After a great PLL season full of bets that paid off, wager woes cause by bets that didn't and HUGE upsets, it is time to look back on the season to see which teams were able to provide for their loyal bettors and who left their bettors digging through the couch looking for spare change.
Archers LC (5-5)
The Archers, who left a lot to be desired after being the book’s favorite in nine of their 10 games, finished the year at 4-6 against the spread. Even with their fast paced, high scoring, offense the Archers struggled to keep up with the book all season. In the lone game where they were picked as the underdog by DraftKings, they were able to secure some money with a straight up win in Week 7 against the Redwoods.
Atlas LC (7-4)
The Atlas were able to finish the year in second place on the against-the-spread (ATS) leaderboard. Jeff Teat helped his team to a 7-4 finish against the spread and didn't even play in the team's first two games (1-1 ATS). They were picked as the favorite in a majority of their games and covered three out of the four games that they were the underdog.
Cannons LC (3-7)
The new guys on the block put up an amazing year behind Lyle Thompson. They went 6-4 against the spread which tied them for the third spot on the ATS leaderboard. They were able to beat the book almost every time they were given the + money (only failing to cover as underdogs in their playoff matchup against the Atlas). That being said, the Cannons only covered once as the favorite on the book and weren’t able to stack up many straight-up wins.
Chaos LC (7-5)
Led by the “Under”-taker and PLL MVP Blaze Riorden, the Chaos finished the season at the top of the league as the 2021 PLL Champions and they also took the top spot on the ATS leaderboard, going 8-4 against the spread. After starting the year off 2-4, they covered every single game through their championship run. The Chaos were only picked as the favorite in ONE game all year (and unfortunately couldn’t find a way to win or cover in that one), but they were able to go 8-3 as the underdog. The Chaos shined all year for under bettors as well, finishing eight of their 12 games under the line. Only one other team was able to match that number.
Chrome LC (2-7)
The Chrome’s season wasn’t impressive in many areas. They were able to get a BIG payday for bettors who picked them against the Whipsnakes when they snapped the reigning champs 672-day win streak. After going 2-7 against the spread, they finished dead last on the ATS leaderboard. Their only two covers came as 2.5-point underdogs. They were picked as the underdog in all but two of their games this season and they were only able to squeak out two wins (and covers) as the ‘dog.
Redwoods LC (5-5)
Acquiring TD Ierlan dramatically increased the Redwoods' success at the stripe. Coach Nat St. Laurent's squad was only able to go 4-6 against the spread, tying them at 6th on the ATS leaderboard. The book had them as the underdog only twice this season. They were able to upset the Whipsnakes to grab a nice win as the ‘dog in their first matchup, however, they weren’t so lucky in their quarterfinal contest.
Waterdogs LC (6-4)
As Doug Greenberg will tell you, the Waterdogs finished the season on an absolute tear going into the playoffs. They were able to go 6-3 against the spread, though they weren’t able to cover in their lone playoff game. For as good as they finished the season, they were only picked as the favorite in two of their games all year. Coach Andy Copelan's squad was a solid pick as the under "dog" this season, going 5-3. They were also a phenomenal play for bettors who like to see stout defense. They finished eight of their 10 games under the line, tying them with the Chaos for most in the league.
Whipsnakes (7-5)
The reigning 2019 and 2020 champs were only picked as the underdog in 3 of their games this season and were able to finish with a 100% cover rate as the dog. After coming up just short of the three-peat, the Whipsnakes went 5-7 against the spread and finished at 5th place on the ATS leaderboard.
PLL Betting Trends
Looking back on the year, which bets were the most profitable? Money lines were dead even with 21 favorites pulling out the win and another 21 games ending as upsets. The under cashed an impressive 25 times (or 59.52% of the time). The Waterdogs and Chaos were happy to provide eight unders each, which accounted for 64% of the unders for the year. Finally, bettors who liked to root for the underdog when it came to the spread had a great year. The + spread cashed 29 times (69.05% of the time). 62% of these came from only three teams: the Cannons (5), Chaos (8) and Waterdogs (5).
Now, which team was the most fun to bet on this year? While there can be multiple arguments on that front, at the end of the year, the Chaos had the most exciting season on the books. Only being picked as the favorite in one of their games allowed them to cash out + spread bettors 75% of the time this year and every single time through the back half of their season. The Chaos accounted for 28% of all of the league's underdog covers on the year. They led the league in ATS record and tied with the Waterdogs with the most unders in the league. To say the least, picking the Chaos this year should’ve left you feeling pretty rich.
As for our guys that run the Bet On Lacrosse podcast, how’d they do this year? The man you may know as the co-host with the co-most, Doug Greenberg, finished 23-19 (54.8%) for his ATS picks and ended just shy of 50% this season on "Best Bets" and "extra money opportunities" (EMOs). He was able to cash four of his “Best Bets” and five of his EMOs which totaled to nine cashes on 20 bets. Dan went 25-17 (59.5%) ATS and was able to cash in six of each of his "Best Bets" and EMOs, finishing at 60% on the nose at the end of the year.