Daily Sports Betting Preview 3/31/2020: CS:GO, LoL, American Idol

• In the ESL Pro League, Mousesports are -425 favorites over Virtus.pro.
• In the LPL, Royal Never Give Up are shocking -5000 favorites over Victory Five.
• There are two interesting and fun bets available on the reality TV show American Idol.

LAS VEGAS - Today’s edition of the Daily Sports Betting Preview treads slightly off the beaten path in search of good betting opportunities.

First, the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ESL Pro League brings some spice to the lives of sports bettors who had been missing action in their daily lives.

Then, the League of Legends LPL is up next. The LPL features three matches daily and could be a welcome addition to any betting slate.

Finally, some online sportsbooks have added odds on TV shows like American Idol. The Preview will review the available bets for American Idol since many are stuck at home watching TV nowadays.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ESL Pro League Betting

Today’s edition of ESL Pro League play features multiple compelling matchups, but the tradition in this column is to highlight the most interesting one, the one with the highest odds involved.

In that spirit, the match to be examined today will be the battle between Mousesports and Virtus.pro.

Mousesports are heavy favorites in this matchup, with monstrous -425 odds to win the match outright.

Virtus.pro are +295 to win the match outright.

CS:GO spreads use a device similar to a puck line, where the favorite is handicapped -1.5 and the underdog is handicapped +1.5.

This is barely enough to make Virtus.pro favored. Virtus.pro (+1.5) has -120 odds, while Mousesports -1.5 spread has -110 odds.

Interestingly, the puck line device seems to have actually hit on the proper handicap for this game, getting roughly even action on both sides.

Since the matches are Bo3, the over/unders in CS:GO, and in much of other esports betting, tend to be set at 2.5, and then take action on those.

Under (2.5) is a favorite, with -165 odds, reflecting that sportsbooks expect the match to end in two games instead of taking three. In other words, this is a reflection of Mousesports’ perceived dominance.

CS:GO is one of the original esports, and is worth looking into for many experienced bettors.

League Of Legends LPL Betting Preview

The LPL is some of the absolute best League of Legends gameplay on the planet. It is China’s top tier system, and has produced the last two world championship teams.

The only downside, for Americans, is the airtime. The LPL generally starts airing at about 2:00 a.m. EST and tends to run through around 9:00 a.m. EST.

This is something of a downside, although all video is available on demand. That said, betting on the LPL is open all day.

The match that has the longest odds in the upcoming LPL session is clearly the matchup between Royal Never Give Up (aka RNG) and Victory Five.

That this match has the longest odds should not be surprising. RNG is one of the premier teams in the LPL, with a long history of both national and international performances. Victory Five is decidedly neither of those things.

Still, the line here is massive. RNG are -5000 favorites over the +1000 Victory Five. Even when handicapped by -1.5, RNG are still -475 to win the match, while Victory Five - 1.5 is +305.

RNG’s expected dominance also shows when it comes to the over/under line for the match. When esports are played in a best of three format, the over/under is always set at 2.5 and then action is taken on both sides of that.

A heavy under tends to reflect that the public and the sportsbooks believe that one team will win in 2 games, without dropping a set.

The Under here is -575, an astounding number, reflecting Victory Five’s weakness. The Over is set at +345 odds.

The LPL is some of the best League of Legends content out there, and well worth examining as an addition to any bettor’s slate.

American Idol Betting

The famed reality TV show, American Idol, has been a part of the American consciousness for nearly two decades now. Online sportsbooks have taken notice and are offering a couple of interesting bets on the future of American Idol for this season.

American Idol is one of the most popular forms of entertainment betting and fans would be wise to take note.

The first bet concerns what the final song will be: written by a male, written by a female, or a totally original song.

The second bet concerns the gender of the winner:

Both of these bets are more bets that are for fun than anything else, but the betting world could always use some more fun in it, especially in the context of the current situation.

Happy betting!