
- News
- Previews
- In-Play
- Upcoming
- CS2 Betting Sites
- Betting Apps
- Valve Rankings
- 2026 Events
- CS2 Majors
- Bet Types
- History
- FAQ
Counter-Strike 2 betting can be done via many licensed and legal esports betting sites in 2025, with most CS2 betting sites featuring odds surrounding professional esports players and tournaments. Counter-Strike is one of the most popular first-person shooter franchises of all-time, with it also one of the most biggest esports on the planet. Counter-Strike 2 is the fifth instalment in this Valve game that has spawned various competitive video game leagues and tournaments. CS2 betting is available globally, with most betting sites branching out into esports. Our CS2 betting guide will break down everything you need to know, including the best CS2 betting apps, CS2 betting promotions, CS2 tournaments and leagues, and in-depth wagering analysis. You can navigate our CS2 betting sites guide via the quick links above.
-
BetOnline
Fast Payouts
Terms & Conditions Apply. Visit BetOnline for more information.
-
SportsBetting
The bookies' bookie
$250 in Free Bets and 100 Free Spins with first deposit of minimum $50. Full terms
Latest CS2 news
CS2 previews
CS Asia Championships betting tips & odds – Thursday, October 16
CS Asia Championships lower-bracket semifinal tips – October 15
Thunderpick World Championship tips & predictions – Day 1 preview
CS Asia Championships betting tips & top odds – Tuesday, October 14
CS2: Thunderpick World Championship 2025 preview & betting tips
In-play CS2 events

CS2 IEM Fall (IEM Chengdu)
- Where: Chengdu, China
- Prize Money: USD$300,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: November 3-9
The final Intel Extreme Masters event of 2025 will be IEM Fall, or IEM Chengdu as it has been branded. Due to kick off on November 3, it will be held in China for the third straight year, with 16 of the world’s best teams slugging it out. IEM Chengdu has a purse of $300,000 USD, so while it’s not one of the most lucrative events in CS2, the fact it has a $125k first prize and plenty of rankings points make it a tier one event. Vitality at +250 is the current favourite to win IEM Chengdu.

Blast Rivals Fall
- Where: Chek Lep Kok, Hong Kong
- Prize Money: $350,000 USD
- Type: Offline
- Dates: November 12 – November 16, 2025
BLAST Rivals Fall will be played in November in Hong Kong, with it featuring eight teams, with four invited via Global VRS and four teams via wildcards, which promises to make this tournament exciting, featuring highly-ranked and in-form CS2 outfits. VRS Invites include The MongolZ, Vitality, FURIA and Team Spirit, while wildcards include Falcons, paiN, TYLOO and Passion. BLAST Rivals Fall will include a group stage and a playoff bracket.

PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
- Where: Bucharest, Romania
- Prize Money: USD$1,250,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: October 24 – November 2, 2025
The PGL Masters Bucharest Counter-Strike 2 tournament will pit 16 of the world’s best teams against one another, with each of them seeking to claim the lion’s share of the US$1,250,000 prize pool. Played in front of a live audience, the PGL Bucharest Masters event will feature the likes of Team Liquid, Aurora Gaming, 3DMAX and Astralis.
BetOnline
SportsBetting
Upcoming CS2 events

CS2 Asia Championships
- Where: Shanghai, China
- Type: Offline
- Prize Money: USD $400,000
- Dates: October 14-19, 2025
The CS2 Asia Championship is tier two event being played in Shanghai, China. over a five day period in October. Featuring 16 Counter-Strike teams, including big names like 3DMAX, Faze Clan and FNatic, The CS2 Asia Championships will provide a lead-in to the IEM Chengdu tournament kicking off on November 3 for some teams, while others will use it to try and knock off a big name.

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
- Venue: MVM Dome
- Prize money: $1,250,0000
- Type: Offline
- Dates November 24-December 14
- Guide: StarLadder Budapest Major betting guide
The StarLadder Budapest Major is the biggest CS2 esports event left on the 2025 calendar, and with over $1million USD up for grabs, it will attract plenty of betting attention. With 32 teams set to take part, with these based off their Vale Regional Standings as of October 26. Powerhouses like Team Vitality, Falcons, and MOUZ will be among the bookies’ elect to win in Budapest, with the tournament set to run over three stages and a playoff bracket.

IEM Krakow (EPT Winter Championship)
- Where: Krakow, Poland
- Prize Money: $1million USD
- Type: Offline
- Dates: Jan 28-Feb 8, 2026
IEM Krakow will be the first IEM event of the CS2 circuit for 2026, with USD $1.25million and the ESL Grand Slam up for grabs. Held in Katowice last year, the Tauron Arena will host it for the first time, with teams competing for the cherished EPT Winter Championship trophy and a slice of the $1.25m.
The Play-in stage of IEM Krakow will feature 24 teams, with this whittled down to 16 for the group stage and eight for the playoffs stage. Qualification is via the official Valve rankings.

ESL Pro League S23
- Where: Europe
- Prize Money: USD$1million
- Type: Online/Offline
- Dates: Feb 27 – March 29, 2026
This is the one event that is closely watched by all Counter-Strike followers. The ESL Pro League, with it pitting the best of the best against each other.
Beginning online and culminating in a offline playoffs stage, the ESL Pro League is one of the most consistently bet upon CS2 esports events. Team Vitality is gunning for a third successive ESL Pro League title.

Thunderpick World Championship
- Where: Online
- Prize Money: USD$850,000
- Type: Online
- Dates: October 15-19, 2025
The Thunderpick World Championship was played on the CS2 version of Counter-Strike. The Thunderpick World Championship was worth $850,000 and featured many of the top CS2 teams in the world. 2023 was be the inaugural edition of the Thunderpick World Championship, but it has gone from strength-to-strength, including majors boosts to prize money. TWC ’25 was won by FURIA.
Counter-Strike 2 betting 2025
Counter-Strike 2 is one of the most successful multiplayer first-person shooter video games in the world and one of the five most popular esports games hosted globally. With competitions, like the BLAST Premier Series, ESL Pro League and PGL series selling out entire stadiums and with prize-pools upwards of $1 million and above, developer Valve has put some serious work into making their flagship FPS the best possible esport it can be.
If you are a fan of CS2 and want to place a bet on your favourite player or team in their next match, this guide is aimed at educating you to safely bet online. Our CS2 experts will also break down the nuances of wagering on this game, including bet types, how to register and bet, to players and teams, major events covered by betting sites, payments and bookie banking and various other aspects of esports wagering.
Top CS2 betting sites 2025
Terms & Conditions Apply. Visit BetOnline for more information.
The bookies' bookie
$250 in Free Bets and 100 Free Spins with first deposit of minimum $50. Full terms
Fans of Counter-Strike 2 will be happy to know it is readily available to bet on at all major top-rated online betting sites, thanks to its widespread popularity around the world and various major and minor tournaments held across the calendar year.
We have reviewed and tested many different CS2 sportsbooks for various countries around the world to bring fans the best and safest betting sites to bet on CS2 esports. Check our esports betting site reviews for more information on whether they accept players from your region.
The best Counter-Strike 2 esports betting sites allow you to wager across all platforms, including computer and mobile phones. Basically to access a CS2 betting site you just need an internet connection and web browser. Those users with smartphones attempting to find CS2 betting sites will also have the option to download betting apps.
Bet types at CS 2 esports betting sites are extensive, but can vary depending on what event you are looking to wager on. For instance, if you are looking to bet on a CS2 Major, like IEM Cologne or Rio, you will find there are outright markets well in advance of the tournament. But if you want to bet on a small event, like a challenger tour match, you will only find limited markets and most likely only from the day before the event.
Some of the most popular bet types that you will find at Counter Strike betting sites include outright tournament winner, head to head markets like match winner, match scores and so on. There will also be markets for things like tournament VIP or most head shots in a certain match. Basically CS2 betting sites are expanding their odds range surrounding this game all the time.
What Counter-Strike 2 betting sites you can sign up at will largely be determined by your location and gambling laws. For instance, many states in the USA now have regulated sports betting, while other countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, some states in Canada and much of Europe has regulated betting. This essentially means you can only bet with CS2 betting sites that have got a license to operate in your country.
Other players hunting for CS2 betting sites that are in a country like New Zealand, that does not have regulated sports betting, will find that they can bet on esports at offshore betting sites. The brand we advertise in our CS2 esports betting guide, are all geo-targeted and will only show if they are available to people in your country.
Best Counter-Strike betting apps
-
BetOnline
Fast Payouts
Terms & Conditions Apply. Visit BetOnline for more information.
-
SportsBetting
The bookies' bookie
$250 in Free Bets and 100 Free Spins with first deposit of minimum $50. Full terms
Counter-Strike 2 betting apps are available right around the world, although some places are catered to more than others, with regulated markets generally boasting downloads for Android, iOS and HarmonyOS (Huawei) smartphones and tablets.
Android betting apps are the most common way people wager on Counter-Strike, with this mirroring the betting habits of the wider esports ecosystem. Android CS2 betting apps can be downloaded via one of two methods, with these being via Google Play or directly from CS2 gambling operators themselves. You will need to turn on non-market apps if you wish to download CS2 betting apps directly from operators.
Apple or iOS CS2 betting apps are restricted to being downloaded from the App Store, and you will only find these in countries that have regulated sports betting. For instance, Australians can download iOS betting apps from the App for all of the regulated brands, but you won’t find any offshore betting apps available. This situation is mirrored globally, with iOS CS2 betting apps available in places with legal betting, and not in others.
Huawei betting apps for CS2 are less frequent and only available in some gambling markets, although they have increased their market share significantly in certain African and Asian countries, notably including South Africa, Mozambique, Thailand and the Philippines.
While Counter-Strike betting apps are a very popular way to wager on this first-person shooter game, most CS2 betting sites will have a mobile website, that will offer the same wagering opportunities.
Valve’s Counter-Strike 2 global rankings (as of September 30)
| Ranking | Team | Valve Ranking Points | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | The MongolZ | 1,972 | Asia |
| #2 | Team Vitality | 1,902 | Europe |
| #3 | FURIA Esports | 1,885 | Americas |
| #4 | Team Spirit | 1,883 | Europe |
| #5 | Team Falcons | 1,842 | Europe |
| #6 | MOUZ | 1,840 | Europe |
| #7 | Aurora | 1,826 | Europe |
| #8 | G2 Esports | 1,798 | Europe |
| #9 | Natus Vincere | 1,772 | Europe |
| #10 | FaZe Clan | 1,655 | Europe |
| #11 | 3DMAX | 1,650 | Europe |
| #12 | Astralis | 1,648 | Europe |
| #13 | Team Liquid | 1,647 | Europe |
| #14 | TYLOO | 1,620 | Asia |
| #15 | paiN Gaming | 1,573 | Americas |
| #16 | GamerLegion | 1,560 | Europe |
| #17 | B8 | 1,493 | Europe |
| #18 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 1,485 | Europe |
| #19 | PARIVISION | 1,458 | Europe |
| #20 | Passion UA | 1,439 | Americas |
Major CS2 events in 2026
Here are Counter-Strike 2 events and tournaments that have caught our eye.

CS2 IEM Brazil
- Where: Brazil
- Prize Money: USD$1,000,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: April 13-19, 2026
IEM Brazil 2026 is looming as a must-see event, with this the biggest CS2 tourney in South America since IEM Rio 2024. Set to have over $1million in prizes, IEM Brazil will feature 16 of the world’s best Counter-Strike 2 teams playing in a groups stage, and then a brackets playoffs stage. Teams are selected for the even based off their Valve global rankings.

PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
- Where: Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Prize Money: USD$1,250,0000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: February 9-23, 2026
The PGL Cluj-Napoca event is set to be a high-stakes showdown, with the world’s best Counter-Strike 2 teams competing for US$1.25 million in prize money.
PGL Cluj-Napoca will be the first of many CS2 tournaments that will be organised by PGL from 2025-2027, following their return to promoting this game.

IEM Spring
- Where: Melbourne, Australia
- Prize Money: USD$300,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: April 21-27
The IEM Spring event will be played in Melbourne, Australia, from April 21-27, and will feature many of the top CS2 players in the world. IEM Spring betting is also very popular and will only ramp up as the event draws closer. The IEM Spring tournament will have a first prize of $100,000 for the winner.

IEM USA 2026
- Where: USA
- Prize Money: USD$300,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: May 11-17, 2026
The IEM USA event will be played in May 2026 and will feature many of the top CS2 players in the world.
IEM Summer betting is also very popular and will only ramp up as the event, to be hosted in the USA, draws closer. The IEM USA 2026 tournament will have a first-prize of USD $125,000 to the winner, while $300,000 will be spread throughout the placings. 16 teams will be invited to IE USA 2026, with their rankings the defining factor.

IEM Cologne Major 2026
- Where: Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, Germany
- Prize Money: USD$1,000,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: June 2-21, 2026
The IEM Cologne esports event is the event that every player and team want to win the most of any event on the CS2 calendar. Playing in what is known as the “Cathedral of Counter-Strike”, the Lanxess-Arena provides an atmosphere like no other, anywhere in the world. This event pits 24 of the best CS2 teams against each other in Germany. CS2 betting heats up around this event each year and markets are generally open well in advance of the tournament.

Esports World Cup
- Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Prize Money: USD$1,250,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: August 20-23
The Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia is the richest series ever held in esports and Counter-Strike has not missed out, with a $1.25 million prize pool up for grabs. The Esports World Cup CS2 tournament will feature many of the best players in the world, with the competition promising to be first-rate. Other games at the Esports World Cup include Rocket League, Dota 2 and Tekken.

PGL Astana
- Where: Astana, Kazakhstan
- Prize Money: USD$1.25million
- Type: Offline
- Dates: May 7-18, 2026
Set to be played on Counter-Strike 2, PGL Astana will feature many of the world’s best teams. Boasting a whopping $1.25million USD prize pool, PGL Astana is set to be the biggest esports event ever held in Kazakhstan, which shows just how far CS2 esports has come globally.
CS2 Majors in 2026
Aa a general rule Valve will run two events each year that are classified as majors, with these Counter-Strike 2 tournaments having huge prize pools of over a million USD.
2025 CS2 Majors
The Counter-Strike 2 Majors for 2025 — BLAST.tv Austin Major & StarLadder Budapest Major — will be played in June and December. The tournaments will be split into three stages, with the event running for just over two weeks. CS2 betting ramps up around the the time of the majors, with more markets, odds and even promotions available when these tournaments are running.
2026 CS2 Majors
The 2026 CS2 Majors will be played in Cologne from June 2 to June 21, 2026; while the second major will be CS2 Major Championship Winter 2026, with it due to start on November 30 and run until December 13, 2026. These are specifically sanctioned “Majors” by CS2 developer Valve.
Counter-Strike 2 esports betting reviews
Some of the most popular Counter-Strike 2 esports betting sites have got huge global footprints and are licensed in many different countries.
- Betway esports
- 888sports esports
- Betsson esports
- bet365 esports
- Leo Vegas esports
- William Hill esports
Best Counter-Strike 2 betting sites by country
CS2 betting sites in 2025 can vary greatly depending on your location, with it depending on the gambling laws where you are located. We always recommend betting on CS2 at with companies that are licensed in your country, if possible, with this giving you the most protection. However, we do understand that many of our readers are from places without regulated CS2 betting and know they can legally bet with offshore bookies.
You can learn more about the top CS2 betting sites in our guides for specific countries:
- Australian esports betting
- UK esports betting
- USA esports betting
- Canadian esports betting
- Filipino esports betting
- Chinese esports betting
BetOnline
SportsBetting
Counter-Strike 2 betting sites payment types
CS2 betting sites have got many different payment types, with these including credit and debit cards, web wallets, payment processors and even cryptocurrencies.
Some of the most common CS2 sportsbook payment types include:
- Apple Pay
- Visa
- Credit card
- Paypal
- Neteller
- Bitcoin
- Astropay
- Bitcoin
- POLi
- Skrill
- Giropay
- Mastercard
- SEPA Direct Debit
- Sofort
Counter-Strike 2 bet types
For most bettors and sportsbooks, the most popular bets for CS2 esports matches are straight wins (which team will win the match) but there is a large range of other betting markets available that knowledgeable fans can take advantage of to get the best bang for their buck.
Before you jump in, though, be sure to read our beginners esports betting guide for the basics on how to place a bet at an online esports betting site.
A word of warning, CS2 betting sites will vary greatly in how many bet types they have on events. This could be that an event simply has less interest around it, so there are less markets or a bookie may not have branched out extensively into esports. The EsportBet.com team strive to only recommend the best CS2 betting sites that feature extensive odds on professional matches.
The main betting markets available on Counter-Strike 2 esports competitions and tournaments are:
- Draw: You are placing a bet on whether the outcome of the CS2 match results in a draw.
- Group of Winner: You are placing a bet on the group which contains the overall final winner of the entire tournament. This is a great way to get decent odds, on very good players early in the CS2 esports event.
- Group Winner: You are placing a bet on the winning group of the specified CS2 tournament (if teams are organised in groups). This CS2 bet type has continued to grow in popularity and is available at many betting sites.
- CS2 Handicap: You are placing a bet on whether the team with the handicap advantage or disadvantage wins. Example: You place a bet on Team A, which has a 3 round advantage against Team B at a Major CS2 esports tourmament. The final score is 8 – 10, but with the 3 round handicap, Team A wins with the revised score of 11 – 10, which means your wager is paid out.
- Over/Under: You are placing a bet on the number a sportsbook predicts for a particular statistic in a given game (most often combined score of the two teams, also factors such as total kills and first to markets); whether the actual number in the game is either higher or lower than the bookmaker/sportbook’s odds.
- Region Winner: You are placing a bet on the specific region the winner is from, if the tournament separates them by region.
- Total Rounds: You are placing a bet on whether the overall match will go over or under a certain number of rounds. Many CS2 sportsbooks have not got this market available when Major events roll around.
Special types Counter-Strike 2 esports bets
These are more exotic types of betting markets available for Counter-Strike 2 at online and mobile sportsbooks.
- Map Betting: You are placing a bet on the team that has the best performance on the map being played on, such as Mirage or Nuke.
- First Blood: You are placing a bet on the team who scores the first kill of the match.
- Knife Round: You are placing a bet on the team who scores the first kill of the Knife round which determines the team’s starting side.
- Knife Round/Pistol Round: You are placing a bet on the team who scores the first kill of the Knife Round, when available.
- Top Fragger: You are placing a bet on the player who scores the highest at the end of the specified map or match.
Esports history of Counter-Strike
Amateurs, third party esports organisations and developer Valve themselves established Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a serious esport soon after its initial release in 2012, and it has quickly risen to the top of the esports circuit, owing to its highly competitive multiplayer gameplay design and brand recognition from previous entries in the long-running series. Many tournament professional gaming organisers like the Electronic Sports League, Intel Extreme Masters and Major League Gaming host CS:GO tournaments all year round, with prize-pools first starting around $200,000 and eventually ballooning past the $1 million mark from 2015 onwards.
The competitive esports scene has continued to develop around CS:GO, with Valve and its flagship Steam product, finding ways to stamp out online cheating. One of the biggest anti-cheating measures was rolled out in November 2017, when the “Trust Factor” was announced. This takes into consideration things like the players actions in-game, have they been reported for cheating and even encompasses the wider Steam network, where your actions could impact your Trust Factor.
On December 6, 2018, Valve announced Counter Strike would be 100% free to play following a patch update. Users who already owned the game were given “Prime” status as a thank you, while other players are given the option to upgrade. Around this time, Calve also released an offline version of the game, which allows you to play against bots without an internet connection. A new game mode Danger Zone, with the Battle Royale format, was also added around this time.
Developer Valve co-sponsors and organises many esports events for CS:GO, called ‘Majors’, and these are the competitions which boast the biggest prize pools of them all.
Operation Shattered Web was released in November of 2019, which is very similar to other operations. A new battle pass system, characters and other features were included in the latest update.
The 2019 CSGO esports season was dominated by Danish powerhouse Astralis, which managed to win both the StarLadder Berlin Major and the Katowice Major. Astralis also won the last CS GO major of 2018, firmly putting them as the team to beat heading into the 2020 CSGO season.
After years of speculation and multiple leaks, Valve announced during 2023 that they were working on and expecting to release the next version of Counter-Strike, with it to be named Counter-Strike 2.
In September 2023, the full game was released and from October 2023, all tournament will be played on Counter-Strike 2. The first Major on Counter-Strike 2 will be the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen in March of 2024.
Other games in the Counter Strike series
Counter Strike was first released in 1999 for Windows and was a mod for the popular FPS engine used in Half Life. In its existence, there have been four different editions of Counter Strike, but it has been Global Offensive that has made this series into one of the biggest esports on the planet.
Counter-Strike (1999)
Originally a modified version of the Half Life engine, Valve bought the developers and code base for Counter-Strike in the year 2000. The game was a smash hit from the outset, with LAN competitions all over the world. The first professional fantasy esports league was launched in 2004, surrounding Counter Strike, with some crediting this decision with the games longevity and ability to thrive in a crowded esports market. Globally Counter Strike sold 1.5 million units in a two year period from its release.
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (2004)
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero was the follow up to the original title, with it hit with mixed reviews. Developed bu Turtle Rock Studios, Condition Zero, graphics wise, was very similar to the original. How it was different was an included single-player mode, that allowed you to play a campaign, or essentially follow an adventure. CS Condition Zero is comparison to what was to come made very little impact in sales and buzz, with it failing to outshine the original.
Counter-Strike: Source (2004)
Counter-Strike: Source was released in 2004 and was the first big shake-up of the game, with it running on the Source engine. Released for Beta testing on August 11, 2004, Counter Strike: Source was given rave reviews, and quickly gained popularity, first being packaged free with Half Life 2, and then given a stand-alone release. Like the original, CS Source pits terrorists against Counter Terrorists.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was the fourth release in the CS series, again running on the Source engine and being developed by Valve. Remarkably there has not been another release in the series, since CS:GO but this is not surprising given the strong numbers that still play it and the huge profits the company makes, largely through its ownership of Steam. CS GO is available on the PS3, XBOX360, Mac and PC. It’s largely the PC version of CSGO that competitive esports is played via, with many of the tournaments and leagues boasting millions of viewers via streams and millions in prize money. CS:GO will go down as one of the best esports to hold tournaments, with many memories and legends made during the 10-year history of the title.
Counter-Strike 2 (2023)
Counter-Strike 2 was the fifth release in the CS series, again running on the Source engine and being developed by Valve. After 10 years of tournament play on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, players and coaches will have to transfer everything they know to the new and improved game. Every upcoming tournament from 2023 onwards will now be played on Counter-Strike 2, with huge prize pools attached to big events and Majors set to begin in 2024.
Our top Counter-Strike 2 betting sites are:
Terms & Conditions Apply. Visit BetOnline for more information.
The bookies' bookie
$250 in Free Bets and 100 Free Spins with first deposit of minimum $50. Full terms
Counter-Strike 2 betting questions
- How do I watch CS2 online? Counter-Strike is one of the most popular esports, with millions of people tuning in to watch it via streaming services such as Twitch and Youtube. Streaming Counter-Strike can also be done via some esports betting sites, while it will always be free to watch.
- Is it legal to bet on CS2? This will largely depend on where you are in the world, with CS 2 betting laws determined by the government in your country, or even state. For instance in the USA, sports betting is only legal in some USA states, although this is changing rapidly following the successful repel of the PASPA ruling by the state of New Jersey.
- Who is the best Counter-Strike player in the world? There are a number of players that could lay claim to the title of “best Counter-Strike player” and it can change from tournament to tournament, or even day to day, with form and other factors playing a role. At the time of writing Ukranian S1mple is regarded as the best player in Counter-Strike.
- Is betting on CS2 easy? The more you know about professional CS 2 the more luck you will have betting on it. If you are a newcomer to CS 2 betting it pays to do some research about the match you are going to bet on. For instance have the teams played before? Who dominated? Is there any players missing this time around? Like all esports betting, the more you know about the pro circuit the more informed bets you will be able to make.



