ESEA is a historic event organizer in the Counter-Strike community, with the ESEA League establishing an extensive history of events. On this page, read our ESEA League betting guide that explains everything you need to know about ESEA events.
Top Sites for Betting on the ESEA Events
Event Overview and Details
ESEA have, over the years, hosted events across a number of Tiers of competition, each one offering esports betting opportunities.
For completeness sake, we’re listing examples from all Tiers, although ESEA haven’t hosted anything above a B-Tier event in quite some time:
| Tier | Examples |
|---|---|
| S-Tier Events | ESEA Season 18: Global Invite Division (2015) |
| A-Tier Events | ESEA Season 31: Global Challenge (2020) |
| B-Tier | ESEA Season 39: Premier Division (2021) |
| C-Tier | ESEA Season 46: NA Advanced/Main/Open Division (2023) |
In addition, ESEA League events are typically seasonal, with the following regions involved:
- Europe
- North America
- Oceania
- Latin America
- South Africa
- Asia-Pacific
We’ll dive deeper into the format of the ESEA League further below, specifically the B-Tier and C-Tier which is most active recently.
How to Bet on the ESEA League
As a staple name in the Counter-Strike name, the ESEA League is synonymous with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and of course the new Counter-Strike 2.
Accordingly, in order to bet on the ESEA League, regardless of the Tier, one will need to be familiar with Counter-Strike 2 betting and the associated esports odds.
ESEA League All Tiers – Betting Markets
Regardless of the tier of the event, whether it’s ESEA Season 46 Advanced, Intermediate or Open Division, the betting markets remain relatively the same on esports betting sites.
Here are some of the betting markets available as for any other Counter-Strike 2 tournaments, divided into the categories of standard and special bets.
Standard bets are simple bets which involve users betting on a fixed result that anyone can understand, regardless of their lack of in-game knowledge. Examples of standard bets include:
- Outright Odds, or Futures – as simple as picking a winner, no matter if it’s by an inch or a mile. Outright odds extend to picking a tournament winner, match winner or even a round winner.
- Handicap Bets – when rounds, matches or tournaments seem one-sided, esports bookmakers offer handicap bets to turn the bet into an even playing field.
- Score Betting – if you fancy trying your luck, you could even bet on the exact score of a particular round or match.
Moving on to standard bets, these require a bit more understanding of how the game works together with knowledge of teams and their performances at esports tournaments. Here are some examples:
- Over/Under Betting – Predicting whether an event such as the number of rounds played will go over or stay under a pre-determined figure.
- Map Pistol Round 1 and 2 – As one of the most important rounds in every game, users can bet on who they think will walk away with the pistol round
- Bomb detonations/defusals – An essential in-game event is the detonation of a bomb. Esports betting sites offer the opportunity to bet on the number or frequency of these events.
In addition, it’s worth noting that all of these betting markets can either be considered as pre-match bets or live bets.
ESEA League Betting Tips
While Counter-Strike 2 betting may seem new, the same tips apply. Here are some tips to consider for your ESEA League betting:
- Know the event – Like any other event, ESEA League tournaments have their own schedule and format. It’s essential to know the stakes of a game to understand the odds and which event has looked better at the event.
- Know the teams – Look beyond their current performance. While recency bias is essential, it’s worth browsing through a team’s history at multiple events before placing a bet.
- Consider live betting – Live betting is a great way to spice up the viewership of any match. In addition, betting while watching ensures you’re making the most educated bets possible.
- Pick the right esports betting site – With so many to choose from, we recommend picking out one which fits your betting style, while also offering bonuses and promotions for the events you’re interested in.
- Bet responsibly – As always ensure that you are level-headed when betting, not taking unnecessary risks and sticking to a predetermined budget at all times.
ESEA League Schedule
Every year, ESEA League events take place once or twice a year, offering roughly three months of competition to look forward to.
For example, in 2023, the following are examples of event schedules:
- ESL Challenger League Season 46: Europe – October 5th to December 10th
- ESEA Season 46: Main Division – Europe – August 15th to October 8th
- ESEA Season 45: Intermediate Division – North America –April 9th to June 19th
- ESEA Season 44: Open Division – Oceania – January 15th to March 25th
As evident above, each season is separated by a month or so, and with each season, multiple tiers and regions are competing simultaneously.
Events Format
As a reminder, ESEA League events are split into the regions of Europe, NA, Asia-Pacific, South Africa, Oceania and South America.
In each region, there are typically up to five levels of competition.
Here’s an overview of most recent examples of the ESEA League events hosted for Europe:
| Event Tier | Name | Prize | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| B-Tier | ESL Challenger League S46: Europe | $100,000 | 24 |
| C-Tier | ESEA S46: Advanced Division - Europe | $20,300 | 82 |
| C-Tier | ESEA S46: Main Division - Europe | $10,000 | 185 |
| C-Tier | ESEA S46: Intermediate Division - Europe | $6,000 | 131 |
| C-Tier | ESEA S46: Open Division - Europe | $3,000 | 457 |
- Overall, the higher the quality of the event, the fewer teams are present and the higher the prize pools are.
- For the most part, the format for each event typically involves a round-robin Group Stage, where only the best teams move on to the next stage.
- Depending on the number of teams, this next stage is either a second Group Stage or a Playoffs with a double-elimination bracket.
- At each event, the stakes, apart from the prize pool, include seeding to the next iteration of the event or promotion to the next level.
- For the ESL Challenger events, which are hosted for only the most popular regions, there are also ESL Challenger Relegation events.
Bet on ESEA League Events
Overall, the ESEA League events are awesome for Counter-Strike betting. With the release of Counter-Strike 2, we have no doubt that future ESEA League events will only continue to be hosted and offer a plethora of Counter-Strike betting opportunities as ESEA work with FACEIT for future events.
