Esports — or electronic sports — are all about competitive gaming, and we’re here to bring you up to speed on the hottest games, upcoming tournaments and esports betting. While names like Tom Brady and Christiano Ronaldo are synonymous with top-level athleticism, these global superstars are due to make way for athletes of a different calibre. Enter Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, Marcelo “Coldzera” David and Danil “Dendi” Ishutin, esports celebrities who, too, have cemented their legacy as the best of best.
Faker, Coldzera and Dendi are all professional players of the world’s most popular video games: League of Legends, Counter-Strike and DotA 2. These games are all part of the rapidly expanding electronic sports, the billion-dollar industry with record-shattering viewership and multi-million prize pools.
Want to learn more about betting on esports? Let’s take a look at the most competitive video games and the biggest esports events on the horizon.
The Games
The global phenomenon of esports isn’t a new concept by any means, but the enormous popularity of video games and viewership that rivals traditional sports may take you by surprise. The games below are played in a highly organised competitive environment, ranging from first-person shooters (FPS) to multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs) and single-player strategy games.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS:GO is the go-to game for millions of fans worldwide, a first-person shooter from Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment. As the players are split into two teams, the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists, they enter the fray to plant and defuse explosives, defend and rescue hostages and eliminate their opponents. Counter-Strike gameplay is all about objective control and choke-point dominance!
League of Legends
League of Legends, or LoL, is a highly strategic and team-oriented MOBA where two teams of five set forth to gain control of the map by taking on jungle monsters, destroying enemy structures and wiping out the competition. The first team to bring down the Nexus — an integral structure of the enemy’s base — wins the match.
Defense of the Ancients 2
DotA 2 is a MOBA from Valve, modelled after the original Defense of the Ancients mod for Blizzard’s Warcraft III. Similarly to LoL, DotA 2 is centred around map control through taking objectives, defeating opponents and gathering resources. Levelling the Ancient (the equivalent of a Nexus) to the ground takes the win.
Valorant
Valorant is a futuristic, team-based tactical shooter brought to you by Riot Games, the team behind League of Legends. Players are split into two teams and start out with nothing but a signature ability and a pistol, gradually building up their arsenal and empowering their character through gameplay.
StarCraft II
StarCraft II is a massive, real-time strategy game where players choose one of three races, Terran, Zerg or Protoss, to build a base, gather resources, grow an army and overtake the opponent’s territory. This game is known to be extremely demanding in terms of macro-managing and APM (actions per minute).
Rainbow Six Siege
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is an online tactical shooter developed and published by Ubisoft. Players assume control of attackers or defenders, and the gameplay puts heavy emphasis on cooperation and environmental destruction.
Leagues and Events
If you want to bet on esports, you wouldn’t want to miss these action-packed events!
CS:GO — Blast Premier, ESL One, Intel Extreme Masters (IEM), DreamHack Masters and other Major and S-Tier Counter-Strike events.
LoL — Spring and Summer Playoffs, Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), Rift Rivals and the League of Legends World Championship.
DotA 2 — ESL One, Dream League, The International, EPICENTER XL and the DotA Summit.
SCII — IME, DH Masters, Global StarCraft League and the WCS Global Finals.
Rainbow Six — ESL Pro League, Challenger League and the Six Invitational.
Esports Betting
Looking for the best esports betting site with frequent updates on the latest in the industry? Look no further than LV BET, your one-stop shop for all things esports. From the basics on what is esports betting and introductory game guides to match previews, tournament scoop and top-tier esports odds — we’ve got it all. Get on our level and beat the game with LV BET!