Popular Esports Events & Online Tournaments

Most Popular Competitive Esports Tournaments - Bet on Global Esports Events

Electronic Sports, better known as Esports, are competitive video games, featuring the best players and teams from all over the world. You can bet on Esports here at Stake Sportsbook, with all major games including Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, League of Legends and Dota 2, covered. You can bet on your favourite Esports at Stake.com now or read on to discover the most popular Esports tournaments.

What are Esports Tournaments?

Esports tournaments are competitive gaming events in which qualified teams battle against each other for titles and prize money. Esports tournaments range from online games to massive offline events, held in arenas with thousands of fans in attendance, just like a regular sporting event. These offline events use local area network (LAN) connections to ensure opposing teams can compete against one another.

History of Competitive Esports

It’s believed that the first competitive video game event took place at Stanford University in 1972. Students could participate in an event to beat other teams or players in Spacewar! During the 70s, video games began to take off for the first time, with arcades offering players the chance to set and break high scores.

In 1974, Sega held the All Japan TV Game Championships, with local tournaments held at arcades all over Japan. 16 finalists then competed in the final elimination rounds, in a format that has inspired many Esports tournaments today.

Space Invaders popularised a persistent high score for all players, and in 1980, the Space Invaders Championship saw over 10,000 people attend from across the United States. Esports continued to grow as video games created new forms of gameplay, including direct player-vs-player (PVP) contests.

Although competitive video gaming continued to grow through the 90s, it wasn’t until the year 2000 that the term Esports was first used. The term is credited to South Korea’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Park Jie-won, at the opening ceremony of the Korean Esports Association.

Since then, Esports have continued to grow all over the world, and new games have helped create more excitement and action for players and fans to enjoy.

Major Esports Tournaments

Counter-Strike 2

• ESL Pro League - The ESL Pro League features 24 teams competing for $1 million in prize money every season. 2 seasons run every year, each with 3 stages to determine the champions. The first team to win 4 S-tier ESL events during the season will win the ESL Grand Slam.

• Majors - The Counter-Strike Major Championships, known simply as majors, are the most prestigious events in Counter-Strike Esports. There are usually 2 Majors per year, with prize pools of $1.25 million offered at each event. These tournaments are held all over the world, with the BLAST.tv Austin Major is one of the most recent examples.

• IEM - The Intel Extreme Masters events are part of the ESL Masters events, featuring the world's best teams. Some IEM events are designated as Majors, while others are regular tournaments. They take place all over the world, including Katowice, Cologne, Dallas and Chengdu.

• BLAST Premier - BLAST organises the BLAST Bounty, BLAST Open and BLAST Rivals tournaments each season. Bounty tournaments feature 32 teams which compete to win bounties by defeating opponents. Open tournaments are modelled on IEM events, and Rivals tournaments feature the very best teams.

League of Legends

• LCK - The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is the regional LoL competition for South Korea. This is the strongest regional league in the world, as LCK teams have won 9 League of Legends World Championship Esports titles.

• LCS - The League Championship Series is the regional league for North America and Latin America. Although it was merged with the CBLOL and LLA to form LTA in 2025, it will return in 2026.

• LPL - The Chinese regional competition for League of Legends is known as the League of Legends Pro League. There have been 3 World Champion teams from the LPL.

• MSI - The Mid-Season Invitational is an annual League of Legends tournament that takes place halfway through the season. Teams qualify based on their regional league split performance.

• Worlds - The LoL World Championships take place every year after the second half of the regional league seasons have concluded. 17 teams enter, but only one can be crowned world champion.

Dota 2

• BLAST Slam - The BLAST Slam series takes place throughout the season, featuring 10 of the world’s best teams. $1 million in prize money is up for grabs as teams play through the group stage and single-elimination playoffs.

• ESL Pro Tour - An open circuit where teams compete across multiple tournaments for a chance to play in the Championship event at the Esports World Cup.

• DreamLeague - The DreamLeague forms a major part of the Dota 2 ESL Pro Tour. These tournaments feature 24 teams and a prize pool of $1 million. The format is a best-of-3 Swiss system leading into double-elimination playoffs.

• The International - The biggest and most prestigious Dota 2 event is The International, which has also historically offered some of the biggest prize pools in Esports. The format was recently updated to feature a Swiss system, which leads to the knockout playoffs. In 2025, teams can win a share of more than $2 million.

Valorant

• VCT - The Vaorant Champions Tour (VCT) is the global circuit of regional and international tournaments that leads up to the Valorant Champions event. Teams compete in one of the four regional leagues around the world, earning points for their chance to compete in the top international tournaments, including the Masters and Champions.

• Valorant Masters - The Masters tournaments are part of the VCT and feature the 12 best teams from around the world. Current Valorant Masters events offer $1 million in prize money.

• Valorant Game Changers - The Game Changers Championship offers opportunities to women and marginalised genders, creating a more inclusive environment. Like the VCT, teams compete in regional leagues for a chance to compete for the global championship.

• Valorant Champions - The VCT culminates in the annual Valorant Champions tournament, which crowns the world champion.

Esports World Cup

The Esports World Cup is a major annual Esports event which features tournaments in many of the most popular Esports events. It’s held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and offers big prize pools. In addition, all teams taking part have a chance to win the Club Championship by performing well in tournaments across multiple games.

Most Popular Teams & Players

FPS

• Team Vitality - CS2

• Team Spirit - CS2

• FaZe Clan - CS2

• Fnatic - Valorant

• Team Falcons - Apex Legends

MOBA

• T1 - League of Legends

• G2 Esports - League of Legends

• Gen.G - League of Legends

• Bilibili Gaming - League of Legends

• Team Falcons - Dota 2

RTS

• Team Liquid - Starcraft II

• Team Vitality - Starcraft II

Sports

• Nicolas99fc - EA FC

• Verjrgang - EA FC

• Tekkz - EA FC

Most Popular Esports Betting Markets & Bet Types

Betting on Esports tournaments is just like betting on any other sports events at Stake. You can check out our Esports betting guide and our guides for specific game types, such as FPS game betting and MOBA game betting. We’ve also got guides on FPS game terminology and MOBA terminology.

There are many different Esports betting markets at Stake. Some of the most popular bet types include:

• Match winner - Twoway - This is essentially a moneyline bet, where you pick which team you think will win the match overall.

• Map winner - Threeway - A video game map, the area in which the game is played, is typically used as a round for Esports tournaments. This bet allows you to choose which team you think will win the map, with a draw also possible for some games.

• Map Handicap - This handicap betting market lets you predict which team will win the game with a map handicap applied.

• Total Maps/Kills - Bet on the over/under line for the total maps played during the game. You can also bet on the total kills during the match or the total kills for either team.

• Correct Score - This bet type allows you to predict the final score of the match.

• Prop bets - Prop bets offer the chance to bet on stats that aren’t directly tied to the game’s result. For example, you can bet on the total kills for a specific player, multi-kills or which player will achieve first blood.

• Parlays - Within your betslip, you’ll be able to combine multiple bets into one, known as a parlay, to increase your odds and potential payout. Some Esports events also offer same-game multibets, where you can combine bets within the same match.

• Outright bets - Betting on the Esports tournament winner is an example of outright betting.

How to Watch Esports Live Streams & Place Live Bets

All major esports events are covered at Stake, with pre-match and live betting options available. You can check out the latest live betting odds at any time by opening the event as it’s happening. Live scores and stats are provided too, increasing your insights into the match and helping your chances while in-play betting.

We also enable you to keep up with all esports events as they happen in real time through our live stream feature. All you have to do is access the Live Stream tab and find all ongoing major events. From there, find the event you bet on and click on the little screen icon to start the live stream. Live streaming is completely free, and you’ll be able to enjoy all the action as it happens and place more informed bets.

Deposit & Withdrawal Methods for Betting on Esports

Deposit

1. Log in to your Stake.com account using your secure passkey and open your wallet.

2. Choose the deposit option and then pick any of the available payment methods and local currencies, which include Canadian Dollars, Turkish Lira, Vietnamese Dong, Argentine Pesos, Chilean Pesos, Mexican Pesos, USD in Ecuador, and Indian Rupees.

3. Stake also supports crypto deposits, with lots of crypto betting options available, such as BTC, ETH, USDT, EOS, DOGE, LTC, TRX, and SOL.

4. Send your coins to the deposit address provided, or use Mesh to deposit from your wallet or exchange. You can also buy crypto easily and transfer it using Swapped.com or MoonPay.

5. Once your deposit arrives, store your coins in the Stake vault for additional security.

Withdraw

1. Log in and open your Stake wallet.

2. Choose the withdraw option and select any of the available payment methods.

3. Enter your payment details and the amount you’d like to withdraw.

4. If you’re withdrawing crypto, ensure you have the right crypto network selected .

5. Double-check all your details before you confirm the payment.

Sports Betting Promotions, VIP Club & Responsible Gambling

If you’re a regular bettor at Stake, you’ll be able to make the most of our betting promotions and access exclusive rewards via the Stake VIP Club. VIPs can enjoy several benefits, like regular rakeback and reload bonuses, as they level up their accounts. You can even unlock your own VIP host if you reach the top levels.

If you have questions about the VIP Club perks, you can always consult the customer support guide or look into the dedicated VIP Club FAQ page.

Make sure you follow our Stake Smart guidelines to stay in control and bet responsibly while enjoying Esports.