Bet on ESL Gaming 2026
Looking for the best esports betting action in Nigeria? You've come to the right place! Since 2000, ESL Gaming has been a leading force in global esports, organizing tournaments and leagues worldwide. Now, Nigerian players can get in on the excitement with our guide to top esports betting sites. We'll help you find secure, licensed platforms offering competitive odds and fast payouts.
From massive tournaments like Intel Extreme Masters Katowice, viewed by millions, to smaller local events, the world of esports is booming. We'll guide you through finding the best betting options, understanding odds, and claiming exclusive bonuses. Bet safely and responsibly on your favorite esports teams and tournaments with our expert recommendations. Start your winning streak today!
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Ownership of ESL Gaming
In 2015, the Modern Times Group took a significant stake, acquiring 74% of ESL Gaming from its parent company, Turtle Entertainment. That same year, live esports events began gracing over 1500 movie theaters, a move that dramatically boosted ESL Gaming's popularity. This success led the organization to host more eSport online tournaments and steadily expanded its portfolio of eSports games.
By 2022, plans were in motion for Savvy Gaming Group (SGG) to acquire both ESL Gaming and another major esports platform, FACEIT. The estimated value of ESL Gaming in this acquisition was a hefty 1.05 billion US dollars. The deal was slated for completion in the second quarter of that year, with SGG intending to merge the two entities into the ESL FaceIt Group, creating a powerhouse in the esports scene.
ESL Gaming Tournaments: The Games You Can Bet On
ESL consistently partners with leading game publishers like Riot Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft Gaming, and Valve to stage a wide array of esports leagues and competitions across the globe annually. While many of these events are now held online, they draw millions of viewers. Some of the premier ESL 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, offering exciting betting opportunities for Nigerian players.
- FIFA: Developed by EA Sports, the FIFA series of video games captures the essence of association football. It's incredibly popular, mirroring the world's most beloved sport. The gameplay focuses on two teams vying to score more goals than their opponent to secure a win.
- Rainbow Six: This tactical shooter, published by Ubisoft, allows players to select operators from the Rainbow team, each with unique abilities and strengths. The game pits two teams, terrorists and counter-terrorists, against each other in various modes with distinct objectives.
- Clash of Clans: Developed and published by Supercell, Clash of Clans immerses players in a fantasy world where they lead a village as its chief. The goal is to build a strong village capable of defending against attacks and train troops to launch assaults, all while managing limited resources.
- Mortal Kombat: Originally created by Midway Games, Mortal Kombat is a celebrated fantasy fighting game series. It features a diverse cast of characters, each with distinct skills and abilities. Despite numerous iterations, the core fighting gameplay remains a constant.
- NBA2K: Visual Concepts develops NBA2K, a simulation video game series focused on basketball. Each title typically recreates a season of the National Basketball Association, the premier professional basketball league globally.
- Call of Duty: Activision's Call of Duty: Warzone is another popular shooter title. While its initial release centred on World War II themes, the series has since expanded to encompass games set in the Cold War, space, and futuristic eras.
- League of Legends: This massively popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game is published by Riot Games. Inspired by the "Defense of the Ancients" map, it has evolved into a standalone phenomenon. League of Legends is played by two teams of five players each, tasked with defending their own base while simultaneously attacking the opponent's.
Why ESL Gaming Tournaments Are So Popular with Nigerian Players
Diverse Game Selection
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.
