ESL One: Best Odds for the DOTA 2 Esports Tournament

• DOTA 2 odds have Nigma favored at -130 over Virtus.pro.
• The prize pool for this year’s competition is $200,000.
• Matchups begin early in the morning with the first bout beginning at 5 a.m. EST. on April 14.

LOS ANGELES - This week’s ESL One Los Angeles is one of the biggest DOTA 2 tournaments of the whole year. Usually held in Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, due to COVID-19, the tournament was forced to go online only this year which has added a new dynamic to the competition.

That doesn’t stop the online sportsbooks for posting some interesting odds on the event, so let’s take a closer look at the competition.

What is the ESL One?

Normally one of the largest DOTA 2 events of the year, the ESL One gathers the best teams from the DOTA world and places them head to head. The competition this year was altered due to the coronavirus, moving to an online only format and splitting into 5 regional divisions with their own competitions.

This is the European competition, with the other four regions (North America, South America, China, and Southeast Asia) already having completed their tournaments.

The tournament features 16 teams that are split into two groups. This specific region has a prizepool of $200,000. There are 8 playoff spots on the line during this tournament. Competition begins in a round-robin stage then the top two teams from each group will advance to the winner’s bracket. The third and fourth team head to the secondary winner’s bracket. Each team will play every other day until Thursday.

DOTA 2 Odds Breakdown

When it comes to betting on this event, it is important to get a good idea of the landscape of competition that has already unfolded.

During Group A competition, region leader Virtus.pro destroyed OG in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Euro region. Virtus.pro are 5-0 and are the only remaining unbeaten team in their group. They matchup with Nigma Tuesday morning, a match that is showing some favorable moneyline odds.

Nigma is 3-2 coming off an impressive win over HellRaisers, which may explain why they are favored over an undefeated Virtus.pro squad. But, those who want to avoid a higher vig and bet on the unbeaten can do so with these DOTA 2 odds.

Another matchup on Tuesday to keep an eye on is Gambit Esports taking on Cyber Legacy.

Offering even money on Gambit to win by 2 or more games might be the pay for those looking to get some midweek action. Gambit is 2-3 but are due for a crushing win against the 1-4 Cyber Legacy.

Be sure to keep a close eye on how these odds move as well, as these esports betting lines can be very volatile to swings before the lines close. Anyone looking to watch the action can see it all streamed live and online at the official ESL streaming site.