A Beginner’s Guide to e-Sports Betting

An Introduction to e-sports  

Today video gamers compete across a huge number of games. Before you start betting on them, it is important that you are familiar with them. Here is a small guide to the most popular games. 

Counter-Strike Global Offensive 

This is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series and it is easily one of the most popular e-sports. It sees two teams compete with each other, the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists, with the aim being to eliminate the opposition while completely various other tasks. There are nine game modes and each is slightly different. Terrorists may have to plant bombs or defend hostages while the Counter-Terrorists may have to prevent the bombs being planted, diffuse bombs, or rescue hostages.  

League of Legends 

Around 8 million people play League of Legends every day. The game makes use of micro-transactions, which means that players need to purchase items from the game store using a currency known as Riot Points. The game sees players assume the role of a Champion, and each Champion has its own abilities. Players then battle individually or in a team against other players, teams, or computer-controlled Champions. The aim is to destroy the opposition’s Nexus, the heart of their base, while completing other tasks.  

DOTA 2 

DOTA 2 is the most lucrative of e-sport games. It involves matches in which two teams of five players each compete. Each player in a team controls a Hero that has a unique set of abilities and a different style of play. Teams must defend their base while trying to destroy the opponent’s Ancient, which is a structure located in the base of each time. During a match, players are able to collect items that can then be used against the opposition.  

Fortnite Battle Royale 

This game has become something of a cultural phenomenon. It sees either a single player, a duo, or a squad of three or four players dropped from a Battle Bus on to the game’s map. They must then battle the opposition while scavenging for weapons, resources, and other items, that will help in the battle. As the match progresses, the game becomes more dangerous and players need to avoid the toxic storms that damage health. The last surviving player or squad wins.  

Call of Duty 

Call of Duty, and its numerous sequels, requires teams of between 7 and 10 players to compete against each other. Players must shoot each other on sight while trying to complete mission objectives. The game takes place in a war-like environment and the last surviving team wins.  

StarCraft II 

StarCraft II is a real-time strategy game. It is set four years after its predecessor, StarCraft: Brood War. The game sees the character Jim Raynor lead his group against Terran Dominion. The game features a number of new characters as well as characters from the original game, and takes players through a number of new locations. 

Important e-Sport Tournaments 

There are a number of major e-sport tournaments each year, here are a few of them: 

• The International is a DOTA 2 tournament run by the game’s creators and crowdfunded through in-game Battle Pass sales.
• The Fortnite World Cup is run by Epic Games and it is a Fortnite Battle Royale tournament. It is the most viewed event in the calendar with more than 2 million people watching video streams and over 23,000 people buying stadium tickets.  
• The League of Legends World Championship is organised by the game’s developer, Riot Games, and offers a prize pool in the millions. 
• The ESL Pro League is a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. It is considered to be the premier professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league.  

e-Sports Betting Markets 

There are often a huge number of betting markets available on e-sport events, and some of them are of course game specific. Here we will explain the most popular of markets and how you can use them to build a betting strategy.  

Winner Full Time 

This is the most basic type of bet you can place. It is a bet on which team or player will win. There is no option to bet on a draw, so as long as your chosen player/team wins, then you will win the bet.  

Handicap Betting 

In e-sports, handicap betting is usually available for maps or rounds. The idea of handicap betting is to give the underdog an advantage, which means that longer odds can be offered on the favourite, making the bets more attractive.  

For example, if you are betting on maps in Counter-Strike Global Offensive you may see Team A -1.5, Team B +1.5. This means that Team B has been given a 1.5 map advantage. Therefore, if you back Team A then they must win by at least two maps for you to win your bet. If you have backed Team B, then they must lose by no more than 2 maps for you to win your bet. You may find handicap markets available on the full time as well as on individual maps within a game.  

Over/Under Bets 

This type of bet requires you to bet on whether specific results or objectives will amount to more or less than the number set in the market. For example, it may be a bet on Total Kills, Maps or Game Rounds. An example on game rounds may be Over/Under 2.5. If you think that there will be 3 or more game rounds then you bet Over and if you think there will be just one or two then you bet Under. No matter what aspect of the game the market relates to, they always operate on this principle.  

Outrights 

These are markets that relate to a league or tournament as a whole rather than an individual game. The most basic and popular of these is betting on a team or player to be the overall winner. However, you may find other markets available, such as on which player will make the most kills or score the most points in the course of the league or tournament. The markets will be slightly different for every game and league, so it is always worth having a careful look at them to see what is available.  

In-Play 

In-play betting is a way to make watching e-sports even more exciting. These are betting markets that you can use while a game or match is taking place. You will find many of the same markets that were described above, but the odds will be updated in real time to reflect what is happening. This means that by watching carefully you may spot some exciting betting opportunities. Furthermore, there may be special markets allowing you to bet on the next thing to happen in a game, such as the next player to complete a mission, make a kill, or be killed.  

What to Consider When Betting on e-Sports  

Just as when betting on any sport, the key to placing successful bets on e-sports is to do your research. While there is no such thing as a guaranteed bet, the more knowledge you have, the better your chances are of winning. 

A logical place to start is with the games themselves. Before betting on a game, you should be familiar with it. This means that you should try to spend some time playing it so that you know how it works. At the very least, you should be watching videos of other players, both recorded and live streamed. 

You then need to start researching the different players and teams. You will find a huge amount of information to help you. There are plenty of statistics available including past match results, head-to-head matchups, and form guides. This will help you analyse the gameplay and style of the teams and players. You will see that some are more defensive and others are more aggressive. When planning your bets you need to consider the different styles and how they interact with one another.  

For example, in the game Fortnite Battle Royale, one player or team may decide to be very defensive and not try to kill the opposition in order to make it to the end of the game safely.  The team may collect the best available weapons and protective equipment and then at the very end try to kill the last standing opponents. Alternatively, a team or player could decide to go on the attack and kill everyone they come across. Both playing styles have different implications, and you should compare both strategies before deciding which one to bet on. 

When planning bets you can also make use of the wider gaming community. There are a huge number of forums, blogs and websites dedicated to e-sports, and you will find them a very valuable source of information. Through careful study of the games, players and teams, you will hopefully soon be able to start placing numerous successful bets.