CS2 Betting Guide
According to research data, the esports betting sector is projected to be worth an impressive £2bn by the end of 2024 – stats that help to reveal the incredible popularity of wagering on games such as League of Legends, World of Warcraft and Dota 2.
Perhaps the most wagered-upon game in esports is CS2, or Counter-Strike 2 to give its full name, which has taken the franchise to all-new levels – great news for competitive gamers and those who bet on the best leagues and tournaments around the world.
If you are completely new to wagering on Counter-Strike and esports in general, you may just find this guide on how to bet on CS2 helpful.
History of CS:GO and CS2
Counter-Strike, a first-person shooter game, was first released in 1999 as a ‘mod’ for Half-Life, the ground-breaking title that won countless awards around the globe.
The success of Counter-Strike saw the team behind the original game, Valve, develop a franchise based around its success, with the fourth game in the series – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) – being the one that most captured the imagination of the online multiplayer world.
For context, as of May 2023, there were 1.8 million people playing CS:GO concurrently around the globe!
In September 2023, Valve released the latest iteration of the franchise – Counter-Strike 2 – with reviews of the gameplay and the new maps generally favourable.
And so CS2 has replaced CS:GO as the go-to game of choice for esports bettors, so when you place your bets on the next big league or tournament, this is the version you will be wagering on.
CS2 leagues and tournaments
There are numerous CS2 leagues and tournaments held throughout the year, pitting the most successful teams – such as Team Vitality, G2 Esports and Astralis – against one another in the pursuit of some sizable prize money purses.
There is a rich calendar of CS2 majors every year, with the key organisers – including BLAST Premier, ESL and the European Pro League – attracting the best players and most of the betting interest.
BLAST Premier
The BLAST Premier series takes place throughout the year, with six qualifying events culminating in the BLAST Premier: World Final each November.
The best eight teams from across the season battle it out for the $1m prize fund, with qualification earned via performances in events such as Spring Showdown and the Fall Final.
Immensely popular across Europe and North America, the 2023 edition was won by Team Vitality, who claimed World Final honours in a special event held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
You can bet on all of the BLAST Premier events, and the World Final, when the odds are released in the weeks prior.
ESL Pro League
Another popular avenue for CS2 bettors is the ESL Pro League, the league system that has proven so popular that it will enter seasons 19 and 20 in 2024.
Considered by some to be the premier CS2 event on the calendar, the ESL Pro League features 32 teams made up of fully professional players. Team Vitality and Natus Vincere have been among the most successful teams in ESL history, though FaZe Clan have won two of the previous four Pro League campaigns heading into 2024.
Meanwhile, heading into seasons five and six is ESL Impact, a CS2 league designed exclusively for female players.
European Pro League
So popular is the European Pro League that it has now spread across two divisions of action, as well as its own World Series.
Division 1, as of 2023, had eight individual events called seasons, with 16 teams split into groups of four taking each other on in a round-robin format. The top eight qualify for the bracket-style knockout phase, from which an overall champion is crowned – in Seasons 12 and 13, this was Preasy Esports.
Division 2 is for the next tier of teams, while the World Series sees eight handpicked teams from across the Americas do battle for the top prize.
Of course, you can bet on all of the European Pro League action throughout the year.
FLASHPOINT: a bygone betting league
Unlike the continued success of BLAST, ESL Pro and the European Pro leagues, the FLASHPOINT CS:GO league faced difficulties during its first season, partly caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The league terminated all active tournaments in June 2022 after disagreements between the sponsors and the CS:GO Professional Plays Association (CSPPA).
Despite its short-lived fame, Season 1 and Season 2 both garnered huge viewership, with the latter season offering a $1m prize pool.
Players can no longer bet on this league. However, there’s plenty of CS:GO action in the European and BLAST leagues to keep Counter-Strike 2 enthusiasts occupied.
What are the best CS2 betting markets?
Depending on the event, you will likely have dozens of betting options to explore in your CS2 wagering – from match-by-match odds to outright tournament markets.
Those outright markets speak for themselves – you can bet on who you think will be crowned champion of that particular league or tournament.
As for match-by-match betting, some of the most popular CS2 betting markets include the following.
Match winner
Perhaps the most straightforward of the CS2 betting markets to understand, here you’re simply trying to predict who will win the match – it doesn’t matter what the final score is as long as your backed team prevails.
Handicap
When you explore the match-winner odds for a particular contest, you might think that the lines are a little too short if you fancy a team to win handsomely.
In this situation, you can bet on that team with a minus handicap, effectively taking maps from their score to create a hypothetical result. For example, if you backed Team Vitality with a -1.5 handicap, they would need to win by two or more maps for your bet to land.
On the other hand, you may think that a team have been underappreciated. You could bet on them with a plus handicap – e.g., FaZe Clan +1.5. Here, your bet will land if they win the match or lose by a single map.
Total maps
A lot of CS2 matches are played over a best-of-three or best-of-five format, so we know the minimum and maximum number of maps that can be played.
You can try to predict how many will be played with a line provided by the bookmaker – e.g., 2.5. Will there be three or more (the ‘over’ line) or two or fewer (the ‘under’ line)?
Correct score
You can also try to predict what the final map score will be – this is a useful strategy if you have a strong feeling that the favourite will win comfortably.
CS2 betting tips and advice
In any sport, you’ll know that players and teams experience peaks and troughs of form – they’re human beings, after all, not machines!
So, studying the current form of a CS2 team and their individual players can offer vital clues as to how their next set of results might pan out.
The head-to-head records between two teams can also be instructive. Some sides have a consistent winning record against others – maybe it’s their tactics and strategies, the unique style of their players, and so on. Although past performance never predicts future results with 100% accuracy, previous games can be a useful marker.
Other CS2 betting tips are consistent with wagering on any sport – never chase your losses, wager a small percentage of your bankroll with each bet (around 2% is advised), and always do your research, as opposed to betting ‘blind’.
CS2 betting FAQs
Where can I bet on CS2?
LeoVegas offers odds on a variety of different esports leagues and tournaments, with CS2 chief among them.
How to bet on CS2?
You can bet on CS2 in the same way that you would any other sport – find the selection you want to bet on before clicking on their odds to add them to your betslip. Enter your stake in the box (always remembering to double-check the amount) before confirming your bet.
What betting markets are available when betting on CS2?
There are dozens of betting markets available for many CS2 matches. You can wager on who you think will win, how many maps and rounds there will be, the correct map score, and many more besides.