2020 was all around a year of uncertainty and absences for all sports activities. One would think esports would have been an exception, but that is not the case. All the big esports events that you look out for all year happen before a live audience. Even other than that, there are huge logistical hitches for organizing such huge events. Thankfully, there is a chance that the dent of 2020 on esports did not put a stop to its ever-growing influence. If anything, many people also got into streaming, watching Twitch for entertainment, and regional tourneys while locked inside their homes. 2021 might just be all the better for it as far as esports is concerned.
Some live events are already underfoot, and regional qualifiers for big-league games have started up for nearly all major esports. Here is a broad outline of the expected who’s who in 2021 Esports and esports betting pools.
Learn here what is the difference between virtual sports And esports in online gambling.
What are the big events to watch out for Esports?
Like we said, most pro circuits have already planned to jump-start their leagues back. The big two, of course, are the Valve duo: Dota 2 and CS:GO.
Dota 2
Dota 2 is the creme de la creme of all MOBAs right alongside League. It is not for everyone, because it is not easy to get into. But in return, the DPC (short for Dota 2 pro circuit) provides one of the most spectacular primo pro-moba experiences for all viewers. The jaw-dropping prize pool is also noteworthy. The last TI (short for The International) was in 2019 and raised a total prize pool of nearly $35,000,000. With the trend of ballooning prize pools that grow year by year, we might see the biggest prize pool yet in the projected 2021 TI.
As of now, Valve has not really set a date of 2021. But it seems likely to be back in the familiar August-September timing, if the pandemic situation is resolved as expected. But the regional qualifiers and major playoffs are currently ongoing with a set schedule everywhere – EU, China, NA, and SEA. Moreover, the ESL One CIS is also scheduled to be held online from January 21 to February 26. With the release of the Mistwood update and the new aghanims shards, how the pro scene engages the meta evolution will be interesting to watch.
League of Legends
Dota’s Mistwood update contains a whole bunch of changes and new contents – new items, mechanics, and even a new hero. But the direct rival, Riot’s League of Legends also has the recent Festival of Beasts and Fates II battle pass to compare. While they have also added a new champion – Viego – to their roster, they seem to be dwarfed by Dota content-wise. However, that is not a problem for the League pro circuit. Whether it is due to Riot’s close involvement and communication with their player base, or superior marketing, the LoL championship magic is very much alive.
The biggest championship, Worlds 2021, will take place in China – although they have not announced a schedule officially. Moreover, we also have immediate betting options early on in the year. To clarify: both the European and NA League championship are about to begin in January and February 2021 respectively. Here’s to another year of jam-packed LoL playoffs!
CS:GO, Overwatch, and Valorant
As far as CS: GO is concerned, gamers are expecting at least one Major to take place before the year ends. Frankly, CS: GO is in a more difficult corner than Dota 2. The former has the potential crisis of a dying player base, but the latter has seen almost no major pro circuit action in about two years. On top of that, the Major event on May 21st has been canceled. Instead, the first Major of 2021 will kick off in Stockholm in October, hosted by PGL. But if the wait for that is too long, there is also the BLAST Premiere finals. You can get some CS: GO betting action when it takes place in the third week of January.
CS: GO also will have some good competition in the arena-FPS shooter entertainment for 2021. Overwatch will be back with their multi-million dollar Overwatch League venture in January 2021. But the real kicker is the development of Valorant. Riot’s new arena shooter has been slowly climbing twitch viewership leaderboards all this time. And it appears that Riot has grand plans for the debut Valorant Champions Tour 2021.
All things considered, 2021 is shaping up to be a huge milestone in terms of esports activity. Naturally, the major betting sites have long recognized the budding potential of esports. Big platforms like Betway have already incorporated an extensive esports betting section. In conclusion, we must remind you to stick to these major reputed platforms while betting on esports – as there seems to be a lot of potentially fraudulent esports-only betting sites (e.g. cosmetics/skin betting sites).
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