NHL Enters eSports Arena: Latest Odds

The National Hockey League (NHL) has finally unveiled its first venture into esports on Friday: the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship, a global EA Sports "NHL 18" tournament that will culminate in a championship round held in Las Vegas in June.  Online sportsbooks plan to offer betting on this tournament.

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"This is our first foray into what we're calling competitive gaming. We're extremely excited about it, and we've been very careful about launching it the right way," said Keith Wachtel, the NHL's chief revenue officer and executive vice president of global partnerships. "But it's very much an embryonic, Phase One for us."

Learn More About The Tournament Below Today's Odds (March 9, 2018)

Games in this league are available for live betting. See Odds 13.00 Fnatic (Kills)     Over 18.5   -114 Under 18.5   -116 ROCCAT (Kills)       13.00 Fnatic -286       ROCCAT +204   CS:GO - ECS Europe Qualifier 13.30 Natus Vincere (map 3) -245 -3.5 -115 Over 26.5   +107 Under 26.5   -130 GODSENT (map 3) +196 +3.5 -105 Call of Duty - CWL Atlanta 14.00 FaZe -202 -1.5 -110     eUnited +149 +1.5 -120   14.00 OpTic -697 -1.5 -316     eRa Eternity +412 +1.5 +222   14.00 OpTic   -2.5 +111     eRa Eternity   +2.5 -147   14.00 Splyce -287 -1.5 -120     Echo Fox +205 +1.5 -110   15.30 EnVyUs -455 -1.5 -189     Mindfreak +300 +1.5 +141   15.30 EnVyUs   -2.5 +199     Mindfreak   +2.5 -278   15.30 Luminosity -516 -1.5 -211     Evil Geniuses +331 +1.5 +156   15.30 Luminosity   -2.5 +156     Evil Geniuses   +2.5 -211   15.30 Red Reserve -569 -1.5 -237     UNILAD +356 +1.5 +173   15.30 Red Reserve   -2.5 +167     UNILAD   +2.5 -228   15.30 Team Kaliber -5000 -1.5 -1217     Team Vitality +1019 +1.5 +586   15.30 Team Kaliber   -2.5 -241     Team Vitality   +2.5 +175   17.00 eUnited -190 -1.5 +121     eRa Eternity +141 +1.5 -161   17.00 OpTic Gaming -170 -1.5 +128     FaZe +127 +1.5 -171   17.00 Rise Nation -362 -1.5 -153     Echo Fox +249 +1.5 +115   17.00 Splyce -503 -1.5 -313     Lightning Pandas +324 +1.5 +221   17.00 Splyce   -2.5 +119     Lightning Pandas   +2.5 -158   18.30 EnVyUs -406 -1.5 -140     UNILAD +274 +1.5 +106   18.30 EnVyUs   -2.5 +192     UNILAD   +2.5 -266   18.30 Evil Geniuses -676 -1.5 -303     Team Vitality +403 +1.5 +215   18.30 Evil Geniuses   -2.5 +109     Team Vitality   +2.5 -144   18.30 Luminosity -186 -1.5 -125     Team Kaliber +138 +1.5 -106   18.30 Red Reserve -480 -1.5 -197     Mindfreak +313 +1.5 +146   18.30 Red Reserve   -2.5 +164     Mindfreak   +2.5 -224 League of Legends - Development League 19.00 TyLoo (map 1) -199       Unlimited Potential (map 1) +147     19.00 TyLoo -255 -1.5 +141     Unlimited Potential +185 +1.5 -190   20.00 TyLoo (map 2) -199       Unlimited Potential (map 2) +147     21.00 TyLoo (map 3) -189       Unlimited Potential (map 3) +141     19.00 Liberty Zeal Queue (map 1) -143       SHEINOO (map 1) +108     19.00 Liberty Zeal Queue -157 -1.5 +181     SHEINOO +118 +1.5 -249   20.00 Liberty Zeal Queue (map 2) -143       SHEINOO (map 2) +108     21.00 Liberty Zeal Queue (map 3) -133       SHEINOO (map 3) +100     19.00 ThunderoBot Gaming -342 -1.5 -101     ShadowCream +238 +1.5 -131   19.00 ThunderoBot Gaming (map 1) -243       ShadowCream (map 1) +177     20.00 ThunderoBot Gaming (map 2) -243       ShadowCream (map 2) +177     21.00 ThunderoBot Gaming (map 3) -223       ShadowCream (map 3) +164     19.00 OnlyGame (map 1) -215       Big One Gaming (map 1) +158     19.00 OnlyGame -289 -1.5 +113     Big One Gaming +206 +1.5 -150   20.00 OnlyGame (map 2) -215       Big One Gaming (map 2) +158     21.00 OnlyGame (map 3) -195       Big One Gaming (map 3) +145     22.00 VP Game (map 1) -184       KeyMedia (map 1) +137     22.00 VP Game -230 -1.5 +134     KeyMedia +168 +1.5 -180   23.00 VP Game (map 2) -184       KeyMedia (map 2) +137     23.59 VP Game (map 3) -174       KeyMedia (map 3) +130     22.00 Scorpio Game (map 1) -133       QNG Team (map 1) +100     22.00 Scorpio Game -141 -1.5 +196     QNG Team +106 +1.5 -273   23.00 Scorpio Game (map 2) -133       QNG Team (map 2) +100     23.59 Scorpio Game (map 3) -123       QNG Team (map 3) -108     22.00 King of Future -250 -1.5 +126     CCfuture +181 +1.5 -168   22.00 King of Future (map 1) -195       CCfuture (map 1) +145     23.00 King of Future (map 2) -195       CCfuture (map 2) +145     23.59 King of Future (map 3) -185       CCfuture (map 3) +138     22.00 VC Gaming -178 -1.5 +162     LanXiang Gaming +133 +1.5 -221   22.00 VC Gaming (map 1) -156       LanXiang Gaming (map 1) +117     23.00 VC Gaming (map 2) -156       LanXiang Gaming (map 2) +117     23.59 VC Gaming (map 3) -146       LanXiang Gaming (map 3) +110   League of Legends - NA League Academy 15.00 Cloud9.A -222       Optic +163     16.00 FlyQuest.A -200       CLG.A +148     17.00 Echo Fox.A -108       Clutch Gaming.A -122     18.00 Team Liquid.A -221       TSM.A +162     19.00 100 Thieves.A -293       Golden Guardians A. +208   Overwatch - OWL 16.00 London Spitfire -581 -1.5 -330     Boston Uprising +414 +1.5 +257   16.00 London Spitfire (map 1) -249       Boston Uprising (map 1) +199     16.00 London Spitfire (map 2) -254       Boston Uprising (map 2) +203     16.00 London Spitfire (map 3) -254       Boston Uprising (map 3) +203     16.00 London Spitfire (map 4) -245       Boston Uprising (map 4) +196     16.00 London Spitfire   -2.5 +155     Boston Uprising   +2.5 -190   18.00 NY Excelsior -420 -1.5 -174     Philadelphia Fusion +317 +1.5 +142   18.00 NY Excelsior (map 1) -198       Philadelphia Fusion (map 1) +161     18.00 NY Excelsior (map 2) -198       Philadelphia Fusion (map 2) +161     18.00 NY Excelsior (map 3) -198       Philadelphia Fusion (map 3) +161     18.00 NY Excelsior (map 4) -198       Philadelphia Fusion (map 4) +161     20.00 Houston Outlaws -371 -1.5 -168     Florida Mayhem +285 +1.5 +138   20.00 Houston Outlaws (map 1) -227       Florida Mayhem (map 1) +183     20.00 Houston Outlaws (map 2) -194       Florida Mayhem (map 2) +158     20.00 Houston Outlaws (map 3) -194       Florida Mayhem (map 3) +158     20.00 Houston Outlaws (map 4) -194       Florida Mayhem (map 4) +158   PUBG - Stream.me Invitational NA 17.00 EnVyUs (Week 1) (Points) -120       Noble (Week 1) (Points) -110     17.00 Evil Geniuses (Week 1) (Points) -120       MLGB (Week 1) (Points) -110     17.00 FlyQuest (Week 1) (Points) -150       Nova Esports (Week 1) (Points) +113     17.00 Ghost Gaming (Week 1) (Points) -115       DUEL (Week 1) (Points) -115     17.00 OpTic (Week 1) (Points) -115       Cloud9 (Week 1) (Points) -115     17.00 Totality (Week 1) (Points) -135       eUnited (Week 1) (Points) +102     17.00 Tempo Storm (Week 1) (Points) -120       SpaceStation Gaming (Week 1) (Points) -110     17.00 Trigger Happy (Week 1) (Points) -170       KLG (Week 1) (Points) +127   Starcraft 2 - Global StarCraft 2 League 20.00 Dark (map 4) -160       Zest (map 4) +131     20.00 Dark -230 -1.5 +105     Zest +185 +1.5 -127   20.00 Dark (map 2) -170       Zest (map 2) +139     20.00 Dark (map 5) -150       Zest (map 5) +123     20.00 Dark (map 3) -170       Zest (map 3) +139     20.00 Dark (map 1) -170       Zest (map 1) +139     22.00 sOs (map 1) -125       Maru (map 1) +103     22.00 sOs (map 2) -125       Maru (map 2) +103     22.00 sOs (map 5) -110       Maru (map 5) -110     22.00 sOs (map 4) -115       Maru (map 4) -105     22.00 sOs -137 -1.5 +165     Maru +113 +1.5 -203   22.00 sOs (map 3) -125       Maru (map 3) +103

ESPN.com has an overview of the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship

Over four consecutive weekends starting March 24, registered players will play one-on-one games in the single-elimination online qualifier tournaments. The qualifiers will be open to players residing in Canada, the European Union and the United States. The tournament will include qualifier tournaments for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles, before the PS4 becomes the exclusive console for the regional final and championship round.

The European finalists will compete at Viasat studios in Stockholm on Sunday, May 6. Canadian regional finalists will compete in Toronto on Friday, May 11. U.S. regional finalists will compete at NBC Studios in Stamford, Connecticut, on Sunday, May 20. All three regionals will be covered by the networks.

The winner and runner-up from each regional final will then advance to Las Vegas for the 2018 NHL Gaming Final -- a round-robin-style tournament -- hosted at the new Esports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor Hotel and Casino on Tuesday, June 19. The top two gamers will emerge from the round robin to face off in a best-of-three final round to determine the 2018 NHL Gaming world champion, who could receive upward of $50,000, a championship trophy and would appear during the NHL Awards in Vegas.

"What we wanted to do, and this is a little bit different than everyone else, is to be as inclusive as possible," Wachtel said. "This is a participatory vehicle for us. We're making it extremely simple. It's a test-and-learn phase for us."

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com