Your Red Bull Wololo Tournament Guide 2026

Red Bull Wololo Tournament Structure for South African Players

While the narrative of Red Bull Wololo might shift with each event and the Age of Empires title featured, the fundamental tournament structure remains consistent:

• The competition kicks off with a group stage involving 8 to 16 players.
• This group stage comprises either invited professional players or amateurs who have earned their spot through open qualifiers, like the 'Road To Wololo' preliminary for Legacy 2022.
• The event adopts a 1v1 format, proceeding with a single-elimination bracket.
• Matches in the group stage are played as 'Best of' rounds, such as 'Best of 3' or 'Best of 5'.
• Following the group stage, the victors advance to the playoffs.
• The playoffs consist of a series of 'Best of 5' quarterfinals and semifinals.
• The final two players remaining after the semifinals compete in the grand tournament finals, which adopt a 'Best of 7' format.

To streamline the preliminary stages and jump straight into the action, the tournaments often use a modified version of Age of Empires. For instance, in Red Bull Wololo V, players competed in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition starting with a pre-established 27-villager economy and other essential structures like a blacksmith and barracks. This setup ensures games are decided swiftly, guaranteeing immediate excitement for viewers and players alike.

Mastering Your Bets: How to Bet on Red Bull Wololo in South Africa

Betting on Red Bull Wololo and esports in general offers diverse opportunities, covering everything from live gameplay to tournaments and Twitch streaming. While options like fantasy betting, streamer bets, and pool betting exist, one of the most popular esports betting methods is real money betting.

What is Real Money Betting on Esports?

Placing real money bets on esports like Red Bull Wololo follows the same principles as traditional sports betting for South African players. Simply select the tournament or event you wish to bet on, choose your market, place your wager, and await the outcome.

When placing your bets, consider each player's current form, their potential strategies, and their likelihood of executing them effectively. Will some players aim for an early victory, or will others adopt a more patient, long-term game plan?

A key point to note specifically for Red Bull Wololo is that invited players participate in the group stages, unlike in some other tournaments where they might skip these initial rounds. This can significantly influence the game's progression.

Keep these factors in mind, conduct your research beforehand, and you’ll be well-equipped to make informed decisions on the best real money bets to place, enhancing your betting experience as a South African player.

Top Betting Tips

If live betting is permitted, it might be worth it to watch the players’ performance first before placing a bet, in order to gain a better understanding of their form and condition.

Know how to play the game first. If you’ve never played Age of Empires IV before, for example, you won’t know what you’re betting on. The more you know about each type of game before you place a bet, the better.

Research the players ahead of time, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and in some cases even consider the underdog too, as this could work out to be a more valuable bet. Everything can change on the day of the tournament, so keep your wits about you and bet wisely.

Top Esports Betting Sites

Once you’ve done your research and feel confident in the bets you want to place, you’ll need to find an esports site for a quality provider. There are a number of excellent esports sites around the world that allow bets on Age of Empires, including:

• 1xBet
• 10Bet
• 22Bet
• Bet365
• Betsson
• Betwinner
• Casumo
• Thunderpick
• TonyBet

Red Bull Wololo Bet Types

Placing a bet on a Red Bull Wololo tournament is easy – whether you place a bet on the outcome of an individual match, or wager on several outcomes to try and multiply your winnings, you’ll find plenty of betting markets to choose from.

While each tournament will have its own different competitors and events, typically the most common types of esports bets include:

Match winner bets

Place a match winner bet and you’ll be betting on the winner of a particular match. It’s a simple bet and one that you can make in most types of esports matches.

Outright bets

Here you’ll be betting on which player will win the tournament outright. You’ll usually need to place this type of bet in advance, so if you have a good feeling about an outright bet, try and place it early.

System bets

With a system bet, you’ll be placing more than one bet using a specific system. You’ll only be able to win if all of your selections are correct, but wins from system bets can be impressive.

Esports-specific bets

Here you’ll be placing a bet that’s specific to a particular esport, in this case, Red Bull Wololo. Check your chosen betting site closer to the next tournament and see which specific bets become available for you to choose from.

Betting on Red Bull Wololo Online

Why has Red Bull Wololo become such a popular esports tournament? This goes back to Age of Empires itself – a game that’s developed a loyal following ever since it was first released. With every version subsequently improving on the one before, Age of Empires combines riveting historical storylines with real-time strategy in a game that’s endlessly entertaining and instantly compelling. It’s exactly this evolution that Red Bull Wololo has mirrored, adapting with each of its events from 2020 onwards.

Red Bull Wololo tournament history

Red Bull Wololo I: 16 players took part in the very first Red Bull Wololo in 2020, playing Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition in Empire Wars mode for a prize pool of €20,000.

Red Bull Wololo II: The second in the series, Red Bull Wololo II took place towards the end of 2020, and saw another 16 players battle it out in Age of Empires II, this time for a prize pool of $30,000.

Red Bull Wololo III: Another 16 players face off against each other in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition at the beginning of 2021, with a prize pool of $30,000 at stake.

Red Bull Wololo IV: In mid-2021, the action switched to Age of Empires II: Lords of the West, with 16 players facing off for a $30,000 prize pool.

Red Bull Wololo V: Concluding the saga for 2021, 14 players went head-to-head in a game of Age of Empires II for a huge prize pool of $100,000.

Red Bull Wololo Legacy: In its sixth tournament, Red Bull Wololo Legacy saw professionals and amateurs competing across three titles simultaneously:

• 8 players competing for $50,000 in Age of Empires I: The Rise of Rome
• 16 competing for $200,000 in Age of Empires II
• 16 players competing for $300,000 in Age of Empires IV

How to Place a Bet

1. Choose an esports operator
2. Open an account online
3. Set up a payment method and fund your account
4. Research Age of Empires and make sure you know the games and the players
5. Choose and place your bets

The more research you do, the more informed decisions you’ll be able to make, and the better chance you’ll give yourself of having a successful outcome.

Successful Red Bull Wololo Betting

Having a successful outcome in any esports tournament is all about the types of bets you place, and when it comes to Red Bull Wololo and Age of Empires in particular, popular bet types include:

Match winner – Betting on an individual to win a particular match.

Outright – Betting on an individual to win the entire tournament outright.

Game duration – Betting on how long a particular game will last, e.g. 25 to 30 minutes, 35 to 45 minutes, and so on.

Special bets – Betting on a particular element within an Age of Empires game, such as which type of victory (1 out of 3) will win the game for its player.

Other Esports Tournaments

Aside from Red Bull Wololo and Age of Empires, there are a number of other popular competitions to choose from when it comes to esports betting:

The International: A global esports tournament for Dota 2, held every year since 2011 (with the exception of a cancellation in 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak).

League of Legends World Championship: An annual tournament that sees the best LoL teams from around the world compete for the season title.

PUBG Global Championship: One of the biggest online esports tournaments in the world, featuring the game’s top ranking players.