A few years ago, computer games were just fun. Today it has grown into eSports, which makes quite a lot of money. Today, even the most popular bookmaker companies (you can find their rating on Meta.reviews) have opened lines for eSports, and during the period when all sports events were canceled due to the coronavirus, many bettors began to bet on it and earn good money.
In this article, we will tell you which disciplines are most popular among eSports bettors.
1. Dota 2 and League of Legends
In Dota 2 and League of Legends, the team that managed to destroy the main building (throne) of the opponent wins. Before the match teams choose five heroes, which are distributed on three lines. On these lines creeps go on both sides towards each other. The outcome of the meeting is decided not only the ability to quickly and correctly press keys on the keyboard but also tactics, the right selection of heroes, and understanding of the game. At first glance, it all seems quite complicated, but in fact, you can figure it out quickly enough (there is a reason why hundreds of millions of players around the world are into these games).
Besides the standard betting on the winner, the exact score, total maps, and handicaps, in Dota and LoL you can bet on the First blood (which team will make the first kill on the map), the first destroyed structure, the total number of kills on the map, committed by a team, on which team will kill first Roshan (in Dota) or Naresh (LoL), the duration of the map in minutes and many other options.
Players betting on various events in these games can show their tactical prowess to the maximum. To start making successful predictions, all you need to do is watch big tournaments and professional teams.
2. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
In another popular discipline, CS: GO, things are a little simpler. Before the match, the teams choose not the heroes, but the cards on which they will play. Most often, each team has its map pool, a set of maps on which they can play a little better. Quite often, teams lose on the maps that the opponent chose, but win back on their choice. Matches are usually played in the “up to two wins” format, and the third, decisive map, is chosen randomly and does not depend on the teams’ decisions.
The match is attended by two teams of five people, terrorists, and counter-terrorists. When playing as terrorists, you need to either kill all opponents or plant a bomb and protect it until it explodes in 40 seconds. For counter-terrorists, victory can be won either by killing all rivals, or by defusing the bomb before the explosion, or by preventing the terrorists from planting this bomb before the end of the round, provided that at least one of the team members is still alive.
In CS: GO, you can bet on the exact score on the maps, on the total of maps (if the competition goes up to two or three wins), on the map’s handicap. You can also bet on events such as the first kill of an opponent’s character in a given round, on the total number of frags (kills) in a given round, on whether a kill will be made with a knife or an electric shock, whether someone will make an ace (kill all five opponents by one player), by the number of rounds and many other events.
3. Overwatch
Overwatch is a fast-paced first-person shooter with multiple maps, objectives, and a variety of heroes, developed by Blizzard Entertainment.
Overwatch has a huge 40 million active player base. The Overwatch League is an international eSports league with 20 city teams and the world’s best players. The regular season of 280 matches begins in February and ends with the postseason playoffs in the fall.
You can bet on the winner of a match, handicap, or the winner of a particular tournament. The line is not very diverse, and therefore it is not so easy to constantly be in the black when betting on Overwatch. However, tournament organizers are constantly trying to offer viewers all the information of interest, fill resources with statistics and video matches.
4. FIFA
FIFA by EA Sports is one of the first eSports disciplines. E-Soccer began to gain popularity back in the early 2000s. FIFA was presented at the main cybersport competitions (WCG and ESWC). Along with the popularity of E-Soccer grew the popularity of betting on this discipline. However, you need to decide what exactly you want to bet on because FIFA is divided into two types, eSports match (where players are controlled by real people) and computer simulation game (E-Soccer).
Betting options are similar to soccer: the winner, a draw, the correct score, totals, handicaps, corner and yellow card statistics.
5. Fortnite
Fortnite is growing exponentially in popularity. The game was launched in 2017 by Epic Games, which took just two years to create a massive event that drew more than 2 million viewers worldwide.
Unlike direct competitors like PUBG, Epic Games’ project uses crafting mechanics. This means that in the game you don’t just need to run, shoot and collect weapons, but you need to competently collect resources and build structures.
You can bet on the winner of the game, total kills and the player who will take first place. It should be noted that all the listed bets can be made in the prematch mode and in live.
6. Rocket League
This wild mixture of soccer simulator and racing is rapidly gaining popularity and occupies its niche on the eSports scene. Despite its specificity, it is perfectly suited to the competitive format.
Particular interest in this game is since a huge number of different tournaments are held in its open spaces. It is still quite difficult to place successful bets on this discipline since there is not a lot of information. You need to be well versed in the entire eSports scene. The fact is that the strongest players are usually acquired by organizations that have a name and status in other directions.
You can bet on the winner of a single card, handicap by goals or cards, tournament winner, total cards played or the number of goals scored.
7. StarCraft
The timeless classic is still of interest to viewers and betting users. The game is a strategy game about the struggle of three races: Terran (humans conquering space), Zerg (insect-like creatures trying to take over as many planets as possible) and Protoss (highly advanced aliens with unique technologies). The game is set in the distant future. The ultimate goal is the complete domination of the map, which is only possible by destroying the troops and bases of the opponent. To win, the player must develop a base and troops, control and mine resources, and repel enemy attacks.
In the old days, StarCraft could easily bypass all the disciplines presented in this article, but now it does not have a high online or large audience. But the competitions are held quite often, although they mostly take place over the network, and not in LAN mode.
Bookmakers offer to bet on the winner (both of one card and the whole meeting), the duration of the card or fight, the total of cards won and the personal result of each player.
