DATA.BET has released its analysis of betting activity from the Esports World Cup 2026, highlighting key trends across titles, markets and regions during the seven-week tournament in Paris.
CS2 and Dota 2 Lead Betting Turnover
Held from July 2 to August 23 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, the 2026 Esports World Cup featured 24 titles and a record $75 million prize pool. It was also the first edition staged outside Saudi Arabia.
Four games accounted for 93% of total turnover, led by Counter-Strike 2 (41%), followed by Dota 2 (31.8%), VALORANT (11.7%) and League of Legends (8.5%). However, average stake sizes showed a different pattern, with League of Legends recording the highest average bet, followed by VALORANT and Dota 2.
Live Betting Dominates Esports
Live betting accounted for 70.9% of all bets, compared with 29.1% placed pre-match. Dota 2 showed the strongest live-betting preference, with 87.7% of its handle generated during matches, while CS2 had the highest pre-match share at 29.1%.
The trend reflects the dynamic nature of esports, where information such as drafts, player performance and in-game developments can significantly influence outcomes. DATA.BET supports this demand through mathematical models and real-time trading, with odds automatically correlated across available outcomes.
Player Props Gain Traction
Player Props represented another important betting category, particularly in shooter titles. The market accounted for 11.8% of CS2 turnover, compared with 10.2% in VALORANT, 4.9% in League of Legends and 3.9% in Dota 2.
Ahead of the tournament, DATA.BET expanded its Player Props offering with Player with Most Kills (incl. overtime) and Player with Most Deaths (incl. overtime).
Esports Betting Requires Broad Market Coverage
The analysis also showed differences in market preferences between titles. Straight Winner and Map Winner markets represented larger shares in Dota 2 and League of Legends, while CS2 and VALORANT generated more distributed betting activity across a wider range of markets.
Among individual matches, FUT Esports vs Team Spirit, Team Vitality vs Team Spirit and FURIA Esports vs FUT Esports recorded the highest betting volumes. Team Spirit, FURIA and FUT Esports also attracted the strongest overall betting activity, with Team Spirit ultimately winning the CS2 title.
DATA.BET also provided coverage for the tournament’s chess competition, featuring 22 players including Magnus Carlsen.
The results underline the growing complexity of esports betting, where live markets, player-focused betting and broad title coverage are becoming increasingly important for operators seeking to build competitive esports offerings.
