If you take a look at Esports, you won’t find a game that’s had as much impact as Dota 2. The second iteration of Defense of the Ancients by Valve has broken the records set by the first game and has millions of fans around the world. The fact that it’s played competitively makes it an excellent betting choice too, with this Esports titan drawing in millions of viewers and bettors.
Dota 2 is one of the most popular Esports betting options, especially when major international tournaments arrive. If you’ve never bet on it, we have a detailed guide on how to start betting on it and see why it’s such an exciting Esports betting option.
Let’s start with some basics. Dota 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena developed by Valve. The game developer is known for Half Life and as the owner of the Steam game platform. As one of the most successful Esports games ever, Dota 2 has millions of active players at all times.
If you do some research, you’ll find hundreds of professional teams and thousands of Dota 2 players that participate in major tournaments every year. All these tournaments are featured at the top betting sites, offering dozens of available bets with competitive odds and offers.
Dota 2 is not an easy game to play. There’s a lot to learn, especially if you’re new to the whole MOBA thing. A game lasts between 15 and 75 minutes, so there’s a lot of time investment too. But, we’ll try to explain the basics so you can better understand what you can bet on.
At the beginning of the game, players have a choice to pick from 124 possibilities. Those are various Dota 2 heroes, which you can pick individually or in accordance to a team’s guideline. Depends whether you’re playing your friends or competitively in a tournament.
The goal of the game is to take down the opponent’s Ancient, or the team’s main structure. Once it falls, the game is over. So, you can easily guess that since it’s a game played between two teams, you can bet on the winner. You can also bet on tournament outrights months before it begins if you have a particular team in mind as the winner.
Another thing that you can conclude from this is that the games are very long, making Dota 2 an excellent pick for live bettors. But, considering the game’s complexity, it’s best to take a look at our Dota 2 betting tips, which might make things for you easier.
There are quite a few tournaments where pro teams battle opponents in Dota 2. The largest one is The International, which has a prize purse north of $40 million. Valve has recently announced even more Dota Pro Circuit tournaments, which adds to the competitive side of the game.
Of course, there are also minor tournaments that are used as qualies for the major tournaments. Fans can expect a number of tournaments each year, and you can bet that you’ll find them at the major betting sites.
Betting on Dota 2 markets at leading betting sites is the easiest thing. It doesn’t differ from betting on football or any other Esports markets. It’s all automated, so you can just click on the odds you see fit and they’ll be added to your betting slip.
Continue adding bets to your slip, and you’ll create an accumulator. It offers much better returns, but at a higher risk, as you must win all your bets on the acca slip.
The number of available Dota 2 bets is impressive, and still rising. You can bet in many markets depending on the scenarios in a match or tournament or league. Those include outrights and match winners as the bread-and-butter of Dota 2 betting, as well as player props, occurrences, and of course, live betting markets.
Here are the main Dota 2 betting markets you’ll find at the top bookies.
With so many Dota 2 tournaments on offer, the first bet you can place is the winner of each competitions. Betting sites will have odds in this market months before it begins. Naturally, the odds will be the longest in the beginning, and will begin to shorten as the event comes close. If you think you know who’ll lift the trophy, it’s best to place this bet as early as possible.
Betting on match results or the match winner market works in the same way as in does in football or basketball. This market is also known as moneyline. You’re allowed to choose one team so either team A or team B. Some matches can end in a tie, and in that case, most bookies pay this bet out as a push, which means you get your stake back.
Keep in mind that Dota 2 Grand Finals matches are played in a best of format, which means the winner is decided after 1, 3, or 5 games. If you choose the winner of these games, you’ll have to wait for the maps or rounds to end and determine the winner. This is why it’s important to read reliable Dota 2 betting tips articles, which will show you which team has the depth to succeed.
In an uneven match between two teams, bookies might handicap one of the sides. For example, if there’s an overwhelming favorite, bookies might add a disadvantage 1.5 match handicap, meaning they must beat their opponent with a 2-point score such as 2-0.
In the same way, teams handicapped with an advantage of 1.5 can lose the game by 1 point and you’ll still win your bet.
Betting on Dota 2 event occurrences is similar to team or player props in football. Instead of betting on the match result, you bet that a certain event takes place during a match. For example, you can often bet on an Aegis of the Immortal being stolen by any of the teams. Another option would be a Godlike streak for a player (9 kills in a row), a rampage (5 kills in quick succession), or an animal courier getting killed.
These occurrences are a great pick for seasoned Dota 2 betting veterans as they often come with long odds that make them worth your while.