Korea stands out as one of the most successful nations in LOL competitions, boasting a vibrant gaming scene that surpasses many others. As all rosters have been locked and teams are primed for action, we present our complete LCK Summer betting guide.
Get straight to the point:
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How to Start Betting on the 2023 LCK Summer Split
Esports betting has become a popular pastime for many bettors due to the increasing number of esports games and tournaments. And, thanks to the efforts of dozens of esports betting operators, punters have never had so much choice to enjoy.
But how do you start LoL LCK betting? Here are a few basic of steps you need to complete through before placing your first bets:
- Choose a bookie you like – There is a wide range of bookies you can choose from based on certain metrics, including odds, available payment methods, list of esports games and tournaments, betting markets, website ease of use, mobile app availability, etc. Compare each bookie’s features to determine which one fits your needs the most.
- Create and verify your account – You won’t be able to place any bets without having an account on your chosen bookie’s website. In most cases, creating and registering an account is easy; you’ll have to choose an email address, password, and provide some personal information (Date of Birth, Full name, etc.). This is important because you’ll only gain full access to the site and its betting features if you verify your identity. Underage gambling is not legal, and all reputable bookies will require account & identity verification before they let you start betting. Note: Some bookies don’t allow bettors from certain countries. It’s best to check which countries are supported by visiting the bookie website.
- Set up your preferred payment method – The most commonly supported payment methods for esports betting are PayPal, credit cards, Skrill, Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies), and NETELLER. However, there are dozens more that people use and some bookies support. Also, note that the bookie may deduct a small amount from your chosen payment option to verify its validity. The amount will be returned to you almost instantly after the deduction.
- Research the esports scene – The only way to maximise your chances of winning the bets is to make sure that most of them are based on valid info. In essence, the more you know about a specific game’s esports scene, the better your betting strategy will be. Look at what the competing teams have achieved recently and whether or not there were any roster changes. On top of that, game updates can affect how teams play if the update ends up influencing the current meta. Learning about the game is also recommended because certain betting markets are related to specific in-game mechanics.
- Place your bets – Once you’ve gathered enough info about the esports scene, you’ll be ready to place your first bets. Be mindful that it may take a while to get a hang of things so don’t go overboard with your first few bets. Match-winner and certain types of special bets are generally beginner-friendly since there aren’t too many factors that affect the overall outcome of the bet. You should also tune in to live streams and watch the action unfold to learn even more and potentially even place a few live bets.
Popular Bets for LCK Summer 2023
Due to the sheer number of games that will be played in LCK Summer 2023, you’ll definitely have your pick of the litter when it comes to betting.
Moneyline Betting
Moneyline bets are still as simple as ever even in a best-of-three tournament like the LCK Summer Split 2023. You can either bet outright on the outcome of the series and/or choose to bet on who will win the individual maps (from Game One to Game Three). So if you’re looking for a market to start with, moneyline bets are one of the simpler ones to get into!
Best betting sites to use for Moneyline betting: bet365, Betway
Prop Betting
After getting moneyline down to a tee, you can move on to the trickier bets to predict propositional or prop bets. Prop bets involve predicting which team will be the first to take objectives in-game such as those mentioned below. Although it varies what bets you can place depending on the operator, you can generally place bets on objectives taken such as Dragons, Towers, Baron Nashor, and Inhibitors.
In Rivalry, you can put bets on occurrences such as:
- Both teams to destroy an inhibitor
- Both teams to take a dragon
- First team to slay Baron Nashor
- Team to take down the first Tower
Furthermore, you can even guess the correct score that the series will go (whether 2-0 or 2-1 in your chosen team’s favor). As you can see, it can be quite a headache to correctly predict how games will go to win your bets. But with adequate research, you can easily see how teams play and if they are likely to take the first tower or First Blood by looking into their stats such as with platforms like Games of Legends and Oracle’s Elixir.
Best betting sites to use for Prop betting: Rivalry
Total Betting
Total or over/under betting works in the same way in esports when compared to traditional sports. Total betting asks one to predict if the game at hand will go over or under a chosen metric on the Rift such as towers taken, dragons slain, and game time.
Since the LCK runs in best-of-threes, you can choose to place total bets per game of the series or on the match outright. First and foremost, you can bet whether the series at hand will go over 2.5 or under 2.5 maps played. So if you bet on the former, it’ll be a three-game series. Otherwise, you need the series to be closed out in a 2-0 sweep to win the bet.
These bets are simple and straightforward, and just like prop bets, you can look towards past data to help you decipher trends that will decide whether you win your bets. Check how aggressive teams are in Games of Legends by checking their number of average kills per game or if they prioritise getting Dragons over Rift Heralds.
Best betting sites to use for Prop betting: GG.BET
Handicap Betting
Finally, there are handicap bets which can be hard to figure out at first. But once you’ve gotten the hang of them, it can be a reliable way for bettors to make cash off the underdogs!
Handicap betting is a way for operators to balance out the odds between the competition. They do this by putting a ‘handicap’ on teams. This means the team you’re betting on or against needs to have a significant lead or margin against their opponents to be considered a win. The lead can be in the number of kills a team is ahead by in individual games or by games won in best-of series.
Pinnacle explains this in their own platform saying that a -1.5 map handicap means that the team needs to win two straight games to get the payout. Meanwhile, a +1.5 map handicap is more of an advantage, meaning that if the team gets at least one win, you get your payout. The kill handicap functions similarly.
Remember, the outcome of the match doesn’t matter if you placed a bet on the wrong handicap. For example, even though you predicted that Dplus KIA would win Game 2 of their series, they couldn’t meet the handicap you bet on, having only three kills up compared to your +4.5 kill handicap.
Best betting sites to use for Prop betting: Pinnacle
LCK Summer 2023 Odds
The LCK is packed with strong teams but T1 is seemingly the best LCK team at the moment. This means the odds for betting on T1 won’t be as good since they’re the clear favourites. However, if they falter at the start of the LCK Summer Split, you can expect the bookies to level the odds.
Betting on some other incredible teams such as Gen.G, Dplus KIA, etc. can be profitable for placing match-winner bets which is the safer option. In any case, the odds aren’t available at this moment but we will update this section as soon as they are released.
LCK Summer 2023 Betting Tips & Predictions
After winning the LCK Spring Split, T1 looks to be in pole position to capture the Summer trophy as well. Meanwhile, Spring runner-up Gen.G looks to be the biggest challenger. KT Rolster and Dplus KIA are looking great as well and may be capable of upsetting the champs but only time will tell.
Here are a couple of tips to help you on when LCK betting:
1. Look Out for Lineup Changes
The good news is that most teams have retained their player lineups from the start of the Spring Split but, a few new players joined as recently as December 2022. This means that some teams may not have found their footing yet (in the Spring Split) but may play better in the Summer Split if they’ve managed to work together better during the LCK break.
T1 is by far the most stable in terms of their current roster, with most of the team joining before 2020. Having said that, it’s still worth keeping an eye out for any new roster changes that may destabilise a team, causing it to perform worse.
2. Look Out for Patch Updates
The League of Legends meta constantly evolves with the addition of each new major patch so don’t base your bets too much on that. Still, each patch has clear favourites regarding champions due to their buffs.
Some players have trouble adapting to these changes so they may perform worse, while others adapt quickly and outplay their opponents with ease. The good news is that Riot Games generally uses a game version that is one or two patches behind the live one when it comes to live events.
3. Follow Meta Analysts
Follow analysts such as LS and iWillDominate to get a glimpse of how they think the meta changes as patches get released; which should give you an idea of which teams will thrive and which will fall due to their inadaptability.
4. Watch Best-of-Threes and Best of Fives
Compared to the Western regions, the Eastern regions, such as the LCK and the LPL, adopt a best-of-three tourney format which allows teams to play way more games throughout the course of a split. For bettors like you, that simply means there’s more to bet on! Here, you can choose to bet outright on the series itself or bet on the individual games in the series.
Furthermore, best-of-threes allow teams to adapt and change up their playstyle when the time calls for it. For example, if a team won convincingly in Game 1, they might want to try out all-new picks in Game 2 to diversify their playstyle.
If after going through all that and you’re feeling that this isn’t the region for you, you can check out our betting guides on the LEC, LCS, and the LPL.
LCK Summer 2023 Tournament Structure
The LCK Summer 2023 event hasn’t changed at all compared to previous years and still features the good old, reliable, best-of-three double round-robin structure. Here’s the overall breakdown of the event:
Tournament Format
Regular Split:
- 10 Competing Teams
- Double Round-Robin Format
- All matches are Bo3
- Top 6 teams qualify for the Playoffs
- The top 2 teams receive a bye to Round 2 of the Playoffs
- Bottom 4 teams are eliminated from further contention
Playoffs:
- The double-Elimination bracket starts from Round 2
- 1st-2nd-placed teams from the Regular Split receive a bye to Round 2
- 3rd-6th-placed teams from the Regular Split start in Round 1
- Losers in Round 1 are eliminated
- All matches are Bo5
- Winner qualifies for the 2023 World Championship
Schedule
At the moment, the LCK has not yet revealed when the event will start and end. We will update this section accordingly once this info becomes available.
Prize Pool
| Position | Amount* | Championship Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $147,623 | Automatic Qualification for Worlds 2023 |
| 2nd | $73,811 | 100 |
| 3rd | $36,905 | 80 |
| 4th | $18,452 | 50 |
| 5th | / | 30 |
| 6th | / | 10 |
| 7th | / | / |
| 8th | / | / |
| 9th | / | / |
| 10th | / | / |
*The official prize pool distribution has not been released yet; this info is based on the prize pool distribution in 2022.
Teams
| Team | Roster |
|---|---|
| BRION | Morgan, UmTi, Karis, Hena, Effort |
| Dplus KIA | Canna, Canyon, ShowMaker, Deft, Kellin |
| DRX | Rascal, Croco, FATE, deokdam, BeryL |
| Gen.G | Doran, Peanut, Chovy, Peyz, Delight |
| Hanwha Life Esports | Kingen, Clid, ZEKA, Viper, Life |
| KT Rolster | Kiin, Cuzz, Bdd, Aiming, Lehends |
| Kwangdong Freecs | DuDu, YoungJae, BuLLDoG, Taeyoon, Jun |
| Liiv Sandbox | Burdol, Willer, Clozer, Teddy, Kael |
| Nongshim RedForce | DnDn, Sylvie, FIESTA, vital, Peter |
| T1 | Zeus, Oner, Faker, Gumayusi, Keria |
History of the LCK Summer Season
In the game’s history, the LCK has been the home to the greatest League of Legends teams and players. From the Korean dynasty that SK Telecom T1 and Samsung built up to the dominance of DWG KIA in Worlds 2020, the LCK has continued to become the pinnacle for competitive esports in the past decade.
Notably, players like Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, Kang “Ambition” Chan-yong, and Heo “ShowMaker” Su are but a few of the notable names in the LCK. From the past to the future, we will see how the legacy of the region transforms in the coming decade; whether it continues to rise up or falls at the hands of the LPL or perhaps, the Western regions.
| Champion | Year |
|---|---|
| Gen.G | 2022 |
| DWG KIA | 2021 |
| DWG KIA | 2020 |
| SK Telecom T1 (Now T1) | 2019 |
| KT Rolster | 2018 |
| Longzhu Gaming | 2017 |
| ROX Tigers | 2016 |
| SK Telecom T1 | 2015 |
| KT Rolster Arrows | 2014 |
| SK Telecom T1 | 2013 |
Summary
As it stands, it appears that the region is in a toss-up as Korean staples Dplus KIA, T1, Gen.G and Kwangdong Freecs look to be almost certain of at least the playoffs. The coming weeks will tell a lot about how the top teams will shape up for Worlds 2023. This will be their last opportunity to qualify and prove their worth. Meanwhile underdog teams like DRX, BRION and even Liiv Sandbox, the event looks very exciting.
