Counter-Strike 2 betting can be done via many licensed and legal esports betting sites in 2024, with most CS2 betting sites featuring odds surrounding the 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.
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Valve’s Counter-Strike 2 global rankings (as of December 2024)
Latest Counter-Strike 2 news
Counter-Strike 2 betting guide introduction
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 titles hosted globally. With competitions, like the BLAST Premier 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 to educate you on how to properly and safely bet at online esports betting sites and familiarise players with the many unique gameplay terms and betting markets pertaining exclusively to Counter-Strike 2.
Major CS2 Events in 2025
Counter-Strike 2 has taken over from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive during 2025; however, the next Major will be on the new title.
Here are CS2 events and tournaments that have caught our eye.
ESL Pro League (2 seasons per year)
- Where: Saint Julian’s, Malta
- Prize Money: US$400,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: Season 21: March 1-16 | Season 22: September 27-October 12
This is the one event that is closely watched by all Counter-Strike followers. The ESL Pro League, with it’s US-based competition, pits 24 invited teams against each other from various regions around the world. ESL Pro League betting will be available at all the top CS2 betting sites well in advance of the beginning of the tournament. On match-day CS2 betting is available at most esports betting sites.
CS2 Intel Extreme IEM Katowice
- Venue: Spodek Arena, Katowice, Poland
- Prize money: $1,000,0000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: January 29-February 9
The IEM Katowice CS2 event is the first big event of the year on the Counter-Strike professional calendar. Katowice is held in the same regard at IEM Cologne, as one of the most prestigious events along with the Majors. This event pits 24 of the best CS2 teams against each other in Poland. CS2 betting heats up around this event each year and markets are generally open well in advance of the tournament.
IEM Spring
- Where: TBC
- Prize Money: US$300,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: April 21-27
The IEM Spring event will be played in April 2025 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 Summer (IEM Dallas 2025)
- Where: Dallas, Texas
- Prize Money: US$300,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: May 19-25
The IEM Dallas event will be played in May 2025 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 Dallas, draws closer. The IEM Summer tournament will have a first-prize of $100,000 to the winner.
IEM Cologne
- Venue: Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, Germany
- Prize money: $1,000,0000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: July 23-August 3
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 CS2
- Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Prize Money: US$1,250,000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: August 20-24
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.
Thunderpick World Championship
- Venue: Online
- Prize money: $850,000
- Type: Online
- Dates: October 15-19
The Thunderpick World Championship will be played on the CS2 version of Counter-Strike as CS:GO fades into the distance. The Thunderpick World Championship is worth $250,000 and features many of the top CS2 teams in the world. 2023 was be the inaugural edition of the Thunderpick World Championship and will run con-currently with the Roobet Cup and some teams will play in both events.
CS2 IEM Fall (IEM Chengdu)
- Venue: Chengdu, China
- Prize money: $300,0000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: November 3-9
The final Intel Extreme Masters event of 2025 will be IEM Fall in October. For the third straight year, IEM will return to China, with 16 of the world’s best Counter-Strike teams taking their place at the event. The seven-day-long event will be held at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, with a total prize pool worth $250,000.
BLAST PREMIER WORLD FINAL
- Venue: Singapore
- Prize money: $1,000,0000
- Type: Offline
- Dates: October 30-November 3
The very last Counter Strike event of they year will take place in Singapore, with all of the Major and BLAST Premier winner participating in the BLAST Premier World Final. They will be playing off for the US$1,000,000 prize pool, with the winner taking home US$500,000. On match-day CS2 betting is available at most esports betting sites. Lead-up events to the BLAST Premier World Final include the BLAST Premier Spring Final and BLAST Premier Fall Final, which will be held in mid-August.
CS2 Majors in 2025
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.
The Counter-Strike 2 Major for 2025 — BLAST.tv Austin Major — will be played in June. The tournament will be split into three stages, Opening Stage, Elimination Stage and Playoff Stage, with the event running for just under 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.
The Counter-Strike 2 Major in 2025 are:
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
- Venue: Moody Centre, Austin
- Prize money: $1,250,0000
- Type: Offline
- Start date: June 9
- End date: June 22
- Guide: BLAST.tv Austin Major betting guide
Best esports betting sites for CS2
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.
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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.
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.
Best Counter-Strike 2 betting sites by country
CS2 betting sites in 2024 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:
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:
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 bet: 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.
First Blood: You are placing a bet on the team who scores the first kill of the match.Recommended!
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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.
Top-rated CS2 esports betting sites
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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.