Bet on ESL Gaming 2026
Looking for top-rated esports betting sites in South Africa? Since 2000, ESL Gaming has been a global leader in esports tournaments, and now we help you find the best platforms to place your bets. We connect you with reputable sites offering competitive odds, secure transactions, and a wide variety of esports events to wager on. Why settle for less when you can access the best?
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Ownership
In 2015, the Modern Times Group acquired 74% of ESL Gaming from its parent company, Turtle Entertainment. In the same year, live esports events started being broadcast in over 1,500 cinemas, significantly boosting ESL Gaming's popularity. This led the organisation to host more eSport online tournaments and progressively expanded its range of eSports titles.
By 2022, the company announced that Savvy Gaming Group (SGG) would purchase both ESL Gaming and another esports platform, FACEIT. The estimated value of ESL Gaming in this deal was US$1.05 billion, with the transaction expected to conclude in the second quarter of that year. SGG plans to merge these two entities to establish the ESL FaceIt Group.
Competitions
ESL typically partners with game developers and publishers like Riot Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft Gaming, and Valve to organise numerous global esports leagues and competitions annually. Nowadays, most of these competitions are held online, drawing in millions of viewers. Some of the premier events include ESL Play, ESL National Championships, ESL Pro Tour, ESL One, and Intel Extreme Masters. Below are some popular games featured in these tournaments and leagues.
- FIFA: The FIFA video game series, developed by EA Sports, is a staple of association football simulation. Capitalising on the immense global popularity of football, the game's core objective is for two teams to outscore their opponents. This makes it a highly engaging title for esports enthusiasts in South Africa and worldwide.
- Rainbow Six: Ubisoft's Rainbow Six is a tactical shooter where players select operators, each with unique abilities and ratings. The game pits terrorists against counter-terrorists in various modes with distinct objectives, offering a strategic challenge that appeals to competitive players.
- Clash of Clans: Developed and published by Supercell, Clash of Clans is set in a fantasy realm where players manage a village chief. The goal is to fortify one's village against attacks and train troops for offensive raids, all while managing limited resources. It's a popular mobile strategy game enjoyed by many players.
- Mortal Kombat: Originally developed by Midway Games, Mortal Kombat is a fantasy-themed fighting game featuring a diverse roster of characters, each with distinct skills and abilities. Despite numerous iterations, the core fighting mechanics remain consistent, making it a classic for fighting game fans.
- NBA2K: Developed by Visual Concepts, NBA2K is a sports simulation game that typically emulates a season of the National Basketball Association, the premier basketball league globally. It's a favourite for fans of basketball esports wanting to relive or create their own league seasons.
- Call of Duty: Activision's Call of Duty series, including popular titles like Warzone, has evolved significantly. While it began with World War II themes, the franchise now explores the Cold War, space, and futuristic settings, offering a wide array of competitive shooter experiences.
- League of Legends: League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game published by Riot Games, was inspired by the popular Dota map developed as a standalone title. Played by two teams of five players each, the objective is to defend their own territory while attacking and destroying the opponent's base. It's a dominant force in the esports scene.
Why are ESL Gaming Tournaments so popular in South Africa?
Game Variety
One of the main reasons ESL Gaming tournaments are popular, especially among punters, is the huge variety of games featured in the many different eSports tournaments. Punters thus have numerous selections of betting markets on which they can place their wagers.
Regulation
The ESL Gaming tournaments are always well-managed and regulated. That ensures fair gameplay and that no one can manipulate game results in any way. The brand's trustworthiness has resulted in players' loyalty, increasing popularity.
Availability
ESL Gaming usually organizes many of the best eSports tournaments and leagues each year. Ideally, there is always an ongoing event at almost all times of the year. Punters can thus rely on the organization to have events on which they can bet throughout the entire year. The events are also usually big enough to be featured in most online casinos.
Ease of Eligibility
ESL Gaming leagues and tournaments are typically created to accommodate nearly all players, ranging from novice to professional players. Some tournaments are designed specifically for the different skill levels, making it easy for anyone to participate in the events. The eligibility requirements are also usually strict but easy.
ESL Gaming Tournaments' winning teams and biggest moments
Out of the numerous tournaments that ESL Gaming has hosted, several teams and players have displayed exemplary performances. The different esports championships and leagues usually feature different esports games, making it a bit challenging to rank the best overall teams. However, various teams and players have constantly had great results in most leagues and tournaments over the years, and some had some big performances at some point.
Top ESL Gaming Teams
Fnatic
Fnatic is one of the top teams to play ESL Gaming Pro League. It has won the league several times, including the first-ever and second seasons. The wins helped cement the team's name among the best teams in the league.
Natus Vincere
The Natus Vincere team holds the title of reigning champions of the Pro League. They won season 14 of the league against Team Vitality, another team known for great performance. The team secured 1 million US dollars for the win, the third team in history to ever win such an amount in an ESL Gaming tournament.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid is well known for being one of the oldest esports teams. It takes part in several ESL tournaments to add to more than 2000 tournaments that the team has played, including some of the biggest eSports tournaments. The team has also generated the highest lifetime revenue, amounting to more than 38 million US dollars.
OG
OG is another team worth noting. It is currently ranked the second-best team based on generated revenue. What makes it exceptional is that the revenue generated, more than 35 million US dollars, is from playing only 126 tournaments. That is a good indication of how good their win ratio is.
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses consists of players from more than ten countries and three continents. It was founded in 1999 and has been among the top-performing teams for more than the two decades it has been gaming to create one of the longest-running legacies. The team has played in more than 900 major esport tournaments and earned more than 25 million US dollars. The team's top performances are in Dota 2 and League of Legends.
Where and how to bet on ESL tournaments
Betting on esport tournaments is relatively easy, especially for punters who have some experience in esports betting. The first step is finding an online esports bookmaker that offers many esports betting markets. For that, you need to ensure the betting site is trustworthy. For convenience, you can consider the payment options provided and choose a betting site that offers the most convenient option for you.
Before betting on an ESL Gaming Tournament, you need to ensure the esports betting account has enough funds for the wager. You can also take advantage of any bonuses or promotional offers you might get.
The next step is selecting an ESL Gaming tournament event that is ongoing and choosing a bet type to place. Online eSport betting sites usually offer different bet types for different games. New punters might have to research the different bet types to make informed betting decisions.
Betting Tips
When betting on an esports tournament, start by creating a list of esports tournaments and then choose the ones on which you can place wagers. Also, ensure you research the teams playing. That can help you determine whether the odds given are worth the gamble. You should also manage your bankroll wisely, especially if you intend to bet on several games in the tournament. Avoiding emotional betting decisions is also essential to successful betting.
