Last year, e-sports bets took a big leap as more and more people discovered this emerging betting market. The industry went from niche to mainstream in very little time and now it rivals conventional sports for tournament views. Free viewing platforms like Twitch and YouTube made it possible for people to watch players dominate their favourite games. With that, the best gamers grew their fanbases to the millions.
Now several high-profile global tournaments bring the best players and teams all around the world, offering tens of millions of dollars in prize pools. One of the most established global e-sports tournaments, dating back to 2011, League of Legends World Championship now offers an eye-watering $5 million prize pool. This is a big step up from the inaugural $100,000 purse.
Surpassing that with its own $70+ million purse, Esports World Cup is a broader esports festival that draws in teams and fans for seven weeks of competitive gaming every summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The most recent edition featured competition in 25 different games and 28 teams. The biggest share of the prize pool is reserved for the Club Championship, which go out to the top 24 clubs in the festival with a focus on performing well across a variety of events.
With this surge in e-sport competition, the betting opportunities are great. Our sportsbook specializes in e-sports betting, providing a variety of ways to get in the action. If you’re new to e-sportsf betting, keep reading to learn about all of the different types of e-sports bets available here. With a little industry insight and a good understanding of the betting markets, you should be able to find value on the betting lines for all of the sanctioned events on the calendar.
Outrights
Outrights is akin to futures betting with conventional sports. Similar to betting on which team will win the Super Bowl, this market lets you to think big and back the team you think will win a tournament. There is typically good value on the odds board with outrights since it can be a big gamble. This makes it perfect for fans who know which teams typically dominate popular tournaments.
For example, G2 Esports were +150 favourites to win the Counter-Strike 2 tournie, Stake Ranked this spring. Betting $100 on them would yield a $150 payout.
Bets on the outright winner are paid after the tournament concludes. This means you do have to wait longer to get paid compared to betting on match winners, which we’ll discuss shortly.
To Reach the Final
Trying to predict the outright winner is risky business, but guessing if a team will make it to the final is a bit easier. As a result, the payout will always be lower. For example, at the same Stake Ranked tournament mentioned above, G2 Esports were —250 to reach the final. That means a $250 bet would award a $100 payout. Note: bigger and smaller bets are allowed and scale up and down accordingly.
Team vs. the Field
Another intriguing betting market that is popular when there’s a heavy favourite is Team vs. the Field. This bet lets you decide if the favourite will win, or a different team (the field) will pull an upset. The odds for the favourite are typically the same as for the outright winner.
Following the Stake Ranked examples from above, you could bet The Field (vs. G2 Esports) for —200 or G2 Esports (vs. the field) for +150.
Match Winner
Whereas the Outright Winner lets you bet on tournament winners, Match Winner bets let you bet on one leg or series of the tournament. When two teams go head-to-head, you can bet on who will win the match, using moneyline odds.
Moneyline
The moneyline is the simplest way to bet on any sport, it works the same way in UFC betting, for example. Simply bet on the team or player you think will win, and get paid if your instinct proves true. Payouts are based on the odds you took at the time of the bet. In our sportsbook, American odds are default, but it is possible to switch from American to decimal and fractional.
With American odds, the favourite typically has negative odds, which show how much money you’d need to bet to win $100. For example, if the Carolina Royal Ravens were —800 heavy favourites in their Call of Duty matchup against Cloud9 New York, they’d pay $100 on an $800 bet, or $10 on an $80 bet.
Underdogs, on the other hand, typically have positive odds with this format; they show how much you’d win on a $100 bet. For example, if the Cloud9 New York team was a +475 underdog, they’d pay $475 for a $100 bet, or $47.50 for a $10 bet.
Sometimes you’ll see both teams with the same odds, typically —110 or —115; when this happens the pick is 50/50, and there’s just a small amount of vigorish (built-in commission) for the house.
Map Handicap
By incorporating a handicap in the bet, each team has a win or loss margin to work within; the favourite must beat the opposing team by a minimum number of maps, as dictated by the handicap. This is the same as spread betting for conventional sports.
For example, if Riyadh Falcons are —1.5-maps against Vancouver Surge (+1.5), the Falcons have to win by at least two maps to cover the bet. If they win by just 1, or lose outright, the Surge win.
All map handicap bets have odds that show the payout if your bet wins. These American odds work just as explained above; —110 odds mean a $110 bet would yield a $100 payout.
Totals (overs/unders)
Most esports matchups have multiple rounds to determine a match winner. You’ll typically see a best-of-3, best-of-5, or even best-of-7 format. These formats make it possible for sportsbooks to offer totals betting markets for fans.
Also known as over/under betting, totals ask you to guess how many rounds will be needed to determine the winner. For example, in a best-of-5, a winner could be declared in just three rounds/maps if one team wins them all, or it could go all the way to five if the winning team drops two.
If you see a 3.5 total with o and u representing over and under, you could bet the over if you think that more than three rounds will be played, or take the under, if you think it’ll be a short series. American odds are assigned to the over and unders, showing what you’d win if your bet wins.
Correct Score
One step further than totals, the Correct Score betting market lets you try to predict what a match’s exact outcome will be, including picking the winner and score. For example, if Gen.G is facing Lyon Gaming in a LoL match, the Correct Score options could be:
GenG Winner
3-1 (+295)
3-0 (-375)
3-2 (+1300)
Lyon Gaming Winner
2-3 (2-3)
0-3 (0-3)
1-3 (+4000)
As you can see, the Correct Score betting structure makes it possible to earn very high payouts because of the built-in risk.
Prop Bets
Bets that focus on in-game accomplishments are considered props in e-sports betting and beyond. These can include things like First Blood, First to 10 Kills, Total Kills, or Pistol Round Wins for Counter-Strike 2. We’ll go over each bet individually.
First Blood
The First Blood prop lets bettors to back the team or player they think will get the first kill in a round. This type of bet is especially popular with Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games like Dota 2 and League of Legends.
First to 10 Kills
Just like with the First Blood prop, First to 10 Kills is an option with MOBA games like Dota 2 and League of Legends. Back the team you think will rack up 10 kills first—then get paid if you were right.
Total Kills
This prop uses totals to let bettors weigh in on how many kills will be tallied by both sides, and it can be for a single round or map, or an entire match. Bettors take the over or under and are paid based on the odds offered at the time of betting.
Pistol Rounds
Available with Valorant and Counter-Strike 2, Pistol Round props let you bet on things in the Pistol Rounds when players have limited currency. Within this round, you can bet on things like First Blood, Method of Victory, Total Kills and the Round Winner.
With all this information gleaned, you can browse the betting lines at Ozoon to see these betting markets in action. Our sportsbook is an esports betting haven with fresh new odds added daily. If you don’t have an account already, sign up for one today, it’s quick, easy and free. Then you can start to get invested in these tournaments and enjoy a payout every time your esports instincts prove true.