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 game, those unfamiliar with it might struggle to understand and keep up with what’s happening. The same can be said for interested bettors, which is why we’ve created this comprehensive guide to better to equip you for the world of Dota 2 betting.
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Arguably the biggest sports bookie in the world, bet365 is also solid for esports betting, especially for major esports games such as Dota 2. All major betting markets 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 also accepts a wide range of payment methods for credit cards (Visa, Mastercard), prepaid 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, as well as its 24/7 live chat support and a flurry of payment options.
If you’re just starting out, head over to our betting academy to learn more about esports betting and betting strategies.
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. The site 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 transfer (Paysafe, Entropay).
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) where five 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 synergise 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 levelling-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 with 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 the 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.
Dota 2 is one of the most popular esports in the world with plenty of interested bettors. With this in mind, Dota 2 betting sites offer three different betting options in the form of pre-match betting, live/in-play betting, and tournament/outright betting.
Some punters might go for a live Dota 2 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. Confident bettors even enjoy placing money on tournament favourites or their favorite team to go all the way to win the title.
The only thing you’ll need to look out for is checking if your chosen bookie supports punters from the country you live in. Certain bookies block users from specific countries due to various reasons. If your country isn’t supported, you won’t be able to access the site. In any case, here are the most popular Dota 2 betting options:
There is no denying that pre-match betting is currently the most popular Dota 2 betting market. It is considered the foundation of modern betting, where bets are placed on matches before they go live. Dota 2 betting sites offer odds on matches, and there are numerous pre-match bets available besides the traditional “match-winner” bet as well.
From our point of view, live betting is profitable for those with a keen eye for team drafts. Being knowledgeable about which heroes are strong in the current meta is crucial when it comes to placing in-play wagers. On top of that, you also need to make quick decisions while watching the event unfold, as things can change instantly.
It is not unusual to see teams bounce back from a significant net worth deficit and come out as eventual winners. This is where your expertise comes in. Most of the time, Dota 2 betting sites will adjust the odds and heavily favour the winning team. However, a 15K lead (for example) may not necessarily guarantee a win if a farmed hero is virtually untouchable.
Even though this type of Dota 2 bet is not the most popular, we believe that it is perfect for casual bettors who are still getting used to how things work. If you enjoy watching Dota 2 esports and follow every single tournament, outright/tournament betting can in fact be quite profitable.
Moreover, outrights bets generally offer high odds primarily due to the risk involved, especially if plenty of teams are competing.
Special bets are fairly unique to each game, but when it comes to Dota 2, there are plenty to choose from. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones below:
This type of bet involves predicting the number of maps that will be played in a series, whether it's a best-of-three or a best-of-five match. For example, if you want to bet on there being two maps played in a best-of-three series, you should place an “Under 2.5 maps played” bet. It's a straightforward market that can offer great value.
There is a lot of value to be found in this special bet. If you see that a team has picked early-game heroes, then this is a good indication 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 who can burst opponents quickly and fast. So, if you spot that one team has a lot of early game “squishy” heroes, a Race To Kills bet is the perfect wager to place in this situation.
This is a term commonly used in MOBA esports that determines who will to get the first kill in the match. Once again, the significance of early-game heroes cannot be overlooked here. If a lane is set up with multiple stuns and disables, it is literally impossible for their target to live. Heroes with high early-game DPS paired with stuns and crowd control are crucial for this bet to work.
If we are talking about fast Roshan, then only one hero comes to mind – 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.
New to all of this and are in need of some pointers to help you get started? Look no further – below are our top betting tips specially curated for beginners:
Dota 2 matches offer excellent odds for bettors, especially for underdogs, making it an exciting way to potentially win big. With a variety of betting markets available, a bet builder can help you create flexible betting slips with diverse combinations of bets.
It's worth noting that odds are typically better for the most prestigious tournaments. However, even for smaller regional events, bookies offer competitive odds.
Take a look at this screenshot of a match between Alliance and Faith in the Pinnacle Cup:
As you can see, Alliance are huge favourites, but odds are favourable for most options overall, including 1st Blood and 1st Tower.
Odds also tend to be closer when two evenly-matched teams are playing, so keep an eye out for those matches as well.
Dota 2 is one of the biggest esports games in the world, so it makes sense that the tournaments themselves are massive in scope. The latter are watched by millions of fans around the world, but there are a couple that are a cut above the rest.
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. This event initially made waves by being the first million-dollar esports tournament, and has continuously grown in popularity and prize money 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 of 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.
Following the revisions to the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) in 2020, the number of Majors in a season was reduced to two. This lasted for two years, but we’re now back to having numerous events per year. Qualification to Majors is determined by rankings in Regional Leagues, which we will discuss in the next section.
The Majors are excellent previews into the team’s strengths when facing off against strong opponents, especially in anticipation of The International. They’re also crucial for acquiring DPC Points, with which the teams will qualify for The International.
Certain ESL One events (e.g. ESL One Stockholm 2022) are technically Majors, but with different sponsors and organisers. Still, Valve considers them part of the Majors ecosystem and teams also gain DPC points based on their placements in these events. Other ESL One events (e.g. ESL One Malaysia 2022) are not Majors, and are instead considered Tier 1. Teams don’t earn DPC points for these.
The most recent ESL One tournaments include ESL One Malaysia 2022 and ESL One Stockholm 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.
Betting with in-game skins/cosmetics was the norm in the early days of Dota 2 esports, much like CS:GO. The process worked by having players deposit their skins into a site that converted them into money. After winning, bettors were given the option to convert their money back into skins that made their way into their inventory.
As Dota 2's popularity grew, so did the popularity of skin betting. While it may not be as popular as traditional esports betting, there are still punters who have a surplus of skins and choose to bet with them. For instance, DuelBits has an extensive skin betting section dedicated to esports, with competitive Dota 2 odds to boot.
Dota 2 esports is chock full of strong, successful esports teams and organisations who have achieved a lot over the years. However, the tides are constantly changing, and so too are the teams at the top. Let’s take a look at the three strongest teams in 2023 at the time of writing.
Team Liquid started their year strong with a victory at the DPC WEU 2023 Tour 1: Division I event and a 2nd place finish in the Lima Major. These performances are the continuation of what they’ve achieved in the second half of 2022, including a superb 3rd place in the 2022 iteration of The International.
They have consistently performed well throughout their years of playing Dota 2 professionally, with notable achievements including a win in ESL One Germany 2020 and second place in The International 2019, as well as EPICENTER Major 2019.
Gaimin Gladiators are a fresh new team from Europe who joined the Dota 2 esports world after signing the Team Tickles roster. This team surprised everyone by defeating Team Liquid in the DPC WEU 2021/2022 Tour 1: Regional Final, which many agree was an incredible upset.
They continued this form by placing 4th in ESL One Stockholm 2022 and a pretty impressive 11th-place finish in The International 2022. As for 2023, they again defeated Team Liquid, but this time in the grand final of the Lima Major 2023 tournament. While this team doesn’t have a rich history (due to their age), there’s no doubt that they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in 2023.
Talon Esports are another new Dota 2 esports team hailing from Hong Kong. They joined the Dota 2 scene with a completely new and untested roster in 2021. Since then, the team has gone through some roster changes and have been honing their skills throughout 2022.
It must be said that Talon Esports just recently started participating in Tier 1 Dota 2 tournaments, but they’ve already made their name known by finishing 3rd in the Lima Major. This team can potentially go a long way in esports, but only time will tell if they manage to do so.
Note: These are just the current 3 best teams in Dota 2, specifically in 2023. Chances are that the top 3 teams will change once upcoming events start happening. This list also doesn’t reflect which the best overall Dota 2 teams are, just those that have had some excellent performances in 2023.
There are several ways to watch Dota 2 esports events. Firstly, you can tune in to the official Dota 2 Twitch channels such as PGL and DotaMajor.
Alternatively, you can visit the esports section of the official Dota 2 website. Another option is to watch directly within the game itself, provided that it's installed on your computer.
Dota 2 is a fairly complicated game with plenty of strategising and skill required to be the very best. Despite that, it has been a part of the esports scene for more than a decade, and is the proud holder of a world record that most likely will never be broken.
Furthermore, it's an exciting game to bet on, and with the popularity of Dota 2 TI betting, it has become even more appealing to punters. So, if you are new to betting or have some experience be sure to bookmark this guide and give Dota 2 betting a try!
Following the release of the latest hero, Muerta the Mournful Revenant, there is now a total of 124 Dota 2 heroes.
The biggest Dota 2 tournament is The International, a highly prestigious event that holds the record for the biggest prize pool in esports. Only the best Dota 2 esports teams qualify for this event each year, so it’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
If you’re just starting out, it’s probably best if you keep to just match-winner bets in the beginning. These are generally the simplest bets since you’ll have just two teams to choose from.
Two-time The International winner Johan “N0tail” Sundstein is the richest Dota 2 and esports player of all time, with total earnings accumulating to $7,172,436.
The best bookies for Dota 2 betting are bet365, GG.BET, and Betway. These sites offer the best odds, markets, and features for punters both new and experienced.
Through our in-depth guides and reviews, we are focused on providing the best insights into esports betting.