Heroes of the Storm: Game Basics, Bet Types, and Outcome Prediction Tips

Heroes of the Storm is a crossover multiplayer online battle arena game developed by the legendary Blizzard Entertainment. The game features a range of heroes from other popular Blizzard titles, including StarCraft, WarCraft, Overwatch, and Diablo. Although HoTS was an initial success and was touted as the next Dota, over the years, its popularity declined. Still, HoTS boasts over 3 million estimated monthly players, making it a decent betting market, especially during large tournaments.

In this brief guide to Heroes of the Storm betting, we'll discuss the game's basic rules, cover main bet types, and provide essential tips for predicting an outcome.

Heroes of the Storm: Game Basics

At its core, Heroes of the Storm doesn't differ from other games in the genre: two teams of five players lock horns on a big map, battling each other and natural creeps with a single objective — destroying the opponent's home base called Fort. Players can select one hero from a roster of ninety characters; the heroes come in four main flavours, including assassins, warriors, supports, and specialists with unique skill sets. Still, the game is not interchangeable with other MOBA titles and has a set of unique gameplay mechanics and features, including multiple unique maps, a lack of in-game item shop or currency, a more streamlined experience, combat-focused gameplay, and shorter matches, averaging 15-25 minutes.

HOTS Biggest Tournaments

Although there were many HoTS-dedicated events like Heroes of the Storm Global Championship and Community Clash League with impressive prize pools of $1 million back in 2018, no upcoming high-profile events are currently scheduled. Still, the trend may always change, and the game may peak in popularity, so be sure to follow GGBET and monitor platforms like Liquipedia and EGamersWorld for any updates.

Main Bet Types

If you are interested in wagering on any future events, here's a quick compilation of the most popular Heroes of the Storm bets:

• Match Winner. The Outright Winner market requires you to predict the winner of a single match.
• Map Winner. Most matches are played either in best-of-three or best-of-five series. Your job is to predict which team will win a specific map.
• Handicap. Tailor-made to level the playing field, handicaps give underdogs a head start and handicap the teams that are perceived to be more skilled. Here's how it works: in a game of 3 maps, Team A is an underdog with a +1.5 advantage; it means that they only need to win one match out of two to win your bet. In this scenario, if Team B has a -1.5 disadvantage, they can't afford to lose even one map.
• First Blood. Predict the team that makes the first kill.

Keep in mind that bets that require a detailed knowledge of in-game mechanics are more challenging for the newbies. If you're new to betting, stick to basic bet types, like match winner.

Essential Tips on How to Predict the Outcome

If you want to predict the outcome of any match or entire event consistently, you must take your research seriously. To make better predictions, you should consider:

• Team Performance. Communication, timing, and synergy between heroes are essential for cohesive gameplay. Research the team's previous performance, keep an eye on the player's roster, and any new additions to the team.
• Head-to-Head. The HoTS community is pretty close-knit, which means that top teams have already performed together in the past. If one team has a history of dominating the other, chances are this trend will continue in the future.
• Meta Trends. Meta represents the best way to play the game and includes prevailing strategies, tactics, playstyles, and character choices that are considered the most effective at the game's current state. The meta changes rapidly, so to remain updated on new developments, watch tournaments and pro players playing the game.

To be on top of the news, follow the professional streamers, HoTS-dedicated Reddit communities, and HoTS Liquipedia for a better understanding of the professional scene and players' stats.