Esports betting is booming. It lets fans enjoy their favorite games and place smart bets. No matter your betting experience, knowing the fundamentals is crucial for success. It helps you make smarter choices and boosts your chances of winning.
22Bet is a top sportsbook for esports. You can bet on major tournaments and matches in Dota 2 and CS: GO, two of the biggest games in competitive gaming. You can find many betting markets. This covers match winners and in-game events such as first blood, total kills, and map picks. This guide explains the main types of bets. We’ll also share strategies and tips to help you win more when betting on esports.
Why Can’t eSports be Ignored Anymore?
Esports has exploded recently, becoming a hot topic among sports fans worldwide. The sphere is changing quickly. New disciplines are popping up. Tournament sizes are getting bigger. More professional players and amateurs are joining. Also, prizes are shifting in the eSports world. For example, in 2018, the prize pool of the leading Dota 2 tournament, The International, was $25,532,177. Regarding CS: GO, the World Electronic Sports Games boasts the largest prize pools. In 2016-2017, $1,500,000 was awarded each.
Among the popular and titled players, there are many representatives of CIS countries. Alexey “Solo” Berezin, a standout captain from Russia, is one of the biggest names in Dota 2. Early in his career, he was caught betting against himself. The sum of his bet was $322. For this, he was suspended from StarLadder tournaments for a year. Since then, 322 has been analogous to “contract match.” In the next few years, Solo built one of the top teams, Virtus.pro. Together, they won several world championships.
If betting on something is popular, all bookmakers diligently follow this direction. Indeed, esports betting attracts more and more attention every year. In particular, bets on Dota 2 and CS: GO matches are among the most popular. Esports betting isn’t limited to money—you can also wager skins, but we’ll dive into that later.
How Bookmaker Challenges Can Work in Your Favor
Bookmakers set odds based on many factors, but team and player stats play a big role. Yet, keeping track of stats in esports is tough because teams constantly change.
Most teams don’t stay the same for more than a year. New players join, others leave, and fresh teams are always forming. Young players rise through the ranks, get noticed, and join bigger teams. Because of this, bookmakers struggle to gather accurate data.
Often, big teams are heavily favored, with odds around 1.2. But new teams can surprise everyone. Playing in front of a big crowd can boost their performance, and the thrill of a major tournament drives them to do their best.
It’s not the players who make outcomes unpredictable—Dota 2 and CS: GO are always changing. Game updates, new strategies, and small adjustments can impact matches in ways even experts don’t expect. These changes can help underdog teams win against the top favorites. This makes esports betting both tough and thrilling.
Frequent patches in Dota 2 and CS: GO also often lead to unexpected results. What if the goal width changed slightly before each big soccer tournament? Or in baseball, what if the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate grew by a few inches?
Esports betting sites can have different odds for the same event. This happens because of several factors. This speaks to bookmakers’ shortcomings, which can benefit players with enough information.