Esports betting isn’t one uniform product wearing different skins - the underlying mechanics change meaningfully from title to title. A map handicap in CS2 means something different from a map handicap in League of Legends, because the games are scored differently, decided differently, and follow different tournament formats. If you bet across multiple titles without adjusting for that, you’re applying assumptions from one game to a market that doesn’t work the same way.
This hub breaks esports betting down by the four titles that drive the overwhelming majority of search volume and betting handle: CS2 (the successor to CS:GO), League of Legends, Dota 2, and Valorant. Each has its own hub page covering how matches are structured, which bet types are common, and which tournaments matter most for that title - and each of those hubs links out to more specific supporting content on odds, site comparisons, and how-to guides.
Why game selection changes how you bet
The two broad genres here - tactical shooters (CS2, Valorant) and MOBAs (League of Legends, Dota 2) - are scored on almost opposite logic. Shooters are round-based: a match is won by taking a set number of rounds across one or more maps, which is why round handicaps and total-rounds markets exist as standard bet types. MOBAs are decided by a single objective (destroying the enemy’s base) per game, with best-of series determining the match winner, which shifts betting focus toward series-length props, first-objective bets, and total-kills markets instead of round counts.
Match format also varies by context within each title. CS2 and Valorant matches are typically best-of-1 in early group stages and best-of-3 or best-of-5 in playoffs. League of Legends and Dota 2 follow a similar pattern, with regional leagues often using best-of-1 or best-of-3 for regular-season play and best-of-5 reserved for finals and international best-of-5 could apply to major finals. Knowing which format applies to the match in front of you changes how a moneyline price should be read.
Tournament calendars matter more than in traditional sports
Because none of these titles have a single governing body running one continuous season, betting activity clusters heavily around specific events. CS2 has its Majors alongside a busy year-round calendar of ESL Pro League and BLAST events. League of Legends narrows down to Worlds and MSI as the two events that dwarf everything else, on top of the regional leagues (LCS, LEC, LCK, LPL) that feed them. Dota 2 is even more concentrated around The International, its annual crowdfunded championship. Valorant runs on the VCT circuit, culminating in Champions. Betting volume, market depth, and line movement all spike around these fixtures - which is exactly why the per-game pages that follow break out tournament context rather than treating every match as generic.
Use this page as the starting point, then move to whichever title you’re actually following - each hub goes deeper into that game’s specific markets, terminology, and betting sites.