Bet on ESL Gaming 2026
Looking for the top esports betting sites in Ireland? You've come to the right place! Since 2000, ESL Gaming has been at the forefront of competitive gaming, hosting massive tournaments like Intel Extreme Masters Katowice, drawing huge crowds and millions of Twitch viewers. Now, Irish players can get in on the action with our expert-reviewed selection of licensed esports betting platforms.
We help you cut through the noise and find the best esports betting experience tailored to your needs. Whether you're after competitive odds on League of Legends, CS:GO, or Dota 2, our guide highlights secure, reputable sites with fast payouts and top-notch customer support. Bet safely and responsibly on the biggest esports events with our trusted partners.
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Ownership
In 2015, the Modern Times Group acquired 74% of ESL Gaming from its parent company, Turtle Entertainment. That same year, live esports events began broadcasting in over 1,500 cinemas, significantly boosting ESL Gaming's popularity. As a result, the organisation expanded by hosting more esport online tournaments and gradually increased the variety of esports titles they featured.
In 2022, the company announced that Savvy Gaming Group (SGG) would purchase ESL Gaming and another esports platform named FACEIT. The estimated value of ESL Gaming in this deal was 1.05 billion US dollars, with the transaction expected to be completed in the second quarter of that year. SGG plans to merge these entities to form the ESL FaceIt Group.
Competitions in Ireland
ESL frequently partners with game developers and publishers like Riot Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft Gaming, and Valve to organise numerous esport leagues and competitions worldwide each year. The majority of these competitions now take place online, drawing in millions of viewers from Ireland and beyond. 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: Developed by EA Sports, the FIFA video game series is based on association football, mirroring the world's most popular sport. The gameplay centres on two teams competing to score more goals than their opponent.
- Rainbow Six: Rainbow Six is a tactical shooter published by Ubisoft. Players select from various operators, each with unique abilities and stats. The game pits two teams, terrorists and counter-terrorists, against each other in diverse modes with different objectives.
- Clash of Clans: Developed and published by Supercell, Clash of Clans is set in a fantasy world where players manage a village chief. The aim is to build a defensible village and train troops for offensive raids using limited resources.
- Mortal Kombat: Originally developed by Midway Games, Mortal Kombat is a fighting game featuring a diverse cast of characters, each with unique skills and abilities. While there have been numerous iterations, the core gameplay remains consistent.
- NBA2K: NBA2K, developed by Visual Concepts, simulates basketball sports, typically mirroring a season of the National Basketball Association, the premier professional basketball league globally.
- Call of Duty: Call of Duty: Warzone is another shooter title from Activision. Initially set during World War II, the series now extends to games set in the Cold War, outer space, and future eras.
- League of Legends: This multiplayer battle arena game, published by Riot Games, was inspired by the Defense of the Ancients map and developed into a standalone title. It features two teams of five players each, tasked with defending their territory while assaulting the opponent's.
Why are ESL Gaming Tournaments Popular in Ireland?
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.
