Esports have seen an explosive rise in popularity in recent years. A wider audience made it more lucrative, and now even the big names like Paris Saint-Germain are starting to support esports teams. Big sportsbooks are also in on it, offering teams sponsorships and promoting events on their websites. It is high time to join the hype train and start betting on esports and if you wonder how, we are going to tell you exactly what to do in this article.
What Are Esports?
Basically speaking, they are competitive video games, usually the online ones, and come in many flavours, such as shooters, strategies, simulators, and fighting games. Their history began in the 1990s with small-scale local and sometimes international tournaments and conventions, but the industry has been growing steadily ever since. Nowadays, competitions are massive events with multimillion-dollar prize pools; some of the most notable ones are Dota 2’s The International, CS:GO’s Katowice Major, and League of Legends' Worlds.
Most Popular Esports in the World
Although pretty much every game with multiplayer features and a player vs. player mode will most likely have a dedicated competitive scene, some games just have a predisposition towards becoming full-fledged esports, which is evident in their gameplay or other aspects that draw people into it. Let us talk about some of the most popular esports in the world and examine why they are as big as they are.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive
CS:GO, as it is often called, is a team-based first-person shooter with tactical elements.
In it, two teams consisting of five people each play as either terrorists, whose goal is to successfully plant and detonate the bomb, or counter-terrorists, who are trying to prevent the detonation and eliminate the opposing team. Each side has its own selection of weapons and gadgets, which are bought with money and awarded after each round.
It is the latest instalment in the Counter-Strike series, with previous games also being very successful and even genre-defining, producing numerous clones and imitators as well as inspiring developers across the globe to build upon such an excellent concept.
Dota 2
Defence of the ancients has come a long way. A game that began in 2002 as a custom map for Warcraft 3, it is now one of the world's largest esports, with millions of players and tournaments with prize pools that sometimes exceed $40 million dollars.
Dota is a team-based game in the MOBA genre, which stands for massive online battle arena. In it, two teams of five clash upon a map, gaining levels and getting stronger in the process. The end goal of the match is to destroy the opposing team’s base.
Dota 2 also has the largest and most lucrative event in all of esports, which is The International, the most important tournament of the year with prizes in the millions.
Starcraft 2
Starcraft, the most popular real-time strategy game on the planet, is a notoriously difficult game that requires a significant amount of time and dedication. It mixes up planning with quick wits, reaction, and raw instinct. The average pro-player usually makes around 350 actions per minute; they are practically clicking and pressing buttons 6-7 times a second, which is 2 times faster than most people can type on a keyboard. Combine that with the fact that Starcraft is practically a game of extra-complex chess, and you can see how these people are all almost geniuses.
According to their skill, the winnings these players receive are pretty hefty, although not the biggest.
Why Should You Start Betting on Esports?
The answer is quite simple, really, and it is money. With such a meteoric rise in popularity came funding, sponsorship, and massive financial flow, and yet esports remain on the periphery, an outlier if you will, when compared to football, basketball, or tennis. It is a new frontier, an unsown field, and you might be the one who is going to make a fortune on it.
What Is the Best Place to Bet on Esports?
There are a lot of platforms that offer esports betting at the moment, but only a few actually do it properly. The best one in Nigeria, in our opinion, is 1xBet. Not only does it cover almost every event in a large number of disciplines, but it also provides great odds. Another notable benefit of 1xBet is their app, which is available on both iOS and Android devices, and if you are wondering how to get it, you should check out this article: https://1xbetnigeria.ng/1xbet-app-how-to-download-the-mobile-app-in-nigeria/
In Conclusion
Esports betting is becoming so popular for a reason. It is exciting, fresh, and profitable, but most importantly, it provides a place for passion expression for serious gamers and even those who are into gaming casually. It does not matter whether you like Dota, CS, or even something like Rocket League. There will always be a match to watch in a game you enjoy and know a thing or two about. So what are you waiting for? Go out there and show the world that videogames are not made for children and that they are a proper hobby that can not only be enjoyable but profitable as well.
