What are the top competitive gaming circuits to bet on?

esports intersting ones

Esports is one of the fastest growing markets in the betting industry. For many the notion of betting on people playing computer games may seem unusual, but it is a multi-billion dollar industry globally (estimated to be worth $4.3 billion in 2024). Not only that, industry experts predict that the industry will grow at around 7.10% per year through to 2028.

Esports is not a fad and it is not going away. Many of the top esports tournaments have prize money in the hundreds of thousands of dollars/pounds/euros. A significant number of the top events have millions available to be won. Some multiple millions.

Additionally, it is not just knockout tournaments that you can bet on. A number of esports events are based on a league format. Some of these are high-profile events. In this article, we will look at some of the best esports-based leagues you can bet on.

But before that, let’s first answer some key questions about esports in general.

What are the most popular esports?

Nowadays, there are a large number of esports available to both play and bet on. However, there are certain esports which offer higher prize pools and which have more popular and prestigious tournaments.

The top tier esports at present are:

League of Legends (LoL)
Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota2)
StarCraft II (SCII)
Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) (which followed on from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive(CS:GO))

A number of other esports are following close behind these ‘big four’ in terms of popularity with both players and also betting fans. These titles include:

Overwatch
Fortnite
Call of Duty (CoD)
FIFA
NBA2K
Madden
Rocket League
Rainbow Six Siege (R6)
Valorant
Player Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG)
Hearthstone
World of Warcraft
Streetfighter V
Super Smash Bros.

There are a number of other esports available, but whether you can find esports betting on them is very much dependent on the bookmaker. (Check out our section below on esports betting sites).

What are the different types of esports available?

This is a very good question as there are many different types of esports available. However, they are often divided into broad categories as follows.

Multi-Player Online Battle Arena games (MOBAS) : These games tend to feature teams of players each controlling a pre-selected character who battle against another team from a third-person perspective. The battle takes place in an online arena, hence the term MOBAS being used to describe them. Games that fall in this category include Dota 2, Smite, Vainglory, Heroes of the Storm, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (mobile devices only) and League of Legends

First-Person Shooters (FPS) : These are games where players battle against each other in an attempt to either kill the opposing team/players and/or complete an objective within the game. These games are played as if you are looking through the eyes of your character, hence the term First-Person. Games in this category are numerous and include all the Counter-Strike series of games, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, Halo, Valorant and Quake.

Third-Person Shooters : These are similar to first-person shooter games, but tend to be viewed in the third person. Player Unknown Battlegrounds, Gears of War and Garena Free Fire are examples of this type of game.

Real–Time Strategy Games : These games are strategic games where players each have a turn to make decisions, which then play out in the game. The StarCraft series of games and World of Warcraft series are a good example of this type of game.

Fighting Games : These are one v one fighting games where the objective is for one player to defeat the other. Popular types of these games include the Streetfighter series of games, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Bros and Marvel vs Capcom.

Card-Based Games : These are online versions of collectable card games. Some of the most popular are Hearthstone, Shadowverse and Magic: The Gathering Arena.

Race Games : As the name suggests, these are games where competitors race against each other, often in a variety of vehicles. Popular esports titles in this genre include The F1 official game, Gran Turismo Sport, iRacing, Trachmania, Project CARS, Kart Rider and rFactor2.

Sports Games : These are esports based on popular sports, or they can also be modified versions of sports, such as Rocket League, which is a game similar to football or Ice Hockey, but which sees the players using cars to move the ball around the arena to score a goal. Popular sports-themed esports include FIFA, Madden, NBA2k and Pro Evolution Soccer.

While this list is extensive, it is not exhaustive and there are a number of other esports titles which don’t really fit into any one category. Fortnite for example has elements of both FPS and MOBA gaming as well as strategic elements too. Other esports games available include War Thunder, World of Tanks, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Tetris, Puyo Puyo and Pokemon.

Where can I watch esports?

There are a number of ways you can watch esports, some of which you can bet in play on the esports fixture. The most common are:

Via a Live Streaming service (such as Twitch)
Via a competition website or official streaming platform.
Many betting sites also offer live streams of a number of esports services.
Some are also streamed on satellite TV channels (especially on esports-themed channels) though these are generally few and far between.

What are the best sites to bet on esports?

Almost all betting sites now offer esports betting as part of their sports betting service, or as a standalone betting option. However, the depth of titles covered, market coverage and range of odds available does vary considerably from one bookmaker to the next.

Some of the best bookmaking sites that offer excellent esports coverage, many including In Play betting and Live Streaming of esports events, are:

Bet365 Sport
William Hill
Unibet
Bwin
Vbet
Codere
Sportium
888Sport
PAF
Wanabet
Betway
Kirolbet
LeoVegas

We now know what esports are and the major titles. We are also familiar with the types of games available when esports betting, where you can watch the games and the best sites to bet with. So now it is time to give you details of the best esports leagues on which you can bet.

The best Esports Leagues for betting enthusiasts

Outlined below are some of the best leagues, or league based tournaments that betting enthusiasts are likely to find plenty of great betting on.

The Dota Pro Circuit
Spring Split - League of Legends (Multi-regional)
Summer Split - League of Legends (Multi-regional))
World Championship - League of Legends
Overwatch Champions Series
League of Legends Pro League
Rocket League Championship Series
Fortnite World Cup
PUBG Mobile World Invitational
eFIFA World Cup, Club World Cup, Premier League, Champions League etc
The Invitational - Dota 2
ESL Pro League - CSGO/CS2
Call of Duty League
Capcom Cup - Streetfighter
DreamHack Series - Multiple Esports titles
Apex Legends Global Series
Global Starcraft II League
Halo Championship series
Fortnite Champion Series
Intel Extreme Masters Events
NBA2K League
Rainbow Six Invitational
Smite World Championship
Valorant Champions Tour

As you can see, this relatively small list shows just how many major esports tournaments there are available to bet on. This list is just a tiny fraction of all the different esports events, at all levels, that you may be able to find betting on.