Betting on Valorant First Strike Series – Everything You Need to Know

Whether you like it or not, Valorant is here to stay! The same can be said for its esports scene too. The viewership is finally stabilizing, although at relatively low numbers, but with plenty of room for growth. As far as betting on First Strike is concerned, the demand seems to be fair. In fact, Valorant First Strike betting opportunities are already available.

Everything seems perfectly aligned for a proper esports spectacle. Seven massive regional events, plenty of smaller ones, over $500,000 in prize money, and a whole bunch of top-notch contestants. Early December brings forth the crème de la crème of Valorant esports… and I for one couldn’t be happier!

That said, let’s check out the best esports betting sites that feature betting on First Strike Valorant series!

Where to Start Betting on First Strike Matches?

Even though Valorant betting isn’t as popular as, let’s say, betting on CSGO, Dota 2 and similar, the environment is slowly changing. The game’s competitive ecosystem continues to develop at a rapid pace, fueled by the ever-growing demand for Valorant betting.

Our esports bookmakers guide should be your go-to place for all things esports betting. This includes betting on Valorant. Heck, if you’re trying to find good bookmakers to help you make your first steps in the harsh waters of online betting on esports, that guide ought to help you out.

With that out of our way, let’s focus back on First Strike betting and say a few words about the interesting facts about this event!

Valorant First Strike Preview – Interesting Facts

First Strike is more than just another Valorant esports event. It’s the biggest series yet, spreading across numerous countries/regions and bringing forth lucrative prize pools all across the board. As mentioned in the introduction, there are seven major events covering the following regions:

• North America
• Europe
• Korea
• Japan
• CIS
• Brazil
• Turkey

Obviously, North America, Europe, and Korea are the biggest First Strike installments. Together, their prize pools amount to $300,000, which is more than half of the amount of all other installments combined. They do bring forth the best teams, though! The majority of the Valorant esports scene is here to watch those three regional finals. In the remainder of this piece, we’ll mostly focus on NA and EU events, but we’ll get a glimpse of the South Korean action too.

We’re talking about single-elimination events here. Most events feature eight teams and a single-elimination bracket system with bo3s and bo5 grand finals. There are exceptions, though, the biggest being the Turkish iteration which is set to feature a more complex (and more forgiving) double-elimination bracket.

As far as betting on First Strike is concerned, Valorant betting websites are pretty stacked! Some even offer futures. They’re pretty limited, though; offering only outright winner odds for the NA event.

Valorant First Strike – Team Overviews

One thing is for sure – if you’re going to bet on this event, our team overviews section will be of crucial importance! It will give you a glimpse into the backstories, recent results, and individual forms of participating teams and their respective players. It’s important for everyone who wants to start betting on First Strike Valorant series, that’s for sure!

Valorant First Strike NA Teams

The North American event is the perfect place to start! It’s the biggest one out of the bunch; it’s bound to deliver top-tier Valorant action… plus it features all of our favorite teams! Sentinels, TSM and Envy are the top favorites, although 100 Thieves could be placed in the same basket too. For everyone interested in betting on First Strike NA, here’s what you need to know about the big trio!

Sentinels

Needless to say, Sentinels are the first name on the NA event’s team sheet! Even though they lost against 100T in the semifinals of NSG closed qualifiers, they are still the main favorites to win the regional finals. I for one believe Sentinels, Envy, and TSM are at an equal level coming into this one. And, since TSM possesses the best value as far as betting on First Strike NA goes, that’s where my money will be.

We’ll talk more about TSG right down below – for now, let’s focus on Sentinels! We’re talking about PAX Arena Invitational, 30Bomb Summer Cup and Pop Flash winners. The latter is definitely the biggest title that could’ve been won in NA thus far, which confirms Sentinels’ legendary status in the region.

Sinatraaa is still leading the charge performance-wise. His Sova and Raze plays are just something else. His movement, his game sense… and most importantly – his dueling ability… he has everything a top-tier Valorant player needs to have. If he gets up on the right foot coming into the quarterfinals match against Faze Clan, I’m sure Sentinels will reach far into the playoffs!

TSM

Team SoloMid is still up there with NA’s finest! Subroza and the boys are always fighting for the silverware, always going head first no matter who’s on the other end of the server. That fighting spirit is a welcome sight in Valorant, but it’s probably fueled by their past successes in CSGO.

It all comes down to this. All we see is a #TSMWIN. You agreeing? pic.twitter.com/fUXUEhCOVC

— TSM (@TSM) December 1, 2020

Drone, Wardell and Subroza are the leading men in this team. The whole team has plenty of CSGO experience so big events and single-elimination bracket tensions won’t faze them that much. They’re here to win another big event, and they’ll feel confident coming into this quarterfinal’s matchup. They’ll probably have to beat Team Envy in the semifinals. I honestly can’t wait for that one!

TSM will face off against Renegades in the quarterfinals in what will be their fifth head to head matchup thus far. TSM is the superior side here, having won all four previous encounters, so they shouldn’t have any issues with cementing their superiority for the fifth consecutive time.

Team Envy

The last NA team we’ll inspect here is Team Envy. Most bookies consider them as the second-best team in NA at the moment, right behind Sentinels. And I think that’s all right. The odds aren’t too far apart, meaning Envy and Sentinels could very well be the grand finals’ couple.

The thing with Envy is that they don’t have one single player that does all the hard work. We’re talking about a well-balanced team here. They’re excellent on Split, and aren’t too shabby on Ascent either. Their Haven and Bind gameplay leaves a lot of room for growth. If they can make it up on the training grounds, I’m sure they’ll be a proper threat on the NA First Strike event.

We already have the odds for Envy’s first-round encounter with Immortals. Crashies and the boys are favored to go through with odds set at -250. BetOnline features map advantage and correct score wagers on top of match-winners. If esports specials are your thing, that’s where you can find them!

Valorant First Strike EU Teams

The European event also brings forth class-A teams. G2, Liquid, FPX – you name it! There are several underdogs too, with SUMN FC leading the charge as a potential scalper. There’s everything to play for here, so let’s take a look at the most notable contestants!

G2

First off, let’s talk about G2! Realistically speaking, G2 is the best team across the pond! They’re on an amazing eighteen-matches winning spree and are already eyeing yet another title. If you’re going to be betting on First Strike, G2 is a team you’ll have to keep tabs on!

What Sentinels is to North American Valorant, G2 is to the European community. G2 Esports packs quite the punch in both individual and collective prowess. They’ve only lost twice since their inception. Fun fact – G2 lost against Team Liquid and FPX, both of which are featured right down below!

G2 will kick things off against Orgless in the quarterfinals. Their road to the grand finals crosses with Team Liquid vs. Team Heretics matchup. Team Liquid is the most likely contestant which brings forth the million-dollar question – can Liquid defeat G2 once again?

Team Liquid

Well, if Liquid’s Best in the West Showdown performance was any indication of things to come, the boys in blue could create another upset here. It will be difficult, no doubt about that. Heck, they’ll have a proper fight on their hands against Heretics. You might not know much about that team, but let me tell you – they’ll put up quite the fight!

Team Liquid is on a seven-matches winning spree, with that notorious G2 stomping being the first stepping stone of their successful spell. Can they make it eight? Like I’ve said – Heretics are tough contenders, but I give ScreaM and the boys the benefit of the doubt. After all – they got ScreaM playing for them…

FunPlus Phoenix

There’s no point denying FPX’s dominance over European teams. They’re on a twelve-match winning streak. Sure, their opposition wasn’t exactly one top-tier team after another, but they had several tough contestants to beat. With the announcement of the official global circuit, FPX will surely continue to develop!

PARTY ON👊 https://t.co/CaoDTbjGGV

— FunPlus PhoeniX (@FPX_Esports) November 24, 2020

Shao and the company will fancy their chances against nolpenki in the quarterfinals. Nolpenki will be tough to beat as they’re in an excellent competitive run, but FPX should advance to the semifinals. SUMN FC and Purple Cobras seem like capable opponents in the semifinals… I’m not really sure which way to call that one.

How Good Are Korean Teams?

This is not an easy question to answer. The same goes for comparisons between European and North American teams. And this phenomenon isn’t just present in the Valorant esports ecosystem; it’s present elsewhere too. The pandemic is the culprit; it desecrated esports schedules all across the board and forced event organizers to make a massive switch from LAN to online environments, thus preventing interregional competitive play.

That said, there’s just no way to tell how good some of these teams are. What we can say is that the Korean First Strike event won’t lack quality. Teams like Vision Strikers and T1 Korea are among the main favorites.

Fun fact – Vision Strikers, AKA MVP PK in CSGO, are still undefeated more than six months after joining competitive Valorant. We’re looking at an experienced CSGO team here, one that has continued to develop after their switch to competitive Valorant. With termi and Argency in charge of the tactical setup, I’m sure Vision Strikers would be tough to handle for all top-tier NA and EU teams.

Outright Betting on First Strike

As mentioned earlier, Valorant betting sites offer outright betting options only for the North American event. Others didn’t get the special treatment, but it’s okay since the North American event is surely the most interesting one.

Before we dig deeper into discussions regarding outright betting on First Strike, here’s a quick look at the odds:

Team	Odds
Sentinels	+200
Team Envy	+240
TSM	+400
100 Thieves	+450
Faze Clan	+900
T1	+1000
Renegades	+1600
Immortals	+1600

Odds are courtesy of BetOnline, you can check out our BetOnline review here.

Team SoloMid is what I’ll probably go with for this one. Sentinels are the main favorites, but at +400, I find TSM outright winner bet far more valuable. They’re in great form; drone and Wardell have been absolutely phenomenal recently; I really fancy their chances at +400. They’ll have to go up against Team Envy in the semifinals. If they do that part of the job, I reckon they might even be the favorites against Sentinels (assuming they reach the finals).