakers?
Reigning champs tend to curry favor when looking at LoL betting lines. That’s not happening for T1(+600). Their 6-to-1 payout is borderline dark horse territory.
For the life of us, we cannot figure out why. T1 has not finished lower than third in an S-Tier tournament such as this since mid-2021. That’s one heck of a streak.
A recent cold stretch, by their standards, may be at play. T1 has secured a first-place finish in just one of their past five tournaments and they didn’t look the part of a major contender during their third place finish at the LCK Summer 2024 bracket.
Still, we find this to be excellent value. Especially when you consider they won the 2024 League of Legends World Cup.
Which Dark Horse LoL Squad is Capable of Winning the World Title?
Team Liquid (+3500) enters with wildly low odds to win it all. And while we get it, we don’t necessarily support it.
Indeed, some troubling trends have emerged. They finished in the fifth/sixth place tier during the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational. They also ended last year’s League of Legends World Championship in the 15th/16th place bracket.
For most of this season, Team Liquid has been a coin toss. Their record is right around .500. The key for them is getting off to better starts. Their current first blood rating sits at only 35.7 percent. With that said, they have cleared the First Tower more than 64 percent of the time and are perfect when leading after 15 minutes.
Don’t be surprised if they make a push at the LoL World Championship this year.
Who is Our Pick to Win the League of Legends World Championship?
Between the value they’re laying and their overall performance, we are inclined to predict a repeat victory for T1.
Make no mistake, their payout is part of the calculus. We love the idea of netting a 6-to-1 return on a team that we consider a legit contender.
Granted, this goes beyond just value. With the exception of a 3-1 loss to Hanwha Life Esports (+275) during the LCK Summer 2024 tournament, even T1’s letdowns have featured convincing play. They kept things close versus Bilibili during the Mid-Season Invitational and also almost knocked off Gen.G at the LCK Spring 2024 tourney.
This says nothing of them absolutely rolling over Top Esports (+550) during the League of Legends 2024 World Cup—which T1 went on to win. This squad continues to get up when it matters most. We expect nothing different at the World Championship.
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