You can go down the list of cancelled, postponed or suspended sports leagues and games due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. The damn thing ruined everyone’s bracket, taking a chunk of action away from sportsbooks by halting March Madness. The NBA and NHL seasons were stopped with hopes of restarting at some point. Major League Baseball cancelled spring training games and pushed the start of its season back a few weeks. The XFL, professional golf and tennis and myriad other sports were doomed by the virus.
What’s Left to Wager On?
The global pandemic hasn’t shut down everything. There are games and matches to bet on, you just have to dig a little deeper. Those events seen on ESPN 8 “The Ocho” and written about in Obscure Sports Quarterly Magazine are getting more publicity than ever. Unfortunately the dodgeball championship isn’t being played.
Soccer
Russia is giving a big eff you to the coronavirus outbreak by providing a number of events to gamblers going through withdrawals. The Russian Premier League, the top division in the country, continues playing games with a big one this week between Tambov and Krylya Sovetov. It’s not big in terms of winning the 16-team league, rather to avoid being relegated to a lower league by finishing in the bottom two of the standings.
The RPL will play matches all week and for the foreseeable future with lines available at BookMaker.eu. The world’s most popular sport is being played in many countries around the globe despite the virus outbreak. And while nothing satisfies the betting public like the NCAA Tournament, sportsbooks are finding new and creative ways to keep their customers engaged.
Turkish Super Lig also has matches scheduled this week with odds available online. This is the highest division of soccer in the Turkish football league system with 18 teams competing. And if you haven’t done your homework on the Super Lig there’s always Liga 1, which consists of another 18 teams. You probably didn’t know there were that many clubs competing in the country, did you?
Other countries are offering up soccer matches despite the coronavirus pandemic with odds available for leagues in England, Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Australia. The games are out there, you just have to do a little work to find them.
Click here for a complete list of current available soccer betting odds.
Rugby
Have you ever heard of the National Rugby League? If not there’s a good chance it shows up on your radar soon. Australia’s premier rugby league just started its season so there’s an opportunity to get in on the ground floor for some exciting action. As of right now the season remains a go but that could change. Cancelling matches would be catastrophic for the league so the NRL is going to do everything it can to keep playing.
You can catch up on the league at their website nrl.com and wager on matches at online sportsbooks. In an attempt to attract more players, some sportsbooks are putting up more betting options for rugby and soccer matches.
Click here for today’s available rugby betting odds.
Esports
Don’t forget about Esports, as there are a number of excellent matchups going on this week in the League of Legends, which just so happens to be taking place in China. That actually makes some sense, as China is where a lot of people are now going since they are basically past the coronavirus after starting it in the first place. There is also some exciting CS: GO ESL Pro League action to wager on. Here is the weekday schedule.
LPL (League of Legends – China)
Edward Gaming vs. Rogue Warriors, March 17, 5 a.m. ET
Team WorldElite vs. FunPlus Phoenix, March 17, 7 a.m. ET
Victory Five vs. LNG Esports, March 18, 2 a.m. ET
Top Esports vs. Vici Gaming, March 18, 5 a.m. ET
JD Gaming vs. Bilibili Gaming, March 18, 7 a.m. ET
Dominus Esports vs. Team WorldElite, March 19, 2 a.m. ET
Invictus Gaming vs. LGD Gaming, March 19, 5 a.m. ET
Suning Gaming vs. FunPlus Phoenix, March 19, 7 a.m. ET
LNG Esports vs. Rogue Warriors, March 20, 2 a.m. ET
Edward Gaming vs. JD Gaming, March 20, 5 a.m. ET
Royal Never Give Up vs. Vici Gaming, March 20, 7 a.m. ET
Full Broadcast schedule for Week 3 LPL English.
Mark your calendars, and highlight our Match of the Week between @FPX_Esports and @RNGRoyal on the 22nd! pic.twitter.com/ZgEFEtad7D
— LPL (@lplenglish) March 16, 2020
CS:GO ESL Pro League
Team Vitality vs. GODSENT, March 16, 1 p.m. ET
Astralis vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas, March 16, 4 p.m. ET
Forze vs. Complexity, March 17, 9:30 a.m. ET
Natus Vincere vs. North, March 17, 1 p.m. ET
Fnatic vs. BIG, March 17, 5 p.m. ET
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Team Spirit, March 18, 9 a.m. ET
Astralis vs. GODSENT, March 18, 1 p.m. ET
Team Vitality vs. ENCE, March 18, 5 p.m. ET
Forze vs. North, March 19, 9:30 a.m. ET
Natus Vincere vs. BIG, March 19, 1 p.m. ET
Fnatic vs. Complexity, March 19, 5 p.m. ET
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. GODSENT, March 20, 9:30 a.m. ET
Team Vitality vs. Team Spirit, March 20, 1 p.m. ET
Astralis vs. ENCE, March 20, 5 p.m. ET
? It wouldn’t be a party without @natusvincere. #ESLProLeague Season 11 kicks off today, don’t miss a minute of the best CS on Earth! pic.twitter.com/9M8Z3MysdZ
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 16, 2020
Check out today’s available esports betting odds.
Darts
It’s not just a game to pass time while throwing down a few adult beverages at the local pub. Nope, with its own league consisting of the best players in the world, Premier League Darts is in the middle of its tournament that will last until September. There was a change to the schedule due to the coronavirus outbreak, but the tournament is back on track with the next round of Phase 1 scheduled for March 19.
Matchup odds for the next event are available at BookMaker.eu with four-time defending champion Michael van Gerwen a heavy favorite to defeat opponent Rob Cross.
Like I said earlier the game are out there to get you through the dark times. Mainstream sports in North America have been shutdown, but that’s not a reason to hibernate. The games are out there it just takes a little digging. Sportsbooks also want to stay open so they are coming up with the matchups worthy of some investigating. It requires time and effort on your part to handicap teams and players. If you’re looking to get your fix then you have time to do the homework in order to turn a profit.
