Slovakia Tipos Extraliga Betting Tips
The Tipsport Liga is the highest level of the ice hockey league system in Slovakia. It was once one of the strongest leagues in the world, with the IIHF ranking it as the fifth-strongest in Europe in 2009, and the Hockey News publication considering it the sixth-strongest in the world in 2012, behind the NHL, KHL, Swedish Hockey League, SM-liiga and the Czech Extraliga. However, it has dropped since then, with a number of other global ice hockey leagues now considered stronger.
Nevertheless, it remains an important league in the European ice hockey system. It is currently known as the Tipsport Liga, with the playoffs known as the Slovnaft Playoff, due to sponsorship reasons, but has historically been known as the Extraliga, and its roots are in the Czechoslovak Extraliga which ceased to exist after Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
Tipsport Liga Key Teams
Interestingly, since the 2018-19 season, the league also includes two teams from Hungary, taking the total number of teams up to 13. Given that two teams have dominated the league since its inception in 1994, the betting odds for the league centre around those two sides – HC Slovan Bratislava and HC Kosice.
Those two sides have won eight titles each in 26 completed seasons of the Tipsport Liga, showing the extent of their dominance. However, there has been a bit of a change in the power dynamics in the league, with HC ‘05 Banska Bystrica winning the last three seasons. They are the most recent champions as well. In contrast, HC Slovan Bratislava last won the league in 2012, and HC Kosice in 2015.
A total of seven teams have won the title at least once, which, in an 11-team league, shows a decent level of competition. Of course, this has been reflected in the Tipsport Liga betting odds, with Banska Bystrica being installed as favourites for the playoffs for this season at EagleBet top betting partners before it was cancelled due to the coronavirus.
The 2020 regular season had been completed, though, with Banska Bystrica ending on top of the pile; one of the reasons for them to be favourites in the betting odds, along with their recent dominance of the league.
Tipsport Liga Format And Structure
The lowest-ranked team in the Tipsport Liga plays in a best-of-seven series playoff, known as the PlayOut, with the best team from the second division, the Slovak 1. Liga, to determine which team will play in the Tipsport Liga the following season. Each team plays 55 games during the regular season in a round-robin format.
The top six teams in the league at the end of this stage qualify directly for the playoffs, with the teams ranked 7-10 playing a best-of-five series for the remaining two spots. The playoff stage sees the eight teams seeded, and then an elimination tournament commences, with a best-of-seven series between teams to determine who advances to the next round.
The four teams to make it to the semi-finals are re-seeded, and then the final takes place between the two winners, to decide the champion of that particular Tipsport Liga season.
Bet In The Slovakia Tipos Extraliga
This format, and the number of matches, means that the chances of betting on a team with good odds are greater, with multiple online betting markets available to upset the odds in the Tipsport Extraliga.
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