Valorant Betting | Innovative and More Complex FPS
Valorant is a multiplayer tactical FPS (First Person Shooter) game developed by Riot Games released in 2020. This shooter game gained traction worldwide as casual gamers, streamers, and even CS pros shifting to this game. The shift can’t really be attributed to the game being easier since there are far more game mechanics involved in Valorant than in Counter-Strike, which retained and barely added to the core gameplay mechanics already set in place two decades ago.
Today, Valorant rivals CS2 as being the most popular FPS esport title.
What is Valorant?
Valorant is a free-to-play competitive FPS game made by Riot Games and made available through the Riot Launcher. The minimum requirements for this game is at least a very old Core 2 Duo, which provides a barely playable gaming experience. The recommended requirements of at least an i3 4th gen and at least a GT 730, however, should provide a more playable experience.
This game became widely popular worldwide during the pandemic as more and more people got PCs for online classes. As this game featured more visually appealing player models, graphics, and textures than CSGO’s, more people gravitated towards Valorant than the classic FPS game. The fact that this game is also fairly accessible to a lot of people, especially with the PCs bought during the pandemic passing the recommended requirements, contributed to the game’s growing popularity.
In this game, players control Agents with custom special abilities that can help support other players, deal damage to enemy players, and distract opponents. In pro matches, each team is assigned to either Attacker or Defender sides where the Attacker is meant to plant a Spike on one out of two or three different Spike sites.
Each map will take a minimum of 24 game rounds before they’re completed with a single overtime round if both teams end up with 12 wins each. Pistol rounds are on the 1st and 13th rounds.
Competitive Valorant Scene
The pro gaming scene in Valorant consists of several official tournaments, including the following:
The esports scene started out when Riot Games announced the VCT , a year-long tournament circuit consisting of the Champions, Masters, and Challengers levels, in November 2020 for the 2021-22 season. The 2023-24 season started off as Riot Games announced a partner team model for VCT and where players first compete in regional leagues to qualify for Masters and Champions.
BK8 Valorant Betting Markets
The available Valorant betting markets are generally the same with other FPS games’ markets due to how similar the game mechanics are. Even with the additional game mechanics present in this game that’s absent in CS2, the betting markets remain the same but watching matches live will be more interesting, especially when doing in-play betting.
The main difference between betting on CS2 and Valorant matches is that Valorant betting markets in BK8 sportsbooks are typically more limited for some reason. The available markets are the following:
Total Kills Over/Under
Valorant has an over/under betting market focusing on the total number of kills made in one round. Bettors won’t have to worry about guessing which team will win or the exact total number of kills a single team will make. The threshold in Valorant is typically higher thanks to the agent Sage’s ultimate skill Resurrection which can revive a downed ally in a game round. The threshold is typically either 152.5 or 144.5.
Total Rounds
Standard Valorant matches follow a standard 24-round format with the winner being the first team to win 13 rounds. Competitive Valorant leagues retain this format in either best out of three or best out of five formats. Each team will have 12 rounds as Attackers and Defenders each when time permits and an entire map round can end with only 13 rounds, with one team winning during the 2nd pistol round.
The betting options are 13-19, 20-24, and Overtime.
Pistol Round Total Kills
The Pistol Round is the 1st and 13th rounds of a match and the winner of this round will typically have an economic advantage over the other team. Players will either retain their standard pistols or replace them with better ones, depending on their strategy. There is no guarantee that the winner will have an edge against the other team.
The threshold is 7.5.
Will the First Half End with a Draw 6:6
The first half of a match consists of 12 map rounds and teams can deliberately aim for a tie here so that one team will have a chance to play more rounds as the different side, whether it be as Attackers or Defenders. A draw here can result in a draw for the entire match and lead to overtime or at least prolong a match beyond the minimum 13 rounds or at least 20 rounds.
Conclusion
Valorant betting is very similar to CS2/CSGO betting, except that Valorant gameplay features more game mechanics that makes it more complex than the more simplistic Counter-Strike. Still, the betting markets are mostly the same and sports bettors will generally have the same esport betting experience, except that live betting will be much more fun.
BK8 sportsbooks typically offer a lot of odds for Valorant leagues, but not to the point of having the same amount as CS. Still, bettors will have a lot of fun placing bets especially since several CS pros transitioned to Valorant, so the matches can still be exciting. Start betting with BK8 today!
