IEM Cologne 2021: How Major Tournaments Are Boosting The Popularity Of Esports Betting

IEM Cologne 2021: How Major Tournaments Are Boosting The Popularity Of Esports Betting

IEM Cologne is one of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments of 2021. This important esports event brings together 24 teams from around the world, has a prize pool of $ 1 million and three stages of play.

Counter-Strike is booming

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series. Like its predecessors, this version of the game is a multiplayer first-person shooter in which two teams (terrorists and counter-terrorists) compete against each other in different game modes.

Just think, the first release of Counter-Strike took place on November 9, 2000. This game has been around for over 20 years. Despite the fact that the last game in the CS series Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released almost 9 years ago, in August 2012, the game still has a leading position on the network and has millions of fans.

According to Statista, Counter-Strike had 24 million monthly active users as of February 2020, nearly double that of May 2016. In May 2021, CS: GO reached over one million concurrent players on Steam.

More than just a game

And what is important, this is a game not only for millions of e-sportsmen, but, of course, for those who like to watch e-sports competitions. The ELEAGUE Major, which took place in January 2018, became the most popular CS: GO tournament that year, gaining almost 1.9 million viewers. With so many followers, CS: GO competitions certainly generate enough revenue for competition organizers, players, and other industry players.

The annual cumulative prize pool of tournaments in 2019 reached $ 21.77 million. And in 2020, the estimated prize pool for CS: GO tournaments was $ 15.85 million, making this game the owner of the highest aggregate prize pool this year.

Gamers do not lack attention and monetary rewards. For example, Danish player, Astralis team member Andreas Hoyslet, known by his pseudonym Xyp9x, earned more than $ 1.88 million by participating in CS: GO competitions. It currently ranks second on the CS: GO player earnings list. Another Danish player, Peter Rasmussen, aka dupreeh, is number one with approximately $ 1.91 million.

CS: GO Tournament Bets

Professional esports quickly became the subject of interest among bookmakers. Today, according to iGB, esports betting can be roughly divided into two categories. The first includes the "big three": League of Legends, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. They are among the most popular video games in the world.

The growing popularity of these games has attracted the attention of many bookmakers. Global betting operators are expanding their portfolio with online PC games. Today one of the most popular events is commercial CS: GO tournaments with round-the-clock matches. They allow bookmakers to fill the airtime with interesting content.

Betting on CS: GO commercial events works the same way as betting on major CS: GO events. Bettors place bets on different markets: match outcome, top players, final results, etc.

One of the platforms providing fast and dynamic 24/7 esports tournaments is ESportsBattle. The organizers of ESportsBattle CS: GO tournaments have noticed a huge surge in betting activity ahead of major matches.

ESportsBattle and CS: GO

Due to the increased global demand, the ESportsBattle platform decided to expand its horizons and became the first platform on which the 1x1 CS: GO matches were launched. This format guarantees novice players the opportunity to try their hand. Previously, ESportsBattle only had a 5x5 format, and later the platform also became the first to organize CS: GO 2x2 matches.

Such a variety of formats and modes allows professional players and amateurs to fight in EsportsBattle tournaments, develop their skills and make money from it.

In July 2021, when IEM Cologne 2021 took place, ESportsBattle CS: GO matches received much more views, which in turn led to an increase in bettor engagement. The number of views of ESportsBattle tournaments has grown sharply: from 120 thousand in June to almost 200 thousand in July.

In addition, the number of views has increased by 73% since the beginning of 2021. CS: GO betting gives bettors the opportunity to feel even more involved in all IEM Cologne 2021 competitions, as if they were real tournament participants.

The eSports and betting market has become very popular thanks to the regular broadcasts of esports events that have given impetus to the development of the gaming industry. Moreover, according to one of the bookmakers, from June to July, the number of involved bettors who bet on EsportsBattle CS: GO events increased by almost 40%.