The most popular esports games for betting

By William Davis

|

Jun 19, 2021

Reading time: 3 min

The world of esports is growing each day as more people both watch and participate, but with esports tournaments getting bigger another industry has made changes to follow trends. The betting industry has added esports betting to their menus and passionate players, gamers, and punters can now potentially make money on their favorite games. So, if you would like to try your luck in esports betting, here are the most popular games in this industry at the moment. 

The big three

For about a decade now, there have been three big games that have been dominant within the esports market. Those three games are DOTA 2, League of Legends and Counter-Strike. These three games have had steady viewership and have provided some of the most exciting and intense battles in esports. 

Dota 2 and LoL are MOBAs, with both featuring two teams of five players facing each other in a square map with three lanes. The goal is to be the first team to destroy the base of the opposing team. Dota 2 is the one that constantly breaks records for tournament prize pools, but the League of Legends World Championship is typically the biggest tournament of the year. 

Counter-Strike, on the other hand, is a first-person shooter where one squad is looking to detonate a bomb in the enemy’s base and the other is trying to prevent it. Each game takes place over 30 rounds, with teams winning a round by either detonating the bomb, defusing the bomb, killing the enemy team, or running down the clock. 

Games that look like traditional sports

Since esports betting is very similar to traditional sports betting, it is no surprise that there are games that are inspired by traditional sports that have abundant betting markets. And they are extremely popular in the esports world. 

The most iconic is FIFA and many football fans adore it. When it comes to FIFA, players can bet on various matches or their results, just like in soccer betting. If you’re new to esports betting, then you can start with FIFA since the rules are similar to regular sports betting and the setting is familiar to sports fans. 

This is not the only type of football that has its esports game. Madden NFL, based on American football, is a common title for esports betting as well. The Madden 2021 Club Championship gathers all the best players of the game and they battle to win a piece of the $750,000 prize pool. 

Of course there is something for basketball fans, too, with the popular NBA 2K. Even famous basketball players refer to this game often since it has its own TV channel and an esports league. 

Other popular games

Almost any game that has a competitive mode can be part of esports games and many of them can be picked up and played by anyone at the casual level. 

One such game is Valorant. Despite being new, it still gathers great players from other similar FPS games for competition. Valorant mixes the hero shooter mechanics of titles like Overwatch and Apex Legends with tactical shooters like CSGO. 

Speaking of which, another popular FPS game is Overwatch, where teams of six compete to either escort a payload to its destination or capture the objective. The Overwatch League is the official esports league of Overwatch, with teams looking to work their way into the Grand Finals. 

StarCraft is another game with an enormous history and set the stage for what esports could become with time. The game isn’t as big as it used to be, but still has dedicated fans and action can often be found on it with betting sites. 

Esports betting is still quite young and new in the industry, but each year brings new developments, along with more fans. There are also new games that come out each year, making it a moving industry that one should keep an eye on.

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