Sport

Making a U-turn and heading in a slightly different direction here. Even though we’re not going to ride completely away from the wagers and the Celtic awesomeness, there won’t be any green and white horizontal hoops, cheering crowds or sports undertones. Instead, we have three recommended slot variations dedicated to another epic Celtic superhero – King Arthur himself! Whether or not his existence was a myth, one thing is certain, it has surely inspired a crazy amount of slot creators. Resulting from my http://slots.info/ research, here are the top 3 Celtic-themed titles which I believe are worth your time.

Xcalibur

Named after the legendary sword of King Arthur, this Microgaming slot offers a great payout (97% RTP) with bets starting from just £0.01. Featured on the 5 reels are Guinevere, Merlin, dragons, and the King himself. The sword symbol stands for Wild substituting for all symbols except for Bonus and Scatter. It often expands to cover half or even one entire reel. To boosts the excitement the game comes with two bonus features, one awarding free spins with an x2 win multiplier, and the other, a bonus round with great cash prizes. Overall, it’s one of those older games with slightly dated graphics but with a superb payout and an authentic medieval feel! A perfect match!

Avalon

Apparently, Microgaming shares a passion for Arthurian legend-based slots as my second recommendation is, again coming from their headquarters. There are 20 paylines on the 5-reel/3-rows layout and symbols such as a crown, a goblet, the Lady of the Lake, as well as the lower paying A, K, Q, 10, and J. The game boasts not one but two Wild symbols, Avalon being the first, and the treasure chest – the second. They appear respectively in the base game or during the free spins feature. 3 Scatters is what you’ll need to trigger the free spin action which comes with an up to x7 multiplier. What’s more, all wins can be doubled or quadrupled thanks to the featured gamble option. You just have to guess the colour or the suit of a face-down card. While playing the Avalon slot in demo mode, I scored a mega win thanks to the retriggering free spins round. Just saying!

Merlin’s Magic Respins

Merlin is the wise wizard from the legend of King Arthur and the inspiration for a series of 3 vivid NexGen slots. Merlin’s Magic Respins is the sequel to the also very popular Merlin’s Millions and features 5 reels, 4 rows, 50 paylines, and a magical 3D theme. The wizard is the Wild symbol appearing stacked on the reels. Any full stack of it triggers the Wild Respins feature during which Merlin is held on the reels until the Respins end. However, my favourite part of the game is the SuperBet. By choosing different SuperBet levels you place an additional wager which increases the award with up to 5 Respins. Playing without the SuperBet is still fulfilling but using the additional bet takes the awards and the fun up to a whole different level.

Just recently Celtic got kicked out of Europe – again. We’ve been walking the league, and kicking it while it’s down for good measure, but things simply aren’t going too well on the international scene. Come this summer it will be 15 years since our last final – though this isn’t saying much, since we’re not all haughty-like and demanding cup finals every year. The recent performances are not good though, we used to have much more bite. I’d count it 5 years since our last credible campaign, though the clash with Inter under Delia was a mighty effort.

However way you put it, though, the current crop simply cannot compare to the Strachan sides in the recent past. We used to be a much larger threat in the Champions League back then, and we reached the last 16 fairly frequently. There was a good mix between local lads and foreign talents, and we were playing our own brand of football. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that we should splash big bucks only cause all the rest of Europe has gone into a financial frenzy, but we could be a little smarter with our purchases.

The coming summer is crucial for the club. We have a good team brewing at the Parkhead, but we have to push on. We don’t have the financial pull to hold onto good players indefinitely, but we need to take advantage of the good crop and put together a strong team for the next 3-4 years. So, what are our biggest needs? That’s a fairly easy one – a goalkeeper, a right back, and a striker.

The last bid would be the most controversial, as had you asked me but a year earlier I would’ve said that we are well stocked in the striker department. However, I believe now that ol’ Kris is right and we have to start planning for life without Mousa. I’ve been very disappointed with the lad this year, and even if it turns out as ‘another’ prudent financial move, I am sick and tired of mercenaries going off south without having actually achieved anything with the Bhoys!

We’re sailing, bhoys and ghirls, we’re sailing! Some stormy waters and Russian winters in the way, but the future’s still bright! We’re not alone in loss nor draw, so let’s also win together!

Following those bhoys in green from afar ain’t easy, that’s for sure, and starting this blog so soon after another European kick in the teeth maybe isn’t the brightest idea, but we have to walk on! It might come out cheesy – but I really do believe in the golden dawn that awaits us after the storm! Money, the S*n and Willie Collum might be ruining the game, but football is still football. So why Celtic Twilight – cause Scottish football needs a renaissance, that’s why!

Things are not all doom and gloom, and I’ll tell you why if you stick around! The name’s Will, I ain’t on fire, but I’ve been following those Bhoys in green for twenty good year now. Come join me here in Celtic Twilight where we’ll discuss how the renaissance of Scottish football is to come – and all things Celtic, of course! We’ll walk the league, but there is a crucial summer coming that could mean a lot for Brendan Roger’s tenure on the helm.

We’ll also talk betting, cause the best thing we can do now is make a quick buck with the Bhoys – trust me, this is the best salve for the wounds from the Zenit loss! With the season moving to the business end, we have to be prudent and place smart bets. I’ll be focusing on Scottish football, but keep an eye out for long winning streaks in the British Premier League too.

So, brighten up lads, there is still a lot of football to be played the coming spring, and we’ll be right on top of it, that’s for sure. Keep your heads up and cheer the Bhoys in green!