One of the most anticipated StarCraft 2 tournaments is just around the corner, with the world's best players getting ready to fight for their share of $500,000 in prize money.
A legendary esports event, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice is a CS:GO tournament held in Poland. In this guide, we'll go over all the participating teams, details about the schedule, as well as everything you need to know about IEM CS:GO betting!
The Dota Pro Circuit is in full flow. The next big tournament in this seasonal circuit is the PGL Arlington Major. Texas is the location, Esports Stadium Arlington is the venue of choice, and seventeen brilliant Dota 2 teams will be eyeing their chances here.
The LEC (League of Legends European Championship) is entering a new decade starting with the inaugural Winter split. From team rosters to an all-new tournament format, the league will be seeing much more competition.
Already one of the world's most enjoyable and popular First-person-shooter video games, CS:GO has been elevated to a professional esports game as well as a punter's favourite. In this article, we've listed the top CSGO betting sites, the most popular tournaments, a couple of betting tips, and more. Continue reading to find out!
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While the game is well-known for skin betting, CS:GO does arguably have the most prominent esports scene, as evinced by the number of esports tournaments held in its honour each year. And, although esports teams generally don’t stray too far away from the current meta, each match is still pretty unique.
For example, there are plenty of CS:GO maps in which certain teams excel; however, there’s always a possibility of an upset.
All of this makes CS:GO the perfect esports game for betting, no matter which esports country you come from. So, how do you start betting for real money on CS:GO, and what should you look out for? Find out below!
Thanks to the game's popularity, millions of people now watch professional CS:GO esports competitions – and, naturally, this means that many want to bet on them, too. We've compiled a few of the best CS:GO esports betting sites below, which all boast stellar reputations and are licensed by the proper authorities, meaning that they're completely safe to bet with.
bet365 have been recognised time and time again as one of the best betting sites in the world. On top of their sportsbook, poker, and casino products, they also offer odds on most major esports competitions, including for LoL, Dota 2, Rocket League, and StarCraft. bet365's CS:GO offerings include tournaments like cs_summit, Dreamhack Open, ESEA Premier, IEM, and more. You can also bet on Map markets, Game markets, Lines, and Outrights. Feel welcome to check out our full bet365 esports review here.
Betway is one of the major options for many when it comes to CSGO betting. The site allows you to bet on most CS:GO events, including ELEAGUE, PGL, Dreamhack, FACEIT, ECS, and many more. They're even one of the main sponsors of ESL, so you can be sure they know which events punters enjoy. Moreover, you can watch many competitions and enjoy live esports betting on their site, with all features displayed in a way that gives a great overview of what's going on. Don't miss out on our detailed Betway review to learn more what this great bookie has to offer!
GG.BET is a specialised esports betting site, offering odds on a wide variety of markets – among which include Dota 2, LoL, and, of course, CS:GO. You can also bet on smaller titles, such as Rainbow Six Siege, King of Glory, Overwatch, StarCraft II, and VALORANT. Their selection of CS:GO markets is very advanced, offering even more events than most other professional bookies. Read our full GG.BET review here.
Odds in general appear in three main formats: American, decimal, and fractional.
Bookies set CSGO betting lines the same way they do for any other sport – they decide what the chances are for each team to win based on previous data. At the same time, these lines are influenced by the bettors themselves.
As bookies see more money coming in on one side, they will often move the lines to make sure they balance their books. Because of this, any betting lines you see displayed may no longer accurately reflect the true probability – the good news here is that they could offer highly improved value as a result.
Often, betting on stats and over/under markets is a lot easier to predict than the outright winner, so make sure not to neglect these markets in your overall betting strategy.
Considering that the 2022 season is currently still ongoing, there haven’t yet been any announcements about tournaments in 2023. However, we’ll be updating this section as soon as more information – so be sure to watch this space!
Rank: 1st
HLTV Points: 896
Roster: S1mple, electroNic, sdy, Perfecto, b1t
Recent Results: IEM XVII – Cologne (🥈), BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022 (🥇), PGL Major Antwerp 2022 (🥈)
Natus Vincere has managed to climb to the top of the HLTV rankings and are currently the strongest CS:GO team – but not by much. Nonetheless, their previous three results were very impressive, including two second places and a win at the BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022. Will they be able to keep up this momentum and keep FaZe Clan away from first in the rankings? Only time will tell!
Rank: 2nd
HLTV Points: 889
Roster: Karrigan, rain, Twistzz, ropz, broky
Recent Results: IEM XVII – Cologne (🥇), Roobet Cup (🥈), BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022 (5th/6th)
FaZe Clan occupied first place for almost half the year, but Natus Vincere have now arrived to disrupt the party! However, there are still a couple of tournaments left in the year, and there’s no doubt that FaZe are already vying to return to the first position in the rankings. It’s also evident they’re in good form, judging by their recent tournament results.
Rank: 3rd
HLTV Points: 488
Roster: HObbit, interz, Ax1Le, sh1ro, nafany
Recent Results: IEM XVII – Cologne (11th), Roobet Cup (3rd/4th), IEM XVII – Dallas (🥇)
Sadly for Cloud9 fans from other games, this team has never been #1 in the global rankings. Although they came really close to achieving the top position at the beginning of 2022, they are currently the third best team in the world. Surprisingly, Cloud9 achieved a glorious victory at IEM XVII Dallas after defeating ENCE in the grand finals. While their future looks bright, they’ll first have to defend their spot against Astralis, who are hot on their heels.
Rank: 4th
HLTV Points: 446
Roster: Xyp9x, gla1ve, k0nfig, Farlig, blameF
Recent Results: IEM XVII – Cologne (3rd/4th), Roobet Cup (3rd/4th), Pinnacle Cup Championship (🥈)
Astralis is a name that has become synonymous with competitive CS:GO. That said, though this team was once the absolute powerhouse of the competitive scene, and the longest lasting in the #1 spot of the global rankings (for 121 weeks!), they have fallen from grace after a couple of roster shuffles. They are now fourth in the rankings, but are still capable of performances that bring back great memories for fans and supporters alike.
Rank: 5th
HLTV Points: 346
Roster: Dexter, frozen, JDC, torzsi, Bymas
Recent Results: IEM XVII – Cologne (5th/6th), Roobet Cup (11th), Global Esports Tour Dubai 2022 (🥈)
MOUZ are an interesting team with plenty of history behind them. Similar to Cloud9, they have also never been the top-ranked team in the world, but they were also close. For 13 weeks in 2019, MOUZ were the second-best team and could hold their ground against some pretty strong teams. Nowadays, they simply can’t break through, especially with the likes of NaVi and FaZe around. Nonetheless, fans are hopeful that they can at least climb a couple more spaces in the rankings.
You’ve got plenty of choices when it comes to CS:GO betting and the bookies that support it, but you’ll have a great time with the ones we mentioned in this article. Out of those, we’d say that 1xBet and bet365 are perfect for beginners.
That depends where you live. In many countries, states or territories, online betting on sports or esports is legal and regulated, whereas in some countries, there are no specific laws to regulate online betting. Most importantly, you’ll need to see whether or not it’s legal in your country.
To place a CS:GO bet, head to your chosen bookie, create an account or log in, and choose your market. It’s also recommended to compare and contrast a few bookies beforehand to determine which one suits your needs best.
Denmark’s “dupreeh” Peter Rasmussen is currently the highest-earning CS:GO player, with a total of $1,972,631.07 winnings from tournaments alone.
The biggest and most prestigious CS:GO tournament was the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, with a total of $2,000,000 in prize money. However, CS:GO tournaments are devised in such a way that there’s no literal ‘biggest’ one. BLAST Premier events and Majors are generally considered top-of-the-line events.
Through our in-depth guides and reviews, we are focused on providing the best insights into esports betting.