CS2 and Dota 2 account for 72.8% of Esports World Cup betting activity

Pavo Jurkic Published September 2, 2026

Valve’s popular esports titles, Dota 2 and Counter Strike 2, have dominated the betting activity at the 2026 Esports World Cup. These two titles alone accounted for 72.8% of betting activity.

Valve’s Dota 2 and Counter Strike 2, together with Riot Games’ Valorant and LoL, remain the most dominant esports betting powerhouses, driving 93% turnover during this event, per the report by DATA.BET.

EWC Betting Stats

• Duration: 7 weeks (July 2nd through August 23rd)
• Location: Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
• Total prize pool: $75,000,000
• Games covered: 24
• Biggest games: CS2, Dota 2, Valorant, and LoL

Biggest esports betting markets at EWC 2026

According to the report, CS2 betting has the biggest turnover at 41%, followed by Dota 2 at 31.8%. Riot Games’ esports, Valorant and League of Legends, are right behind them at 11.7% and 8.5%, respectively. Alongside the top four, other notable mentions include Rainbow Six Siege, Call of Duty, and Rocket League.

Stake size stats tell a slightly different story. League of Legends betting had the highest average stake, while Counter Strike 2 had the lowest.

Pre-match vs live bets

Across the entire EWC betting arsenal, 29.1% were pre-match bets, while the remaining 70.9% were during live esports matches. Counter Strike 2 had the highest percentage of pre-match bets, just shy of 30%, while Dota 2 was on the other end of the spectrum, with 87.7% of bets being live.

This makes perfect sense because MOBA games have a plethora of factors that affect the remainder of the match, the most impactful of which are champion picks and bans. Additionally, every single lost objective or neutral camp can provide plenty of advantage and shift the momentum, hence such a large percentage of live bets.

Naturally, FPS games are inherently different. While eco rounds and half-buys do matter, just as much as momentum shifts and positional play in different halves, it’s nowhere near MOBAs.

Most notable matchups

Lastly, the largest betting volumes were all in CS2 matches. These were the following three:

• FUT Esports vs Team Spirit (Grand final)
• Vitality vs Team Spirit (Quarterfinal)
• FURIA vs FUT Esports (Semifinal)

Notably, the two most watched esports titles at the EWC, namely MLBB and PUBG Mobile, aren’t present on the list for top betting games. This isn’t a huge surprise, as the two games are played on mobile and are more popular in emerging regions, where betting volumes and markets are considerably smaller.

Featured image credit: Esports Foundation