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.
Given that Dota 2 is a complex esport, spectators unfamiliar with the game might struggle to understand and keep up with the game. The same can be said for interested bettors, which is why we’ve come up with a comprehensive guide to better equip you for the world of Dota 2 betting. Read on to learn more about various Dota 2 tournaments, betting strategies, and teams to look out for:
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Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) where 5 players from each team choose from a collection of over a hundred unique heroes to play. Each hero has a unique set of skills that can synergize well with other heroes, certain items, and specific strategies.
Throughout the course of the game, players make their heroes stronger by farming gold, gaining experience, purchasing items, and leveling up abilities. The Dota 2 map contains two sides, the Radiant and the Dire, which are separated by a diagonal river. The map is also split into three lanes, top, middle, and bottom, and are lined by towers that attack enemies on each side.
At the bottom left side of the map is the Radiant base which contains the fountain, shop, and Ancient. At the top right of the map is the Dire’s. When heroes die, they later respawn in their base’s respective fountain.
A Dota 2 game normally lasts around one hour and ends when one team destroys the enemy’s Ancient.
Above, we promised to touch base on Dota 2 special bets. Most people are not familiar with terms associated with Dota 2. This is why we are here to help you in your road to betting on Dota 2 esports. We will go over the most popular Dota 2 special bets down below.
This special bet determines how many maps in the series (either best of 3 or best of 5) will be played. For instance, if a particular match is played in the best of 3 series, and you want to bet on two maps to be played in total, you need to place a bet on Under 2.5 maps to be played. It’s as simple as that.
There is a lot of value to be found in this special bet. If you see that a team picked early game heroes, then you know that they will look to grab kills early on. A Templar Assassin with an early gold lead and a roaming Tiny are just some of the heroes that come to our mind that can burst opponents quickly and fast. So, if you spot that one team has a lot of early game “squishy” heroes, race to kills bet should immediately come to your mind.
This is a term commonly used in MOBA esports that determines who is going to get the first kill in the match. Once again we are coming back to early game heroes. If a lane is set up with multiple stuns and disables, it is literally impossible for their target to live. If you have any knowledge about this game, you know exactly what we are talking about. Heroes with high early-game DPS paired with stuns and crowd-control is a must for this bet to work.
If we are talking about fast Roshan, then only one hero comes to our mind, that being Ursa. His spells allow him to dish a ridiculous amount of damage to neutral camps and creeps which only means one thing. Roshan is going down fast. Consider this bet if you see Ursa picked. The same can be said for Templar Assassin as teams that draft her will also look for an early Aegis to push their advantage.
Dota 2 is one of the most popular esports in the world with plenty of interested bettors. With this, operators offer three different betting options in the form of pre-match betting, live/in-play betting, and tournament/outright betting.
Some punters go for Dota 2 live betting as they prefer looking at the draft first while others tend to bet on matches before they start as they fully trust the team they are betting on. In extreme cases, certain bettors enjoy placing money on tournament favorites, or their favorite team to go all the way to win the title and this can be done with outright/tournament betting. There is plenty of variety in Dota 2 bets so read on to learn more about them.
There is no denying that pre-match betting is the most popular Dota 2 betting market right now. The same goes for betting on other traditional sports. Betting on matches before they are live set pillars for modern betting.
How does it work? Dota 2 betting sites offer odds on matches. A few years back, the only pre-match market available was a simple “match-winner” bet. Right now, there are over 30 different Dota 2 special bets that we will touch base on later in this piece. To summarize, Dota 2 pre-match betting is a term used for placing bets before the match starts.
From our point of view, placing live bets on Dota 2 matches is highly profitable if you have a keen eye for team drafts. Heroes such as Anti-Mage, Lifestealer, Spectre, Faceless Void scale the best in the late game but they struggle early on.
It isn’t strange to see teams bounce back from a 15K net worth deficit to come up as eventual winners and this is where you come in. In most scenarios, Dota 2 betting sites will adjust the odds and heavily favor the team that is winning. A 15K lead means nothing to a farmed Anti-Mage that is near-untouchable when split-pushing.
Even though this type of Dota 2 betting is not the most popular one, we believe that it is the perfect place for casual bettors to put their money. If you enjoy watching Dota 2 esports and you follow every single tournament, why not throw a couple of dollars on your favorite team to lift the trophy?
In most cases, Dota 2 betting sites will provide you with high odds and you will definitely have a lot of fun rooting for your favorite team, right?
Being able to manage your bankroll properly cannot be understated. The best way to do so is to place bets based on unit size or use percentage bets. Basically, bet a certain percentage of your bankroll on a match you researched. By doing this, you will have a hard time emptying out your bankroll.
You can’t just decide bet on Dota 2 matches and expect to understand what’s going on. Actually playing the game is part of the experience as it will improve your capabilities as a bettor too. Keeping track of patch notes is also crucial as subtle effects on the meta can turn into something bigger in the long run.
Sure, betting on dominant teams all the time can net you a stable profit but boxing yourself off to simply doing that limits the amount you can earn. Keeping an eye for emerging teams on a good run of form can net you great odds should they perform according to your research.
Betting on match-winners can get stale after a while. Sometimes games can be too close to call that the risks outweigh the cons. Take a break and look at the teams’ lineups to spot some openings for Special Bets. PSG.LGD picked Leshrac? Team to destroy the first tower is your friend. OG picked Ursa or Templar Assassin? That’s an obvious first to Roshan bet.
Betting on your favorite Dota 2 teams might be fun and all but remember to do things in moderation. You might be raking in the profits now but there will always be tough times when results don’t go your way and you see red. During moments like these it’s important to take a step back to avoid incurring any more losses.
American Odds are fairly easy to understand as favorites are labeled with a minus sign (-) while underdogs are labeled with a plus sign (+).
When betting on favorites, the numbers that come after the minus sign (-) indicate the amount of money you need to wager to win $100 USD. When betting for underdogs, the numbers that come after the plus sign (+) indicate the amount of money you win from placing a $100 USD bet.
Commonly used in Europe and Canada, Decimal Odds numbers represent the amount you win for every $1 USD wagered. Your total payout from a win can be computed by multiplying the amount you wagered by the Decimal Odds number.
By far the most popular betting odds format, Fractional Odds (n/d) indicate that you win $n USD for every $d USD you wager. All in all, your total payout can be computed by multiplying the amount staked by the odds and then adding the amount you staked. This is best explained through an example.
The global pandemic changed the competitive gaming landscape and esports LANs were no exception. Dota 2’s yearly The International was postponed for more than a year, and when it did push through it was a LAN without any live spectators in the venue. With COVID-19 cases on the downtrend, expect more Dota 2 tournaments on the horizon. Apart from official Dota Pro Circuit events hosted by Valve, keep your peeled for third-party events by tournament organizers such as WePlay!, Beyond the Summit (BTS), and One Game Agency (OGA) throughout the year.
Arguably the biggest tournament in all of esports, The International is a yearly culmination of the world’s top Dota 2 teams as they fight for glory and immortality. The International initially made waves by being the first million-dollar esports tournament and it has continuously grown in popularity and prize pool since then. To put things into perspective, The International’s tenth iteration had a prize pool of over $40,000,000 USD.
Another noteworthy aspect of The International that concerns betting is the drama. A double-elimination playoff format offers plenty of chances for dramatic upsets and death-defying runs. There is no better example for this than Team Spirit’s title-winning run in The International 10 where they combed through almost the entire lower bracket en route to the grand final, and eventually the Aegis.
Is this the BIGGEST underdog run in TI history? 🤔🤔 @Team__Spirit #TI10 #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/vqe2cBFbN0 — theScore esports (@theScoreesports) October 20, 2021
Is this the BIGGEST underdog run in TI history? 🤔🤔 @Team__Spirit #TI10 #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/vqe2cBFbN0
— theScore esports (@theScoreesports) October 20, 2021
Following the revisions to the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) during the pandemic, the number of Majors in a season has been reduced to two. Qualification to Majors is now determined by rankings in Regional Leagues, which we will discuss in the next section. Last season’s Majors, the ONE Esports Singapore Major and the WePlay! AniMajor, consisted of a Wildcard stage, a Group stage, and a Playoffs stage.
Unfortunately, the first Major for the current DPC season was canceled as a result of increasing COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant. Instead, Regional Finals were held and featured the top four teams from each region taking each other on in a double-elimination tournament format.
Congratulations to all the Winter Tour Regional Champions! @beastcoast @GaiminGladiator @boomesportsid @LGDgaming @Team__Spirit @TSM. #DPC #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/bUIxQ5a12A — Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) February 21, 2022
Congratulations to all the Winter Tour Regional Champions! @beastcoast @GaiminGladiator @boomesportsid @LGDgaming @Team__Spirit @TSM. #DPC #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/bUIxQ5a12A
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) February 21, 2022
Regional Leagues were introduced as a direct replacement for Minors and have since become the primary source for Major qualification. Each region (Europe, China, SEA, CIS, North America, South America) has its respective league, which is further divided into upper and lower divisions. Regional Leagues generally last for two months with top performers in the lower division achieving promotion and bottom teams in the upper division suffering relegation at the end.
It is worth noting that the effects of roster shuffles are first seen in Regional Leagues. Additionally, the fact that they are spread out over many weeks means fluctuations in teams’ form cannot be avoided and shock results are seen on a weekly basis. While this volatility may dissuade bettors, well-researched picks, with the help of some luck, can reward clever punters with an eye for map and series upsets.
Thank you guys! Becoming #1 SEA DPC Season 1 is such an honor for us! What a great happiness in a great new year of 2022. 🔥💪🏼 #StayHungry #HungryBeast pic.twitter.com/TNsePVVeW5 — BOOM Esports (@boomesportsid) January 19, 2022
Thank you guys! Becoming #1 SEA DPC Season 1 is such an honor for us! What a great happiness in a great new year of 2022. 🔥💪🏼 #StayHungry #HungryBeast pic.twitter.com/TNsePVVeW5
— BOOM Esports (@boomesportsid) January 19, 2022
Arguably the biggest sports betting site in the world, bet365 is also solid for esports betting, especially for major esports titles such as Dota 2. All three betting options are available, but it particularly stands out for being great for live betting. Not only is the site easy to navigate but it offers high odds for Dota 2 betting as well.
Bet365 offers a wide range of payment methods for credit cards (VISA, MasterCard), pre-paid cards (Paysafecard), and E-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, PayPal).
One of the more recent betting sites to have emerged is Rivalry. Much like bet365, it covers a majority of leading esports titles. It doesn’t have the most varied choices for betting markets but it offers low minimum wagers which are perfect for newbie punters. It also contains Rivalry Academy, an informative section that teaches the basics of gambling. With 24/7 live chat support and a flurry of payment options, Rivalry is a great place to start for beginners.
Rivalry accepts payments from credit cards (VISA, MasterCard), cash vouchers (7 Eleven, Western Union, Pago Efectivo), E-wallets (ecoPayz, INOVAPAY), and cryptocurrency (Bitcoin).
If you’re looking for a platform to flex your prowess with special bets, Betway is the place for you. Betway is known for the market diversity it offers when it comes to live betting so the possibilities are endless. Special bet options include per map first blood, per map first to reach 10 kills, per map team to destroy the first tower, per map team to destroy first barracks, and per map team to destroy first Roshan.
Betway payment methods include debit cards (VISA, MasterCard), E-wallets (Skrill, Neteller), and bank transfers (Paysafe, Entropay).
Much like CS:GO, betting with in-game skins/cosmetics was the norm when Dota 2 was still new as betting sites did not offer monetary odds for Dota 2 matches. The process worked by having players deposit their skins into a site that converts skins into money. After winning, bettors are given the option to convert their money back into skins that make their way into their inventory.
Dota 2 grew in popularity later on, and players turned their attention towards betting operators that accepted payments through bank transfer, debit/credit cards, and E-wallets. We advise both new and experienced bettors to avoid unlicensed and unreputable betting sites that accept skins as betting funds to avoid scams.
The 2021 Dota Pro Circuit was one to forget for Team Liquid as they failed to even qualify for The International 10. Following the departure of Taiga and qojqva’s shift to content creation, Liquid brought in superstar carry MATUMBAMAN and playmaker zai from Team Secret.
Roster:
The roster clicked right away and became the most dominant team in the DPC Western Europe Winter Tour I, finishing at the top of the standings with a 6-1 record. The WEU Regional Finals title may have evaded their grasps, but you can count on Liquid to continue being a heavy hitter in the region.
Group Stage for the first DPC went amazingly 😤 Can't wait for the Regional Finals next week #LetsGoLiquid pic.twitter.com/WMRpAOuvTS — Team Liquid (@TeamLiquid) February 3, 2022
Group Stage for the first DPC went amazingly 😤
Can't wait for the Regional Finals next week #LetsGoLiquid pic.twitter.com/WMRpAOuvTS
— Team Liquid (@TeamLiquid) February 3, 2022
Wholesale changes were the topic for OG as the rest of their two-time TI-winning squad finally decided on taking a break from competitive Dota 2. In true OG fashion, they reformed roster composed of youngsters and pub stars went on to show that they can rival any team on the planet.
For an inexperienced squad like OG, consistency is still an issue. On a good day, however, they can manhandle veteran squads with ease as evidenced by their clean sweeps over Team Secret and Nigma Galaxy in the DPC Western Europe Winter Tour I.
“Winning is a consequence, not an objective”-@Ceb A chapter closes, a new one is just starting. We have chosen to bring fresh talent into the Dota scene for the new iteration of OG. Please welcome: 🇺🇦@Yuragii1 🇧🇬@bzmdota 🇯🇴@AmmarAlassaf6 🇳🇴@Taigadota 🇷🇺@dota2misha#DreamOG pic.twitter.com/EO7zrCFd08 — OG (@OGesports) November 21, 2021
“Winning is a consequence, not an objective”-@Ceb
A chapter closes, a new one is just starting. We have chosen to bring fresh talent into the Dota scene for the new iteration of OG.
Please welcome:
🇺🇦@Yuragii1 🇧🇬@bzmdota 🇯🇴@AmmarAlassaf6 🇳🇴@Taigadota 🇷🇺@dota2misha#DreamOG pic.twitter.com/EO7zrCFd08
— OG (@OGesports) November 21, 2021
While it’s not uncommon for world champions to falter after their title-winning season, Team Spirit refused to take their feet off the pedal and stamped their claim as the top dogs of Eastern Europe.
Spirit were unbeaten throughout the entirety of DPC Eastern Europe Winter Tour I and followed it up with a well-deserved Regional Final win by sweeping Virtus.pro 3-0. Even with the substantial shift in the meta after the huge 7.31 patch, the TI10 winners look to be just as daunting and ruthless as ever.
We are DPC EEU: Regional Finals champions! ✅250 DPC points ✅$50,000. Thank you to all the fans and people who supported us this season 🖤🤍#SpiritDota #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/TLF8FqQajr — Team Spirit (@Team__Spirit) February 20, 2022
We are DPC EEU: Regional Finals champions!
✅250 DPC points ✅$50,000.
Thank you to all the fans and people who supported us this season 🖤🤍#SpiritDota #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/TLF8FqQajr
— Team Spirit (@Team__Spirit) February 20, 2022
The TI10 runners-up had to weather a flurry of controversy for months after their defeat in Romania but they continued being the dominant force in Chinese Dota after a 7-0 record in the upper division of the Chinese regional league.
They capped off a stellar start to the season with a 3-1 win over Royal Never Give Up in the Regional Finals and would’ve surely been the runaway favorites had the first Major of the year took place.
#PSGLGD #DOTA2 #DPC A perfect start of the Year of the Tiger+ 250 DPC points! We appreciate all partners' cooperation and every fan's support😘 pic.twitter.com/8VaJDKbJVm — PSG | LGD (@PSGLGD_) February 23, 2022
#PSGLGD #DOTA2 #DPC A perfect start of the Year of the Tiger+ 250 DPC points! We appreciate all partners' cooperation and every fan's support😘 pic.twitter.com/8VaJDKbJVm
— PSG | LGD (@PSGLGD_) February 23, 2022
In a region where anyone can beat anyone, BOOM Esports have emerged as the newest force to be reckoned with.
It’s worth noting that signs of BOOM’s eventual dominance were evident way before the current DPC even started. They won third-party tournaments hosted by Beyond the Summit and Mineski and maintained their amazing form by topping the SEA regional league and winning the Regional Finals. As things stand, the rest of Southeast Asia is playing catch up with the Hungry Beasts.
WE ARE SEA'S BEST – CHAMPIONS OF DPC SEA 2021/2022 TOUR 1: REGIONAL FINALS! On the back of an amazing campaign and hard fought struggle we finally got our hands on the trophy. Thank you Hungry Beasts for your never ending support – WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED 🔥#HungryBeast pic.twitter.com/AcW8Y2tcvR — BOOM Esports (@boomesportsid) February 13, 2022
WE ARE SEA'S BEST – CHAMPIONS OF DPC SEA 2021/2022 TOUR 1: REGIONAL FINALS!
On the back of an amazing campaign and hard fought struggle we finally got our hands on the trophy. Thank you Hungry Beasts for your never ending support – WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED 🔥#HungryBeast pic.twitter.com/AcW8Y2tcvR
— BOOM Esports (@boomesportsid) February 13, 2022
The former Team Undying roster signed for TSM FTX late last January and immediately rewarded their new organization with silverware after beating Evil Geniuses 3-2 to win the North American Regional Finals.
Apart from EG, NA teams in recent years have struggled to make an impact in the world stage. TSM FTX are determined to change that, and with the international talent and team chemistry at their disposal, that goal is well within reach.
The DOTA 2 bootcamp is officially underway 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4cx1qwAA96 — TSM FTX (@TSM) February 13, 2022
The DOTA 2 bootcamp is officially underway 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4cx1qwAA96
— TSM FTX (@TSM) February 13, 2022
Following the release of the latest hero, Primal Beast, there is now a total of 123 Dota 2 heroes.
In the last month, the average player count for Dota 2 is 449,233.5 . The peak number of players in this time period was 733,941.
According to Esports Insider, the peak viewership for Team Spirit and PSG.LGD’s grand finals series in The International 10 was 2.7 million.
Two-time The International winner Johan “N0tail” Sundstein is the richest Dota 2 and esports player of all time with total earnings accumulating to $7,183,837.80 USD.
A Dota 2 season normally lasts one full year. The number of regional league circuits and Majors may change from year to year, but every Dota 2 season concludes in the yearly The International.