How to Bet on Valorant - FPS Betting Types & Esports Guide

How to Bet on Valorant - FPS Esports Betting Guide, Tips & Strategies

It’s no secret that Esports betting is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. While sports games have traditionally been the most popular events, the action and excitement of first-person shooter (FPS) games like Call of Duty, Overwatch, Apex Legends, PUBG, and, of course, Valorant are shifting the industry’s focus.

Join us as we explore the exciting world of Esports betting at Stake Sportsbook and learn how you can watch upcoming matches right here at Stake!

What is Valorant?

Valorant is a tactical FPS that pits two teams of five players against each other over 25 matches. The first to win a total of 13 rounds is crowned the victor.

Winning a round can be accomplished by eliminating the enemy team, or by the team who are carrying the Spike, placing it in the designated detonation area, and defending it from being disabled.

To spice up the on-screen action, the competitors do not rely solely on their gunplay ability, but also leverage the special abilities of their chosen hero, called an Agent. When combined, these abilities can turn the tide of individual matches and tournaments.

History of Competitive Valorant Esports

Riot Games had seen massive success in competitive gaming with League of Legends (LoL) and wanted to launch a second pillar for their Esports empire.

At the time, CS:GO was the leading tactical FPS on the market; CS:GO 2 and its related CS2 betting options would only be launched in 2023, with Rainbow Six Siege coming in a distant second. Valorant was designed to specifically add something new for fans of the genre.

Valorant took the core elements of CS:GO gunplay, short rounds, attacker vs defender, and a reliance on team cohesion, and supercharged it with the addition of super-powered Agents and fantastical settings.

Riot Games launched Valorant in June 2020 and immediately announced the Ignitions Series Esports tournament, where popular Esports organisers like Red Bull, BLAST, and G2 Esports hosted tournaments.

Behind the scenes, Riot Games used this time to finalise their plans for the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), which kicked off in 2021.

In 2023, the developer introduced Valorant Partnerships, resulting in the creation of three permanent international leagues in the Americas, EMEA, and the Pacific. China was later added in 2024 as the fourth official VCT region.

June 2025 saw Riot Games announce that it would allow Tier 1 Valorant teams to accept official gambling sponsors for the first time.

Competitive Valorant Esports Format & Gameplay

Becoming proficient as a casual Valorant player is easy enough if you play regularly, know all the common FPS terms, and know how to bet on Esports at Stake. However, as with any high-level sporting event, competitive Valorant is an entirely different beast.

With eleven maps in rotation, it can take hundreds of hours of dedicated gameplay for teams to become cohesive units. They also need to develop an on-the-fly ability to know exactly where to create choke points, where enemy snipers might lie in wait, and how best to defend the Spike when the time is running out and a team wipe is not a victory option.

Once competitive players have mastered Valorant's gunplay, map layouts, and Agent skills, they still need to stay on top of the following:

Round Duration: Each Valorant game lasts 100 seconds. However, if the attacking team places the Spike, they have to defend it from being defused for 45 seconds.
Defusing the Spike: The attacking team has to watch the clock closely as it takes 7 seconds to defuse the Spike, during which time the defusing player cannot defend themselves.
Economy: Players earn performance-based bonuses during the rounds. These credits are then used to purchase a range of weapons for use in the upcoming match. Successful teams have specific strategies for when to save and when to go all-in with top-tier weapons.

It is this economic system that can result in a losing team encouraging a remaining teammate to try to survive till the clock runs out.

Most Popular Teams and Players

Riot’s recently released Global Power Rankings (GPR) system provides betting sites with official stats and performance metrics that assist in setting their odds. These betting odds are also helpful for locking in your picks and predictions.

Top 10 teams by GPR ahead of the Valorant Champions 2025:

GPR 1521 - G2 Esports (Americas)
GPR 1514 - Paper Rex (Pacific)
GPR 1486 - RRQ (Pacific)
GPR 1467 - Bilibili Gaming (China)
GPR 1437 - NRG (Americas)
GPR 1436 - Team Liquid (EMEA)
GPR 1427 - FNATIC (EMEA)
GPR 1421 - T1 (Pacific)
GPR 1415 - Dragon Ranger Gaming (China)
GPR 1412 - Sentinels (Americas)

Looking at a mix of popularity, current performance, and speculations about future potential, here are five professional players who are always under discussion:

Zekken (Sentinels)
Jawgemo (G2 Esports)
Something (Paper Rex)
Whyz (Bilibili Gaming)
Alfajer (Fnatic)

While MVP markets mainly focus on players like the ones above, 48 teams compete in Valorant tournaments comprising 240 players, meaning there is always room for a dark horse to make an unexpected splash.

What Are the Major Valorant Tournaments & Events?

The core event in terms of Valorant tournaments is VCT 2025, which comprises 11 regional competitions played worldwide. The big drawcards are naturally the Masters and Champions events, which feature incredible prize pools and will be played on some of the top maps:

VCT Master Bangkok ($500,000), played on Ascent, Bind, Fracture, Haven, Lotus, Pearl, and Split.
VCT Master Toronto ($1,000,000), played on Ascent, Sunset, Haven, Icebox, Lotus, Pearl, and Split.
VCT Champions Paris ($2,250,000), played on Abyss, Ascent, Bind, Corrode, Haven, Lotus, and Sunset.

The prize for the first and second stage tournaments in the Americas, EMEA regions, Pacific, and China is around $250,000 per region. The global Stage 1 map selection has been confirmed as Ascent, Fracture, Haven, Icebox, Lotus, Pearl, and Split, with the Stage 2 map announcements being highly anticipated.

Beyond VCT, Valorant fans always look forward to the Esports World Cup, which sees teams from around the world competing for a prize pool of $1,250,000.

How to Bet on Competitive Valorant Esports on Stake

Betting on competitive Valorant Esports tournaments and the VCT Final on Stake is far simpler than you might think.

Click the Register to open a new customer account.
Fund your account and receive a welcome bonus.
Check the Valorant Odds in the lobby and place your bets.

On the Valorant tab, you can now create your same game multi bet slip by including up to three markets.

How to Watch Valorant Live Streams & Place Live Bets

If you are interested in watching the Valorant Esports matches live, you can do so without leaving Stake.com. All you need to do is click on Sports at the top of the page, and you will see the Live Events link.

Click on this link and find all the current live betting events running horizontally across the page. Select Valorant to see all the matches currently being live-streamed.

Just above the names of the competing teams, you will see a red box marked Live, the number of the map being played, and a video window with a play icon. Click the play icon to live stream the match on Stake for free.

Valorant Betting Strategies & Tips

Betting on Esports like Valorant offers a deep and engaging experience for bettors who enjoy analysing team performance across various maps and tracking how the meta changes with the introduction of new Agents.

Consider these options in your betting strategy:

Team Cohesion: Keep an eye on player trades and exchanges. Losing a key player or disrupting a strong in-game duo can impact overall wins and losses.
New In-Game Meta: The introduction of new agents, buffing or nerfing weapons, and even map changes can shift momentum from one team to another instantly.
Old Rivalries: Some teams naturally negate the strengths of their rivals based on map preference, team formation, and hero selection. Tracking these can help make a winning bet.

Once you’ve locked in your Valorant betting options, there are several broader strategies you can try over time. These include popular sport betting strategies such as the Paroli method, the Kelly Criterion method, the Labouchere System, the 1-3-2-6 betting system, the D’Alembert system, the Oscar’s Grind method, and the well-known Martingale betting system.

Deposit & Withdrawal Methods for Betting on Esports

Access your Stake account using our secured login methods such as passkey logins to enjoy the best Esports betting action. Right now, you can place bets on Stake.com using local currencies such as ARS, CLP, CAD, VND, INR, or TRY. For more insight into the available local currency options , read the local currency payment guide on our community forum.

You can also bet on Valorant by funding your account with cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, USDT, EOS, Doge, LTC, SOL, and TRX, using a crypto payment solution like Mesh. Be sure to review our list of available cryptocurrencies and follow our guide to choosing the right coin before you buy your chosen crypto. We recommend using trusted crypto exchange platforms like Moonpay and Swapped.com when you’re ready to buy.

Should you have any questions about your account or depositing and withdrawing units, reach out to our customer support staff, who are online 24/7 to assist.

To learn how to secure your digital assets, be sure to use the Stake Vault. You will also find our crypto security guide helpful in ensuring your account is as safe as possible.

Sports Betting Promotions, VIP Club & Responsible Gambling

To make the most of your Esports betting and bankroll management, be sure to claim the available welcome bonus and other generous promotions, which can include reload bonuses and rakeback offers.

To keep the action rolling, join our VIP Club for access to a wide range of exclusive rewards and personalised support from a VIP host. Visit our blog to learn more about joining this exclusive program.

Whether you’re betting on Champions Tourmap outcomes or predicting the correct team scores during a World Championship event, what matters most is that you prioritise responsible gambling practices.

To help you on this journey, we provide an easy-to-follow Stake Smart guide. We also have insights into how to plan your gambling budget, and a calculator to help you work out how much of your income you can afford to bet.

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